Looking for a job in the food service industry? Your race, immigration status and appearance could decide

When it comes to job applications, Siham Hagi Hussein says she feels lucky she was born in Canada and speaks without a distinct accent, but she thinks her name may have had an effect sometimes.

"Just because my name is uncommon, it can deter hiring managers from hiring me," the graduate student at the University of Regina said.

As a former service industry worker, Hussein said that when she would be looking for employment, she used to hand in her resume in person so that the hiring staff could get to know her "a little bit more and not just base likeability or hire-ability off of the name."

Hussein's instincts were probably right. A forthcoming study has found that hiring bias exists for many managers, with a candidate's race, country of origin, immigration status, Indigeneity, gender and physical appearance being among the deciding factors.

The forthcoming research in the Economic and Labour Relations Review found that many hiring managers have set ideas about an ideal employee.

CBC News previewed the research, which was based on 92 interviews carried out between 2021 and 2022 among business owners, employment agency representatives, union representatives, hiring managers and individuals who had been employed as food service workers in Saskatchewan and Ontario. 

The study provides a useful snapshot into what could be Canada-wide trends.

Hussein contributed as a research assistant, connecting some of her old colleagues with the study. 

"After listening to my colleagues or other workers within the city, it was really obvious that these experiences of mine weren't unique and they are almost universal to all people of colour working in food service," she said. "It was almost therapeutic."

Ishema Mwunvaneza understands the situation all too well. 

He has worked as a bartender and server for eight years at five different bars in Regina. He said he has never had an interview, always getting hired "just through word of mouth."

"The numbers still don't lie … white people front of the house, brown people in the kitchen and then black people were the bouncers on the weekend," he said.

Mwunvaneza said even in the most progressive workplaces, he has seen similar workplace patterns. On many occasions, he said he has been the only racialized person among the front-facing staff. 

"In my eight years bartending, I've only worked with one other person of African descent in front of the house," he said.