Senator Donald Oliver says he knows the lash of racism.

Growing up in Nova Scotia during the 1940s and ’50s, other youth spit in his face and called him “nigger,” and he was refused service in some restaurants.

While such overt displays of ignorance have largely subsided, Oliver says more subtle forms continue to pervade Canadian society – especially in the workplace.

And this, he says, ultimately has a grave effect on Canada’s bottom line.

Sen. Donald Oliver

“Why do I strive to bring attention to this issue? Because eliminating racism in the workplace is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do,” Oliver told delegates at the 2004 compensation and human resources outlook conference held in Calgary last week.

Oliver pushed for a recently completed Conference Board of Canada study – The Voices of Minorities: Speaking Out on Breaking Down the Barriers. He believes it will be a comprehensive examination of the hurdles visible minorities face in Canada’s offices and factory floors.

While visible minorities represent 15 per cent of the population, fewer than three per cent have reached the executive ranks of the public sector, Oliver noted. Things aren’t much better on the corporate side: Only 19 per cent of Canadian companies have visible minorities in their executive or on their boards.

“This tells me that there’s something wrong here,” Oliver said.

During the last five years, according to Statistics Canada, one in five minority workers reported discrimination in the workplace, a rate four times greater than for non-minorities.

Statistics Canada numbers also show that fewer than half of visible minority employees who qualified for senior management positions reached those ranks in the civil service, compared to roughly 70 per cent of white workers with the same qualifications.

Visible minorities, who make up about 11 per cent of Canada’s workers, accounted for one-third of the labour force contribution to real gross domestic product (GDP) growth between 1992 and 2001, the Conference Board reports.

“By 2016 (visible minorities) probably will represent 20 per cent of Canada’s labour force and account for $80.9 billion, or more than 10 per cent of Canada’s GDP growth,” Oliver said. “That in itself proves the case for diversity.”

Oliver identifies three main areas – leadership, retention and accountability – that must be addressed if corporate Canada is to overcome racism in the workplace.

First, change must come from above, he said. Leaders must not simply “intellectualize” issues of diversity, but rather take action to create inclusive workplaces, which means resources must be committed and people held accountable for their actions.

Second, efforts should be made to ensure that visible minorities are not only being recruited, but also retained. Conference Board research shows that governments and companies place a lot of emphasis on attracting visible minorities, “but have tremendous difficulty in retaining them, mainly because these people find the work environment uncomfortable, so they leave,” Oliver said.

Third, Oliver said, organizations should properly train management teams in order to comprehend differences in culture, traditions, religion and behaviour.

With an aging workforce, Canada is facing a manpower crunch, he warned.

Worse yet, Canada is among several industrialized nations that will be competing for skilled workers from Asia, Africa, Latin America and elsewhere, who will immigrate to the countries where they are welcomed and feel most comfortable.

Another factor affecting the colour of corporate Canada has been a lack of high-profile legal actions against employers who discriminate.

Oliver cited a corporate headhunter who told him that it is far easier for visible minorities to reach executive posts in the United States than in Canada, in part because of recent major lawsuits – the most famous involving Coca-Cola and Texaco – that have helped to break the so-called “colour barrier.”

The 66-year-old senator is particularly concerned about the situation in Alberta. In an interview with Business Edge following his speech, Oliver took aim at the province’s record for visible minorities in the workplace.

While the Conference Board has yet to release a regional breakdown of its results, Oliver said that based on his personal conversations both with minority groups and corporate leaders, he believes the situation in Alberta could improve.

“The focus groups I spoke with a few months ago reported that they continue to hit a glass ceiling, that promotion is extremely difficult,” he said.

As for the reaction from local business leaders: “They say to me ‘I know there are problems,’ but then whisper, ‘Let’s not make too much noise about it, OK?’” Oliver said.

He added that his tour through the oilpatch’s executive ranks and boardrooms revealed a serious lack of minorities.

Oliver insists he’s not pushing a system of quotas, but rather is advocating creation of a climate where all people – regardless of skin colour – are treated fairly in the workplace.

“We don’t need quotas – I don’t agree with them.

“What we need is to recognize talent, even if that talent happens to look or speak a little different.”

(John Ludwick can be reached at ludwick@businessedge.ca)