As Canadian organizations look to make progress in addressing anti-Black racism, there is a growing opportunity for Black-owned businesses and vendors to draft contracts with companies looking to create diverse workplace cultures.

A recent KPMG survey suggests that 86 per cent of the 1,001 Black Canadians polled want more engagement and to contract with more Black-owned businesses and vendors.

The survey comes at a time when many Black-owned businesses are increasingly looking for a way out of their basement offices to land in retail spaces in commercial buildings where companies have headquarters. Whether it’s a farmer’s market or a pop-up shop, Black businesses are searching for representation in high-traffic, city-centre locations.

“The majority of Black Canadians are optimistic about corporate Canada's ability to continue to reduce systemic barriers in the workplace over the next five years, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Silvia Gonzalez-Zamora, a partner in the People and Change office and head of the inclusion and diversity at KPMG in Canada, said in a statement. “Allowing anti-Black racism to persist could cost organizations their most valuable resource — their people. Anti-Black racism is a societal problem that everyone, including organizations, must work to resolve.”

With seven in 10 Black Canadian employees, or 72 per cent, facing racism at work, the survey highlights the importance for organizations to build and reinforce a culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and respected. Gonzalez-Zamora said it's socially and economically imperative.

The survey also suggests that 89 per cent want their company to establish employee resource groups committed to advancing racial equity. Moreover, 88 per cent feel that stronger commitments and targets for hiring and promoting more Black people are needed, with clear and measurable outcomes and accountability.

Approximately five per cent of those polled were self-employed, and of the 1,001 Black Canadians surveyed, 28 per cent worked in accounting, finance, consulting, or sales and service.

Since the death of George Floyd in 2020, expectations among vendors and employees to address anti-Black racism is at an all-time high. According to the survey, more than eight in 10 (83 per cent) Black Canadians want their leaders to 'walk the talk' when it comes to creating an equitable and diverse workplace.

“While Canadian organizations have made progress in addressing anti-Black racism, it's a journey,” Tamika Mitchell, an enterprise audit senior manager at KPMG in Canada, and co-lead of the Black Professionals Network. “Corporations need to maintain the zeal they had in 2020 to put in the work required to dismantle the systemic barriers to advancement for Black professionals. Anti-racism work takes stamina; we need to keep the momentum going for sustainable change to take hold.”