Study Finds Indigenous Applicants Get 9.9% Callback Rate in Canadian Food Service, Trailing 11.9%
Updated
Updated · The Conversation · Sep 3
Study Finds Indigenous Applicants Get 9.9% Callback Rate in Canadian Food Service, Trailing 11.9%
3 articles · Updated · The Conversation · Sep 3
Summary
More than 6,000 matched resumés sent to food-service jobs in Ontario and Saskatchewan found Indigenous applicants got callbacks 9.9% of the time, versus 11.9% for non-Indigenous applicants.
The gap appeared despite identical qualifications, experience and availability, with researchers varying only identity signals such as Indigenous organizations, language fluency or credentials from Indigenous institutions.
Saskatchewan showed the sharpest disparity: non-Indigenous applicants received callbacks 13.2% of the time, compared with 8.1% for Indigenous applicants; in Ontario, callback rates were nearly the same.
Interviews with hiring managers and workers pointed to informal judgments about workplace “fit,” shaped by racialized stereotypes; Indigenous men fared worst at 8.3%, while Indigenous women received 11.6% but faced sexualized expectations.
The study argues Canada’s Indigenous employment gap cannot be explained by education or labour shortages alone, noting employers responded to just 11.4% of applications and that entry-level bias can block longer-term career paths.