Indigenous workers in Canada experience higher unemployment rates and lower rates of labour market participation than non-Indigenous workers. Policy discussions about closing this gap have often highlighted education, training and skills development as important pathways to employment.

But what happens when people acquire the necessary qualifications, submit applications and still don’t receive a response?

Our new research on hiring practices in the food services industry suggests that improving access to skills and education alone doesn’t fully address employment disparities. Instead, we must also consider what happens after people acquire these qualifications: how employers evaluate, select and ultimately reject or advance job applicants.

Our findings reveal that Indigenous job seekers can face barriers at the very point of entry into the workforce, where decisions are shaped not only by qualifications and experience but also by perceptions of identity and workplace fit.

Discrimination in the hiring process

Public debates about Canada’s labour market often focus on labour supply: migrant worker programs, immigration and the challenges facing young workers. Less attention is paid to the experiences of Indigenous people seeking employment.

To examine these experiences, we conducted a large-scale resumé audit study of employer hiring preferences in the food services sector. We submitted more than 6,000........

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