Discrimination prevention

Defining equity and discrimination can help set a foundation for understanding why implementing the strategies offered can be both a moral and smart business decision.

What is equity? 

Equity means creating a workplace where everyone has equal access to opportunities and fair treatment, fostering a more inclusive and just culture. In practice, it focuses on ensuring fairness in pay, advancement opportunities, and day‑to‑day work experiences.  

In today's context, equity responds to systemic issues, such as racism and discrimination, to actively support inclusion and eliminate barriers.

“Diversity is a fact.
Equity is a choice.
Inclusion is an action.
Belonging is an outcome.”
— Arthur Chan

What is discrimination? 

The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) defines discrimination as:

“Discrimination is an action, behaviour, decision, or omission that treats a person or a group of people unfairly and badly for reasons linked to personal traits, such as their race, age or disability.”  These traits can include:

• Race
• National or ethnic origin
• Colour
• Religion
• Age
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Gender identity or expression
• Marital status
• Family status
• Disability (which includes mental health disorders)
• Genetic characteristics
• A conviction for which a pardon has been granted or a record suspended

Research shows that experiences of discrimination have a negative impact on mental and physical health. Discrimination can lead to social exclusion and create a psychologically unsafe work environment. This is the opposite of proactively removing barriers to inclusion.

The costs associated with discrimination at work (real or perceived) include:

• Negative attitudes among employees towards the organization
• Disruption in employee cohesion
• Reduced job performance
• Loss in job productivity
• Lowered job satisfaction

Discrimination, including racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of discriminatory behaviour, can take any of these forms:

• Overt or covert
• Direct or indirect
• Intentional or unintentional

The strategies that follow for preventing discrimination can help improve work environment outcomes for employers and well-being outcomes for employees.

Individual, leader and organizational strategies

Preventing discrimination at work requires a multilevel approach:

• Organizational change to policies and procedures
• Support from authentic leadership for all employees
• Tailored approaches for each individual

At the organizational level

• Consider where your organization is now, and where they want to be. The Making the case toolkit | PDF from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) can help you make the case for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). 
  • Use the information about Potential legal concerns and the Legal duty to accommodate to help with this review.
• Develop a stigma reduction plan that supports all employees.
• Develop effective responses to social issues such as racially motivated or gender-based violence. This Workplace responses toolkit | PDF from CCDI may help.
• Proactively recruit, orient and promote for diversity that is representative of the population in your location and of those you serve.
  
  • This includes:  
    • Indigenous persons
    • Racialized groups
    • 2SLGBTQIA+
    • Persons with intellectual and physical disabilities
  • This can help your organization better respond to both your client-base and your talent pool.  
  • Consider consulting with a community leader to help with policy development related to diverse populations. Indigenous engagement planning is an example of where this approach was taken.
  • Ensure processes for employee evaluation, performance management, discipline and promotion are fair and consistent for all, regardless of demographic, especially of Human Rights prohibited grounds.

At the leadership level

• Be open to continual improvement of management strategies to better connect with the needs of employees from diverse backgrounds. Inclusion strategies for leaders has practical tips.  
  • You can use the Psychologically safe team assessment to gather information from employees. The report you automatically generate with this assessment will help you consider practical strategies to make all employees feel safe and adequately supported to raise concerns or ask for help.
• Consider what adjustments may be needed to make all employees feel safe and supported enough to raise concerns or ask for help.
• Build trust by asking employees about cultural or systematic barriers they have experienced. 
  • If trust is an issue, Building trust for leaders can help managers and supervisors begin to improve and maintain trust with their direct reports.

At the individual level

Resources that can help include:

• Leader support for newcomers speaks directly to those who are new to both the culture and the job.
• Indigenous teachings for leaders shows how the Seven Sacred Teachings and the Medicine Wheel can influence a positive culture at work for all.
• Implicit bias teaches how to identify and understand implicit bias, microaggressions and intersectionality. Whether the bias results in poor morale or discrimination, identifying it is the first step to eliminating it.

Preventing discrimination at the individual level requires that the employer/manager become an "authentic ally" at work. The authentic ally:

• Recognizes that social justice and anti-oppression work requires action-oriented practices
• Validates other people's experiences of oppression and doesn’t stay silent when discrimination occurs
• Engages in inclusive learning so the oppressed and the oppressors can benefit from the transfer of knowledg
• Uses privilege to advocate for equity

Discrimination scenarios and strategies

Situations occur in the work environment in which there may have been no intent to harm, but the actions of the employer or co-workers could be perceived as discriminatory. The following are examples of potential discrimination and alternative strategies that may be fairer.

Alcohol at work events

A not-for-profit organization held a wine and cheese event for the board of directors to increase connection between board members and all staff. The event was held in the office boardroom.

An employee who had an alcohol addiction and was actively engaged in treatment expressed concern that the presence of alcohol would limit their ability to participate. They wanted to engage in meaningful dialogue, but the scent of wine would make that very difficult for them. The employer said the employee shouldn’t attend.

Not being able to connect with board members and other staff restricted the employee’s opportunity for career-advancing connections. This could be like holding strategic meetings while golfing, which may be an inaccessible event for employees with certain physical disabilities.

Failure to attempt to accommodate an employee's needs at work-related events may be considered discrimination.

Alternative strategy:

Consider a more inclusive approach, like only having non-alcoholic beverages at work events so everyone has a chance to advance careers or build networks.

Jokes about mental illness

An employee recently revealed their diagnosis of depression. The disclosure was voluntary as part of an attempt to help explain why they were requesting certain accommodations. Since the disclosure, the team and the manager altered their usual habit of joking about mental illness with comments like: "Usually I would say: 'I'm bipolar today' but I guess I can't say that now!" While the intent may have been to change their approach to talking about mental illness, it was still offensive.

Any jokes about a disability can contribute to a culture of discrimination and may be deemed harassment.

Alternative strategy:

Provide clear direction and instruction from management on what’s acceptable and not acceptable. Support this policy with education, positive conversations and, if necessary, enforcement.

Assumptions about ability

An employee who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia was accommodated with a modified work schedule to attend medical appointments. The manager didn’t consider this employee for a special project opportunity made available to colleagues with the same qualifications and experience. The manager also regularly described the employee as "fragile and sensitive." They determined, without any discussion with the employee, that it would be hard for the employee to take on the new project. Their rationale was that the work would be too stressful and difficult to manage with the employee's medical appointments.

Making assumptions about an employee's ability without fair consideration based on merit can be considered discrimination.

Alternative strategies:

Be aware that employees with accommodations should still be considered for career-advancing opportunities based on their qualifications. Don’t make assumptions about whether they can take on new roles and tasks. Have a collaborative and objective conversation with the employee to explore these possibilities before making decisions.

Refusing a trained service animal

An employee with a diagnosed anxiety disorder had a trained service dog to help identify and provide support during panic attacks. The animal also helped the employee maintain focus and productivity. The employer had a policy that no pets could come to work. Co-workers reacted negatively, saying it was unfair this employee could bring a dog into the workplace. The employer told the employee they must either only work from home or not bring the dog to work. This could be like asking an employee with a physical disability to leave their wheelchair at the door because it squeaked and disturbed other workers' concentration.

Without exploring options, the employer may be engaging in discrimination.

Alternative strategies:

Problem-solve valid co-worker concerns such as allergies or fear of dogs. Some dog breeds are hypoallergenic and there are also devices to remove allergens from the air. Respecting those with a serious fear of dogs may mean separating workers. Educate staff on the benefits of a trained service animal for people with mental health disabilities.

Reactive decisions

An employee who had a disability due to obsessive-compulsive disorder often cleaned the chair at their workstation. Co-workers complained this was bizarre behaviour and a health hazard because of the fumes from the cleaning products. The employer agreed with the co-workers' perspective and told the employee to stop cleaning the chair. The employee expressed concern this would make it difficult to stay productive – the compulsion to clean would be distracting without the relief provided by a quick cleaning of the chair.

Without exploring options, it’s possible this could be considered discrimination.

Alternative strategies:

Have a collaborative conversation with the employee and look at solutions. Consider having the employee change to a scent-free, non-toxic cleaning product and only clean on personal break times. Educate co-workers about the experience of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Ask the employee if they’d be willing to talk to the team, or if you could talk to the team, about this disability.

Differential treatment

An employee had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, with frequent time off including multiple short-term disability leaves. The employee was trying for the fourth time to return to work after an absence of several months. This organization’s policy was to welcome back employees who were away from work for more than 6 weeks with a gift basket at their workstation. But the employee who had bipolar disorder never received a gift basket and believed they weren’t truly welcome to return. This affected the employee’s sense of inclusion and had a negative impact on the ability to resume work duties and relationships.

When an employee is treated differently this may be perceived as creating a discriminatory culture.

Alternative strategies:

Be aware if employees with mental health disabilities are treated differently. Take steps to close these gaps in a respectful way by collaborating with employees about when differential treatment is an accommodation and when it’s exclusionary.

Accommodation policy language

An accommodation policy states: "The accommodation process begins when an employee makes a request for accommodation." An employee who doesn’t know they have a disability or doesn’t know they can request accommodation is effectively prevented from using the policy.

For some employees who have a disability of a mental illness, there may be a period when they’re not aware they have a mental illness or that it’s a disability.

A policy that doesn’t take this into consideration may be discriminatory based on disability.

Alternative strategies:

Review accommodation policies and processes through the lens of an employee who has mental health challenges. Amend as necessary and reasonable. Add direction about what to do if an employee seems to be unwell but isn’t requesting accommodation. This can involve equipping managers to discuss the availability of accommodation when a health issue impacts performance.

Discrimination statistics

• A 2022 survey (Mental Health Research Canada, 2022),  reported that 8% of 5,500 respondents reported that they were experiencing discrimination. When looking only at visible minorities, that number increased to 21% and for those with physical impairments it was 16%. For more information about how equity-deserving groups reported on their experiences at work, read Psychological Health and Safety in Canadian Workplaces.
• A 2020 survey (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, 2020) found:
  • The main sources of harassment and discrimination at work were internal sources: 
    • Individuals with authority over others
      • Harassment: 62%
      • Discrimination: 77% 
    • Co-workers
      • Harassment: 51%
  • The rates of those who experienced discrimination were: 
    • • • Persons with disabilities: 25%
• A 2018 survey (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, 2018) found those with a disability were more likely (32%) than other employees to identify individuals with authority over them as a source of discrimination. The percentage for other groups were:
  • Gender-diverse persons: 23%
  • Indigenous peoples: 15%
    • The survey found Indigenous employees were more likely than other employees to indicate that incidents of discrimination had come from co-workers or from members of the public. 
  • 2SLGBTQIA+: 11%
• A later survey in 2021 (Burczycka, 2021) found 1 in 5 2SLGBTQIA+ workers experienced workplace discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. 
• The 2018 survey also found that employees who agreed their organization supported a diverse work environment were less likely to indicate they had been the victim of discrimination on the job. 
  • Only 8% of employees who agreed their organization implements activities and practices that support a diverse work environment indicated they had been discriminated against.
  • In contrast, 44% of employees who disagreed indicated they had been discriminated against.
• Canadians are less likely to talk about their mental illness than other illnesses or health conditions. In a 2019 survey (Simpson, 2019) of working Canadians:
  • respondents were almost 3 times less likely to want to disclose a mental illness, than a physical one like cancer.
  • 75% of respondents said they would be reluctant – or would refuse – to disclose a mental illness to an employer or co-worker.
• Stigma still exists related to mental health:
  • 47% of employed Canadians say that if they admitted they had a mental illness to a boss or co-worker, they feel their ability to do their job would be questioned (Simpson, 2019).
  • When asked why they would be reluctant to admit they had a mental illness, some of the top reasons included:
    • Fear of being treated differently (45%)
    • Not wanting to be judged (44%)
    • Not wanting to be considered weak (33%)
    • Having a desire for privacy (50%) (Simpson, 2019). 
• In 2017, 87.2% reported some improvement in media coverage of workplace mental health issues since 2007, and 83.3% saw celebrities and media personalities as having an important role in contributing to increased awareness (Samra, 2017).
• In 2020, although 51% considered mental health to be a disability, working Canadians were less likely to consider depression, specifically, as a disability than in the year previous (47% depression) (Simpson, 2020).

Workshop materials

Implicit bias workshop

This self-reflection workshop explores the attitudes and stereotypes that affect our actions, decisions and unconscious understanding towards or against a particular person or group.

 

Psychologically safe interactions workshop

Prevent bullying and increase psychological health and safety by improving awareness of how workplace behaviours may be interpreted as harmful, even when that isn’t our intention.

Additional resources

• Team activity - Intersectionality focuses on the overlap of various social identities one person may hold. This activity can help reveal areas where we may hold unconscious bias towards particular groups.
• Team activity - Microaggressions is a team-building activity to understand and avoid microaggressions.
• Potential legal concerns provides a framework to help your organization prevent discrimination, harassment, bullying, trauma, burnout and other negative impacts.