The Canadian Mosaic in the Workplace

On the 8^th of October 1971, Canada became the first country in the world to declare multiculturalism as its state policy, and the Broadcasting Act of 1991 asserts that the Canadian system should reflect the diversity of cultures in the country (Kymlicka, 2012).

Through some examples and testimonies of employees from Canadian companies, we will try to understand and illustrate how the Canadian mosaic is present and important in the professional world.

Canadian corporations not only have a moral responsibility to embrace diversity in hiring, it makes good business sense, the head of TD Bank Group says. Moreover, public companies have the duty to hire employees with best skills and practices, while keeping in mind that in a country as multicultural as Canada, the hiring process must be inclusive (Yew, 2012). A study held by Cedric Herring, professor of sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, suggests that diversity produces tangible benefits for a business. According to the analysis companies with high racial diversity were more likely to report higher-than-average market share (72%) and profitability (72%), compared to companies with medium diversity (66% and 61%) and low diversity (54% and 52%) (Amble, 2006).

Of course when a hiring person from diverse horizons is a plus to a company that is working with diverse country, but also it can bring a rich diverse environment to the employees. For example, Fiona Easton,

manager of diversity and inclusiveness at TELUS, is talking about Multiculturalism Day in Canada, and how she discovered with her friends a new gastronomy thanks to one of her colleges. “The idea to try stuffed grape leaves came to me from Michel Selim, a member of our TELUS Diversity & Inclusiveness Council.  During one of our conversations, Michel mentioned one of his favorite dishes his mother makes is stuffed grape leaves – which remind him of his childhood in Syria. In travelling to many countries around the world, I have had the privilege to experience unique and fascinating cultures.  Allowing ourselves to OPEN OUR MINDS to different traditions, we LEARN, GROW and GAIN NEW PERSPECTIVES ̶   seeing opportunities and possibilities we may have otherwise overlooked.”  What Fiona is saying here is that diversity always brings something new to our perceptive, and in a professional environment it is essential to have as many perceptive and ideas as possible in order to be unique and also to always renew the service the company is offering.  Diversity brings progress especially in a country like Canada (Easton, 2012).

Tim Horton is one of the favorite brand Canadian people cherish. This coffee company created in 1964, counts today more than 3000 stores in the country (Loppinot, 2010).

In a TV spot the company released during the Olympic games, we can understand  how unique the Canadian culture is:

This commercial is a good illustration of the multiculturalism policy in Canada, by showing an Afro-American man welcoming his family who apparently came to live in the country for the first time.

M. Barefoot who commented on this TV ad said:” My American friends explained that this commercial would never, ever air in the United States. They said that there’s simply too much ill will and anger around immigration. It would mean corporate suicide for a big company to run this piece in the States.” This is a good example of Tim Horton’s strategy to attract all kind of Canadian inhabitants and we can see here the unique Canadian culture and how it can be different from the American one. (Barefoot, 2010).

Ophélie Bourgeois

Sources:

 Amble, B. (2006, August 17). More diversity brings increased profitability. Récupéré sur Management-issues: http://www.management-issues.com/news/3503/more-diversity-brings-increased-profitability/

Barefoot, D. (2010, February 24). Tim Hortons and the Immigrant Experience. Récupéré sur DarrenBareFoot.com: http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2010/02/tim-hortons-and-the-immigrant-experience.html

Easton, F. (2012). How I’ll be celebrating Canadian Multiculturalism Day. Récupéré sur Telus: http://blog.telus.com/community/how-ill-be-celebrating-canadian-multiculturalism-day/

Kymlicka, W. (2012, February). Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future. Récupéré sur Migration Policy: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/multiculturalism.pdf

Loppinot, D. d. (2010, January). Top 15 des meilleurs franchises. Récupéré sur MSN Finance: http://finances.ca.msn.com/photos/galeriedephotos.aspx?cp-documentid=23189475&page=3

Yew, M. A.-T. (2012, October 3). Diversity makes good business sense: TD Bank boss. Récupéré sur thestar.com: http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/10/03/diversity_makes_good_business_sense_td_bank_boss.html