Persistent inequality: Canada’s colour-coded labour market

In this paper, we present a portrait of Ontario’s colour-coded labour market as of 2016 (the latest data available) and compare it to how things looked in 2006. Overall, there were 3.9 million racialized individuals living in Ontario in 2016, representing 29% of Ontario’s population–a notable increase from 23% of the population in 2006. Racialized workers in Ontario had a slightly higher labour force participation rate than non-racialized workers (65.3% versus 64.5%) in 2016. However, racialized Ontarians continued to experience higher unemployment rates. Racialized women had the highest unemployment rate at 10%, followed by racialized men at 8.7%, non-racialized men at 7%, and non-racialized women at 6.3%. An occupational breakdown of the workforce sheds light on the gendered and racialized gap in the labour market. Racialized women were most likely to be in the lowest-paying occupations. The share of racialized women (25.1%) working in occupations that fall in the bottom 10% of average earnings was 66% higher than the share of non-racialized men (15%). Non-racialized women were slightly less likely to work in these low-wage occupations than racialized women (23.6%). The share of racialized men in these lowest-paying occupations (17.8%) was higher than the share of non-racialized men (15.1%).These patterns are reversed for occupations that pay in the highest 10% of average earnings: 11% of non-racialized men worked in these highest-paying occupations, followed by 8.8% of racialized men, 5.7% of non-racialized women, and 5.5% of racialized women. In short, the racialized gap can be found at both the bottom and the top of the occupational distribution. These labour market experiences contribute to the persistent wage gap: In 2015, racialized men earned 76 cents for every dollar non-racialized men earned. Racialized women earned 85 cents for every dollar non-racialized women earned. These earnings gaps have remained virtually unchanged since 2006. Labour market discrimination remains gendered and racialized: racialized women earned 58 cents for every dollar non-racialized men earned. There has been little progress in closing the earnings gap between men and women. Non-racialized women earned 69 cents for every dollar non-racialized men earned. Racialized women earned 77 cents for every dollar racialized men earned. We also explore the notion that racialized workers fare worse in the job market because many of them are immigrants, and all immigrants struggle before landing a good job. Our findings demonstrate that not all immigrants have the same experience. Among prime-age (25-54 years old) workers, racialized male immigrants earned 70 cents for every dollar non-racialized male immigrants earned. Racialized female immigrants earned 78 cents for every dollar that non-racialized female immigrants earned. These gaps continue into the second generation and beyond. Second-generation racialized men earned 78 cents for every dollar second-generation non-racialized men earned. Second-generation racialized women earned 64 cents for every dollar second-generation nonracialized men earned. These findings point to the need for Ontario to deal with the uncomfortable truth that its labour market is not equally welcoming to all immigrants. They also indicate that differences in immigrants’ outcomes are not based only on education levels and language skills, but also on racialization. The data also illustrate the importance of understanding the distinct barriers in the labour market faced by different racialized groups. There aremany examples that illustrate these differences. Both men and women who identified as Black had higher labour force participation rates than their non-racialized counterparts. However, they also had higher unemployment rates and bigger wage gaps than the average for all racialized workers. Men who identified as Filipino had much lower unemployment rates than nonracialized workers and yet had a larger earnings gap; while women who identified as Filipino had lower unemployment rates and a smaller earnings gap than the racialized average. Men and women who identified as Latin American had lower unemployment rates and larger earnings gaps than the average for all racialized workers. Addressing the labour market discrimination faced by racialized workers will require a deeper understanding of racism and the different ways it is manifested in the labour market for different racialized groups. That understanding needs to be used to shape policy to address these different barriers and forms of discrimination. The bottom line: we are still waiting for bold new policies to close the persistent gap between racialized and non-racialized men and women in Ontario. Until we tackle the barriers to employment equity and to decent work, Ontario’s racialized income gap is unlikely to go away