“Why don't you get a job?”: the role of discrimination against Indigenous workers in explaining job outcomes

Purpose Given the unequal employment outcomes experienced by Indigenous workers compared to non-Indigenous, our study examines the extent to which these inequities are attributable to resume characteristics, such as skills and experience or to factors beyond the applicants' control, such as the biases and discriminatory attitudes of employers. Design/methodology/approach To analyse the phenomenon of labour market inclusion and marginalization, we adopt a mixed-method approach equipped to examine the intersectionality of multiple identities in a way that has been largely ignored in existing resume audit study experiments. The first method deploys a call-back audit study to assess call-back rates across different demographics. Secondly, we conduct semi-structured interviews with food service industry stakeholders to develop an understanding of hiring preferences, and the role of biases in shaping hiring decisions. Findings Indigenous job seekers receive fewer callbacks from employers compared to other non-Indigenous applicants. Biases and entrenched prejudices against Indigenous peoples, we find, are generated by perception and socialization, and not necessarily the actual experiences of front-line workers and hiring managers. In one region, foreign-born workers have greater advantages than Indigenous applicants in securing callbacks, but the audit study analysis concludes that gender is the strongest determining factor. There is little evidence to support claims that newcomers marginalize Canadian-born applicants, either Indigenous or non-Indigenous. Social implications For Indigenous job seekers, our study concludes that the acquisition of education, credentials and experiences is not enough to combat the systemic biases and discriminatory attitudes held by employers, exacerbating already negative labour market and socio-economic outcomes. What is clear is that marginalized groups cannot simply educate their way out of poverty and underemployment when even entry level, low-skilled sectors create their own barriers to entry. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, our study is unique in that it is the first audit study to specifically examine the experiences of Indigenous workers in Canada across two distinct regions. Secondly, we show that labour force marginalization cannot be attributed to human capital deficiencies among Indigenous job seekers, but instead an intersectional vector of gender and race. Thirdly, our study uses a qualitative approach to show how employer biases and notions of “fit” prevent Indigenous applicants from being hired, even into low-wage or entry-level occupations.