In this Truth and Reconciliation era, Indigenous employment has become a hot topic. National conversations are unpacking Indigenous employee data, most industries have made a dedicated effort to recruit Indigenous talent, and corporations have publicly committed to upholding Call to Action 92. As a result of these shifts, there are more Indigenous employees in the workforce today than ever before. But retention is a different story. While these recruitment efforts are needed and commendable, what is often missed is the experience of these employees once they are hired.
Research by Catalyst in its report, “Building Inclusion for Indigenous Peoples in the Canadian Workplace,” indicated that 52 per cent of Indigenous employees who completed their survey felt on guard to bias in the workplace, which included being vigilant to racism, stereotyping, discrimination and microaggressions. Multiple factors can contribute to these feelings, but a few common dominators exist, including surface-level inclusion statements, “checkbox” hiring, increased emotional labour required of employees, misaligned values, and a lack of Indigenous employees in decision-making positions.
Many workplaces have made public reconciliation statements, but have yet to dive deeply into their company structures, policies and processes. This can lead to a revolving door as Indigenous employees enter and swiftly exit. Not only can this create a negative experience for the Indigenous employee, but it can also significantly impact that company’s reputation within Indigenous communities and future recruitment efforts.
A contributor to Indigenous employees feeling unvalued in the workplace is the misalignment of values, including differing perspectives toward success. For Indigenous Peoples, success is often measured by considering the sustained impact on community well-being for future generations. In contrast, corporate structures measure success as achieving short-term targets and financial gains. This misalignment can cause Indigenous employees to be overlooked for leadership roles and feel unseen for their contributions. Indigenous employees tend to be overrepresented in entry-level positions and underrepresented in middle to senior-level leadership. While workplaces have started setting targets for Indigenous employee recruitment, those targets should also specify commitments to hiring for mid-level and senior-level positions.
One way that policy change impacts are measured is with Indigenous self-identification data. Recently, workplaces have become interested in understanding this and establishing metrics for tracking and monitoring the number of Indigenous employees they hire. This has led to self-identification campaigns for new hires and a big push internally within workplaces for existing employees to self-identify.
These data can help set targets, keep workplaces accountable, and ensure Indigenous recruitment is a focus area. However, there is a risk that Indigenous employees are reduced to statistics, causing them to feel like they are part of a checkbox exercise and increasing their risk for discrimination.
In Deloitte’s report, “Voice of Indigenous Youth Leaders on Reconciliation,” youth shared experiences of being perceived as a diversity hire, disregarding their professional accomplishments. These experiences indicated that workplaces need to find a balance between promoting self-identification and recognizing that it is a personal decision that can feel unsafe due to racism and discrimination.
When Indigenous employees openly self-identify in their workplace, they can face unique challenges, including emotional labour. Emotional labour refers to social and psychological stressors from extra tasks and expectations. It may include completing tasks outside their job duties, such as planning Orange Shirt Day events, educating team members about residential schools or leading ceremonies within the workplace. While employers’ intent is likely not malicious, this pressure can accumulate in feelings of being tokenized. According to the Catalyst report, emotional labour impacted Indigenous women at higher rates.
Workplaces need to listen to Indigenous employees and understand their unique experiences and challenges. Policies should be created that embed inclusive values and a performance and succession strategy that ensures Indigenous movement into leadership. By reviewing their employee data and identifying common trends and gaps in Indigenous retention, workplaces can gain valuable insights and develop strategies to mitigate emotional labour and equity tax.
Sarah Jacknife is the co-founder of (Re)Rooting Indigenous Leadership, specializing in Indigenous employee training, and the founder of Jacknife Consulting, which focuses on Indigenous policy, research, and program development. She also teaches Indigenous policy at the University of Calgary.