ESDC WORBE Program
Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) is designed to support employers subject to the Employment Equity Act (the Act) in their efforts to improve designated group representation in areas of low representation through partnerships and industry-tailored strategies.
Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) is designed to support employers subject to the Employment Equity Act (the Act) in their efforts to improve designated group representation in areas of low representation through partnerships and industry-tailored strategies.
BWBN WORBE Project
Black Women Business Network (BWBN) WORBE’s project titled : “Improving the Representation of Blacks in Banking, Finance and Tech Sectors in BC and AB” in collaboration with partner organizations Tech and People (TAP), Black Buildup, Vancity Credit Union, and British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), seeks to improve the representation of Black persons (including newcomers, immigrants, persons with disabilities (PWD) and francophones) in targeted occupational groups (senior managers, middle managers, supervisors and professionals) in the Finance and Tech sectors
Project Objectives
The overarching goal of this project is to identify and address systemic barriers that promote the underrepresentation of Black professionals in the banking, finance, and tech industries in Alberta and British Columbia.
Through the project, we will work to:
• Gain a comprehensive understanding of the diversity and inclusion obstacles that are specific to the target sectors by considering diverse perspectives and stakeholder engagement.
• Collaboratively work with stakeholders to design effective and sustainable solutions to address the identified barriers.
• Improve representation of Blacks in the finance and tech sectors by developing industry-specific solutions and scaling them to 10 Finance employers. Additionally, we will expand diversity and inclusion tools to 30 tech employers.
Project Outcomes
- Increased understanding of barriers contributing to the under-representation of black professionals and leaders in the sectors
- Increased capacity of employers to address barriers
- Increased capacity of blacks to access sector opportunities and ascend to leadership positions
Finance And Banking Research Highlights
Black Individuals in Specific Banking and Finance Occupations in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Canada: Black individuals are not equally represented in all these roles in the sector. The attainment rate disparities among Black individuals in banking & finance occupations in the Canadian provinces can likely be explained by regional economic dynamics, historical factors, and networking opportunities. These discrepancies also manifest within specific roles due to differences in recruitment, education, and employer practices. An in-depth
examination and validation of the specific factors can form the basis for future primary research.
Sources : Statistics Canada 2016 and 2021 Census data; Authors Analysis
Tech Sector Research Highlights
Attainment rates in the tech occupations and tech management positions: From 2016 to 2021, the attainment rate for Black individuals in tech-related fields (Digital + High) decreased by 3.3 percentage points in Alberta and saw a more significant decline of 7.1 percentage points in BC.
Sources : Statistics Canada 2016 and 2021 Census data; Authors Analysis
Project Partners
Project Sponsors
This project is funded by the government of Canada’s Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) Program.
