Meritocracy
Canada is often described as a meritocracy, meaning that individuals with different ethnicities, race, class, and gender have equal opportunities available to them for success. However, upon examining gender inequalities and discrepancies due to racism in the work place, it is evident that in Canada not everyone has equal opportunities to succeed. By analyzing the wage gaps between ‘visible minorities’ in Canada, and specifically by drawing comparisons between men and women as well as comparisons between the white majority population and racial minorities, it becomes apparent that there is still prominent gender inequality as well as discriminatory racial inequality within the country that prevents Canada from being classified as a meritocracy.
Women who live in Canada are earning less money than men for equal work (Murray, Linden, & Kendall, 2014 p. 320-321). In Canada, there is a wage gap between how much a woman earns compared to how much a man earns which can fluctuate based on race and disabilities (Pay Equity Commission. 2012). This leads into another concern for Canada that based on race, minorities are not receiving the same opportunities as white Canadian. Minorities are being discriminated against within the work place, by not earn the same amount of income as a privileged white man and are also having difficulties with employment due to their skin color (Hennessy, 2010, p. 1). Further, Aboriginals are having a challenging time trying to find employment with a large majority of Aboriginal’s living in poverty and not receiving equal pay compared with white Canadians (Wilson, 2012, p.98-116). Income inequality throughout Canada has also become greater issue with the income gap between the upper class and middle class widening rapidly (Manza, Grant, Mckenna, 2013, p.1).
In Canada, pay equity between men and women is an issue. For example, a man could be earning more money than a woman for the same amount of work. There is a wage gap...