Final Research Paper Proposal

BUSI-3330

Instructor: Victoria A. Bikowski

Submitted by: Chloe Devecseri

April 8th, 2022

 Final Research Paper Proposal
Devecseri, Chloe
PART I: Working Title

Building Inclusion for Indigenous Peoples in non-extractive Canadian Workplaces: How

workplaces are taking action

PART II: Research Problem

Broad Theme

When it comes to Canadian indigenous peoples and the way their communities have been
treated in the past, these communities of people have experienced several facets of what could be
classified as racism in which has led to disadvantages in the workplace. The main factor in which
will be discussed is inclusion and how inclusion plays one of the most crucial roles in a business
when it comes to indigenous peoples and their communities. Inclusion has been one of the most
major and definitive factors that has been left out in the past, on behalf of Canadian companies
when employing indigenous people, which will be the prominence of this research. Not only do a
lot of indigenous people in Canada live in deteriorating and poor conditions at home, including
no clean drinking water, crowded housing, poverty and so much more, but they now have had to
come to work and experience another type of poor condition that includes wage gaps, unfair
labour practices, lack of proper training, major stress levels, etc. Having to experience these
types of practices at work only adds to their already unprecedented and poor overall quality of
life. “Catalyst recently conducted a survey that shows indigenous peoples also pay an emotional
tax at work and experience low levels of psychological safety. The specific Catalyst study being
discussed in this paper looks at empowerment, accountability and humility as ways that
managers can be making a difference” (Thorpe-Moscon, J. & Ohm, J., 2021).
Specifically, this research paper will explore how in more recent years, Non-extractive
Canadian companies have started to step up to the plate and add several aspects of inclusivity to
incorporate indigenous communities into their workplaces. What is Indigenous Inclusion exactly
one may ask? According to a study carried out by the Local Employment Planning Council
partnered with Indigenous Works based out of Thunder Bay; “Indigenous Inclusion is an
organizational state that is embraced as a cultural norm, with enterprise-wide workplace
strategies as well as a culture which invites the full participation of Indigenous people into all
aspects of business operations” (Local Employment Planning Council, n.d.). Some of these
aspects of inclusivity include keeping an open mind about the diversity that indigenous peoples
add to their business, informing and/or hosting training sessions for current employees
surrounding the importance of indigenous history and culture, and upper management strategies
regarding treating every individual as though they are equals. Some companies may even be
choosing to incorporate indigenous inclusion policies in their workplaces. Being close-minded
about indigenous peoples in the workplace is no longer an option, as inclusivity of these
individuals is only becoming more increasingly popular in non-extractive Canadian workplaces.
Open-mindedness allows for new ideas, creations and developments within the workplace that
will ideally include indigenous parties. Informing current employees of the history of indigenous
communities has the potential to increase employee morale, effective communication, etc. as a
lot of people are simply just uneducated on the topic. Finally, as mentioned earlier, upper
management strategies can include adding an indigenous inclusion policy to their practices, and
many other strategies, though indigenous inclusion policies have become the most prominent in

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Devecseri, Chloe
recent years. “There is a large range of indigenous inclusion policies used by companies
throughout Ontario and Canada. Some policies have a targeted application to specific areas of
the workplace such as employment, indigenous community relations, indigenous business
development and procurement. Other policies are applied throughout the whole organization,
providing an ‘enterprise-wide’ approach to inclusion” (Local Employment Planning Council,
n.d.). One major question, as mentioned furthermore in this proposal that should be used to guide
the developed research, is why do indigenous peoples leave jobs that they have worked so hard
to obtain? The answer to this question is multi-faceted and has to do with three main areas of
business development being training and advancement, the specific work-environment, and
management practices. “When it comes to training and advancement, there could be several
issues including lack of relevant training to the pertained position, people actually being denied
access to training, lack of training funds, training not being a priority, and/or supervisors and
managers being too busy to train. In terms of the work environment, there could be large levels
of stress in the workplace, little to no willingness to maintain a team, inadequate support and
development systems, lack of professionalism, racism, too many hours and/or office politics.
Finally, it could come down to just being on the management team and their practices.
Management could have no rules or policies, structure of follow-ups, problems with supervisors,
incompatible management styles, not enough education to advocate for indigenous peoples and
their communities, no proper clear direction given, inadequate support systems or simply just a
poor management style” (Indigenous Works, n.d).
The purpose of the proposed research is to explore non-extractive Canadian businesses
and what they have come together to do to incorporate major aspects of inclusivity for the
indigenous population either looking for work or already working. It is important to not only
look at those looking for work, but those who are already working, because it doesn’t just come
down to how to get indigenous peoples into the workplace, but how they can be kept.
Indigenous peoples have achieved a large amount of respect over the years that should be
granted to their communities and their practices by Canadians. For example, the event that was
discovered just recently through the search for unmarked graves on residential school lands have
commenced due to raised suspicion. “To date, more than 1800 confirmed or suspected unmarked
graves have been identified” (Lee & Parkhill – CTV News, 2022). This is a prime example of
why indigenous peoples should gain more Canadians respect; for indigenous peoples ancestors
and the fact that they lost 1800 children to these terrible practices they were subjected to. Some
research questions that will help guide this research include but are not limited to: what can non-
extractive Canadian workplaces do throughout the recruitment process to assist in making it
easier for indigenous peoples to enter the workforce? Are there any accommodations that can be
made or additional offers that can be proposed? What can managers of a workplace be doing to
develop inclusivity within work policies and ensure continuous inclusivity for not just all
employees, but indigenous employees specifically? In terms of retention, what are these
workplaces doing to keep indigenous communities included and employed once hired? Why do
indigenous peoples leave jobs that they have already been a part of?
By answering these questions, the research will touch on various topics including some
major issues related to inclusion and how indigenous communities are finally being given at least
some of what they deserve in non-extractive Canadian workplaces. The research will not only
give answers to the specific questions mentioned above, but also give a lot of insight on how
these Canadian workplaces can bring inclusion into their workplace for indigenous communities
if they haven’t already.

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Devecseri, Chloe
Specific Research Question

The primary question this research paper aims to answer is what are non-extractive
Canadian workplaces doing to ensure indigenous communities and all their peoples are included
at work? To address the gap in inclusion in regard to indigenous peoples and their rights at work,
this question will be answered thoroughly using the issues discussed in the paragraph to follow.

Working Hypothesis

A summary of the proposed research has proved to be quite beneficial to non-extractive

Canadian workplaces and how they will proceed with business endeavours in the future in
relation to indigenous communities and their practices. It will be argued that non-extractive
Canadian workplaces are taking action and finding ways to incorporate levels of inclusivity into
their everyday work practices from multiple levels. When workplaces create a space that is
empowered, show accountability for their previous, potentially negative actions, and now
demonstrate a sense of gratitude for these indigenous communities and their people, they can
create a safe and humane workplace for every employee involved. It is crucial for all
organizational hierarchal departments of a workplace to take part in showing inclusivity through
their actions and policies at work. If all hierarchal departments aren’t included, and only some
are participating, then the overall act of inclusivity will not be portrayed. For example,
workplace managers should ensure their interviewing processes are inclusive from beginning to
end and demonstrates actions that reflect this through transparency. This is crucial because if not
all parts of the hierarchy are doing their part, the topic of inclusivity as a whole, will not be
carried out and demonstrated in the workplace.

PART III: Literature Review

There are many current debates about the treatments of indigenous peoples and the
struggles they currently face on a day-to-day basis. Indigenous people have a harder time finding
jobs than the average Canadian, meaning their communities face higher rates of unemployment
than other communities located on Canadian land. Basic literacy skills are a necessary job
requirement for almost all, if not all, jobs in Canada, and just one third of indigenous peoples
have a literacy score of level 3 or higher, making it increasingly more difficult for the ones with
lower literacy scores, to even find jobs (Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., 2019). Stereotypes
create a significant barrier to job entry for indigenous peoples as well. Stereotypical
characterizations of indigenous people can linger in the minds of certain hiring managers, adding
to the struggle of indigenous peoples even entering the workforce. Another barrier making it
hard for indigenous people to keep a job, is the fact that a lot of their communities consist of
poverty and poor housing. Waking up every morning to a house that is potentially filled with
mold or asbestos, needs repairs and/or doesn’t have healthy drinking water can take a huge toll
on any individuals mental health, which can in turn, make it difficult to remain in a job position
for the long term (Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., 2019). Transportation is another major
barrier to employment opportunities for indigenous people. Very few indigenous communities
offer public transit and purchasing a vehicle, along with insurance, is very costly for low-income
individuals. Owning a vehicle is quite frankly, just not an option for a lot of indigenous people,
making their commute to work near impossible (Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., 2019).

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Devecseri, Chloe
Childcare is one of the final barriers to attaining work for indigenous peoples. “Safe, affordable
childcare is a challenge for mainstream Canadians – it is even more of a challenge for parents in
indigenous communities” (Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., 2019). Some of these struggles
are more prominent than others, but they all relate back to the fact that it comes down to
Canadian workplaces and how they can accommodate the indigenous communities and assist
them to getting into, or remaining in, an inclusive workplace. This also relates back to business
ethics and corporate social responsibility, meaning workplaces hold a certain duty to
accommodate and include every individual to the best of their ability and well-being of the
company.
Through an examination of books, scholarly journal articles and online publications, it
has been concluded that over the past roughly 2 years, there has been a spotlight shone on
indigenous peoples and their communities, as deserved. These books, scholarly journal articles
and online web publications will make the continued research possible. A lot of the information
provided in this paper will include results from a survey that Catalyst conducted. “Catalyst is a
not-for-profit organization which hosts a community of people at all organizational levels who
come together with a shared purpose, common values and core commitment. Catalyst is a trusted
group of individuals working to learn and re-imagine work culture to make it work for all”
(Thorpe-Moscon, J. & Ohm, J., 2021). The study that will be focused on by Catalyst in this
paper, is the specific study of “Building Inclusion for Indigenous Peoples in Canadian
Workplaces” where eighty-six indigenous people working in Canada were surveyed, forty-three
of which were women, forty-two men, and one identified as another gender. (Thorpe-Moscon, J.
& Ohm, J., 2021).

PART IV: Methodology

My methodological approach for the conducted research was chosen surrounding the lack
of inclusion displayed amongst workplaces in the past and the increasingly more prominent use
of inclusivity in all business practices. From a certain perspective, it is a company’s duty of
corporate social responsibility to incorporate and include indigenous peoples into their
workplaces. Mixed methods of study were used to conduct the proposed research as mentioned
in the literature review. The quantitative data used are the studies put on by Catalyst, Indigenous
corporate Training Inc. and Indigenous Works. These studies provided real insight as to what
indigenous peoples have felt while working in the workplace and why they have struggled in
finding/getting jobs and remaining in these jobs for an extended period of time. The qualitative
data would be the journal articles used to conduct the proper research needed to execute and
display the answers to the proposed questions. The majority of the websites used in research
preparation are on a qualitative scale.

PART V: Significance of Research

The conducted research of this proposal was based on other sources of data that studied
the similar questions that were asked and answered throughout the research paper. Some website
sources in the preliminary bibliography even answered the specific question of this research,
being what are non-extractive Canadian workplaces doing to ensure indigenous communities and
all their peoples are included at work? Adecco is a website that brought Human Resources to
light in the journey of obtaining an inclusive workplace for indigenous people. According to a

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Devecseri, Chloe
blog on Adecco’s website, there are three effective HR practices that assist in the inclusion of
indigenous peoples. “These three practices include understanding and portraying land
acknowledgments in all business practices, implementing culturally sensitive interview
processes, and investing in company-wide cultural sensitivity training. An inclusive HR strategy,
according to this blog, is a strategy that holds a lot of value. Not only for society as a whole, but
also for the certain business. Inclusion is a company-wide culture that has to be secured and
encourages indigenous people to participate in all organizational levels. An inclusive HR
strategy is becoming so increasingly important because it encourages all levels of a company to
be welcoming of indigenous job candidates and potential already working indigenous peoples”
(Adecco Canada, 2021). These circle back to our main question of what are non-extractive
Canadian workplaces doing to ensure indigenous communities and all their peoples are included
at work? All people of all ages can benefit from this research because of how increasingly
prominent the development of the research objectives discussed earlier are becoming. It is
important that our children are taught about the history of indigenous people and their
communities so they can bring this into their social, school and work life. As adults, it is
important to also be educated on this topic in order to be better and more well-rounded
individuals for our society and indigenous communities.

PART VI: Preliminary Bibliography

I. E-BOOKS

Silveira, E., & Walters, J. (2017). Building blocks of workplace inclusion. Association for
Talent Development. Retrieved from https://books.google.ca/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=LFoqDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=workplace+inclusion+for+indigenous
+people+journal+articles&ots=JMYukp-
_ok&sig=m_AftU8gTxdr0k6KyyhgXcH1wDE#v=onepage&q&f=false.

II. JOURNAL ARTICLES

Abdul, R. (2010, May 13). Aboriginal inclusion in the workplace | career edge.
CareerEdge. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.careeredge.ca/blog/aboriginal-
inclusion-in-the-workplace/

De La Ronde , K. (2022, February 15). Let's talk - inclusive workplaces for indigenous
people. Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://winnipeg-
chamber.com/chamber-blog/inclusive-workplaces-for-indigenous-people/

O’Loughlin, R. A., & Kristman, V. L. (2021, January 20). Inclusion of indigenous

workers in Workplace Mental Health. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International
Journal. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EDI-07-2020-0176/full/html

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Overmars, D. (2019, January 1). Wellbeing in the workplace among indigenous people :
An enhanced critical incident study. Open Collections. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0378430

III. WEBSITE SOURCES AND ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

Action Canada. (2021). AC Inclusive Futures - home - Public Policy Forum. Inclusive
Futures. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://ppforum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/AC-
Inclusive-Futures-Indigenous-ENG-WEB.pdf

Adecco. (2021). 3 effective HR practices to include indigenous peoples. Trois Pratiques

de Rh éprouvées pour l'inclusion des personnes autochtones. Adecco Canada. Retrieved March
17, 2022, from https://www.adecco.ca/en-ca/blog/3-effective-hr-practices-to-include-indigenous-
peoples/

Bowness, S. (2018, May 15). Workplaces taking cues from employees to become more
indigenous friendly. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/article-workplaces-taking-cues-from-
employees-to-become-more-indigenous/

Braddick , M. (2021, October 8). The cycle of indigenous trauma continues in the
workplace. diversity policies are not the answer | Mandy Braddick. The Guardian. Retrieved
March 17, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/08/the-cycle-of-
indigenous-trauma-continues-in-the-workplace-diversity-policies-are-not-the-answer

Hodson, J. (2018). NSWPB inclusion workshops - OCWI. Retrieved March 17, 2022,
from https://ocwi-coie.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/01-016-01-NSWPB-Inclusion-
Workshops-Final-Report.pdf

Hood, S. B. (2017). [beyond diversity] indigenous inclusiveness. HR Professional Now -

HR Professional Now. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
http://hrprofessionalnow.ca/diversity/528-beyond-diversity-indigenous-inclusiveness

Indigenous Works. (n.d.). Why do indigenous people leave their jobs? Why do
Indigenous people leave their jobs? | Indigenous Works. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://indigenousworks.ca/en/resources/getting-started/leave-jobs

Indigenous Works. (n.d.). Business Case for Inclusion . Business Case for Inclusion | Indigenous
Works. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://indigenousworks.ca/en/about/business-
case-inclusion

Jobpostings Staff. (2017, October 11). Inclusion at work: Canada's most aboriginal-
friendly workplaces. Jobpostings. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://www.jobpostings.ca/career-guides/aboriginal/inclusion-work-canadas-most-aboriginal-
friendly-workplaces

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Joseph, B. (2019, December 8). 8 basic barriers to indigenous employment. Indigenous
Corporate Training Inc. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/8-basic-
barriers-to-indigenous-employment

Joseph, B. (2020, June 5). 6 steps to create an inclusive environment for indigenous
workers. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/inclusive-worksite-for-indigenous-worker

Lee, M., & Parkhill, M. (2022, January 26). Where searches for remains are happening
at former residential school sites. CTVNews. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/where-searches-for-remains-are-happening-at-former-
residential-school-sites-1.5754222

Local Employment Planning Council. (n.d.). Guide to developing Indigenous Inclusion

Policies. Guide to Developing Indigenous Inclusion Policies . Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://www.nswpb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IW_-
_The_Inclusion_Policy_Development_Guideonline.pdf

Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation. (n.d.). Indigenous Workplace Inclusion:

Strategies for Moving Forward. OCWI. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://ocwi-coie.ca/project/indigenous-workplace-inclusion-strategies-for-moving-forward/

Thorpe-Moscon, J. (2021, October 29). Building Inclusion for Indigenous Peoples in

Canadian workplaces (report). Catalyst. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://www.catalyst.org/research/inclusion-indigenous-peoples-canada-workplace/

Workplace Strategies for Mental Health. (2020, January 1). Home - workplace strategies
for Mental Health. WSMH. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from
https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/resources/indigenous-engagement-
planning

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