(AlbertaIndex, July 8, Tuesday) --- Workplaces in Canada and other developed economies not only have a glass ceiling but also a “glass door” which keeps out women and ethnic minorities, said the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in a survey of the employment landscape in the industrialized world.

        As a result of “pervasive” discriminatory practices, women are 20% less likely than men to have a paid job and they earn on average 17% less than men, said the latest edition of OECD’s Employment Outlook.

In some OECD countries, the report said individuals from ethnic minorities take 40% to 50% more time to get a job interview than others with the same characteristics but belonging to majority groups. When they do land a job, they often earn lower wages than their majority-groups counterparts.

“At least 30% of the gap in wages and 8% of the gap in employment rates result from discriminatory practices in the labour market,” said the report, which states OECD countries must step up efforts to fight labour market discrimination and promote equal opportunities.

While all OECD countries have enacted anti-discrimination laws in recent decades, the report said governments need to do a lot more to ensure a level playing field for all.

“Labour market discrimination is still a big obstacle,” said OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría. “Many workplaces not only have a glass ceiling but also a glass door, which keeps out women and ethnic minorities.”

In Canada, the employment rate for prime-age women in the Canada is eight percentage points lower than for men, approximately one-half of the average gender employment gap in OECD countries.

The report shows that average hourly wages for prime-age Canadian women were 19% lower than for men in 2001. This was slightly larger than the average gender pay gap in all OECD countries. It was only worse in Korea (34%), but significantly below Austria (13%) and Belgium (10%).

Similarly, the employment rates and wages of non-white Canadians lag those of whites. While many factors explain why employment rates and earnings are lower for women and some ethnic minorities, new evidence presented in the OECD Employment Outlook suggests that discrimination in the labour market continues to play a role.

The report noted that a job applicant from a minority group needs to be substantially better qualified in order to have the same probability of receiving a call back for an interview, after submitting a written job application.

“Similarly, women appear to be less likely than men to find a well-paid job and this difference helps to explain why employment rates are lower for women,” it said.

While praising Canada’s federal anti-discrimination legislation as among the most advanced in the OECD, the report said it was not able to examine provincial legislation in detail.

It concluded that legislation alone cannot guarantee a level playing field for all workers, and that educational campaigns may also need to be reinforced in order to induce the changes in the employment culture and practices.

In the light of Alberta’s tight labour market and need for talents to diversify its economic base, employers would do well to heed the OECD’s call for improvement in fighting labour market discrimination.

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