New research shows more anti-racism work needed

Press Release

May 30, 2025

VICTORIA – Key findings from three research priorities identified by B.C.’s Anti-Racism Data Committee reveal the need for greater equity and diversity within the BC Public Service, some progress has been made in representation to appointments on B.C.’s agencies, boards and commissions, and pay differences between racialized and white workers in B.C.’s private and public sectors.

“To address systemic racism in provincial government policies, programs and services, it’s crucial that we focus on research areas that matter most to Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities,” said George Chow, Minister of Citizens’ Services. “I would like to thank Indigenous partners and the Anti-Racism Data Committee (ARDC) for their tireless work to help the Province identify and understand where people are experiencing barriers accessing services — in partnership with them, we can meaningfully tackle issues of systemic racism with active solutions.”

The Anti-Racism Data Act came into effect in 2022 and requires the Province to publish statistics and other information regarding systemic racism and racial equity by June 1 each year. The act also requires the Province to identify research priorities every two years. Research priorities were set in 2023 and updated priorities were released on Friday, May 30, 2025.

“In these challenging times where other governments are removing diversity initiatives, British Columbia remains committed to doing what’s right and working to level the playing field for racialized and Indigenous people,” said Jessie Sunner, parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives. “The findings of this research are essential to that work and will influence the development of the Anti-Racism Action Plan that is currently underway. We will continue to lift people up so they can build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities.”

This is the third release under the act. This year’s key findings include:

Racial diversity and equity in the BC Public Service

• Indigenous and racialized employees continue to be under-represented in the BC Public Service in leadership roles and overall.
• Many racialized groups are also over-represented in lower-level and non-permanent positions.

Representation on provincial boards

• Government has made progress in the representation of racialized people on provincially nominated boards and Crown agencies.
• First Nations and Métis people are represented among appointees at a similar level to their share in the B.C. population.
• However, some Indigenous and racialized communities, along with other equity-deserving groups, continue to face barriers to civic participation, and those living in rural and remote areas may still be under-represented.

Economic inclusion

• In nine of 26 occupation groups, racialized workers in B.C. earned significantly less on average than white workers, even after accounting for differences in age, gender, education and being born in Canada.
• In six occupations, racialized people with the same education level as white workers did not see higher levels of education linked to higher earnings. These findings challenge a common assumption that more education will always translate into more pay.
• It’s important to note that not all occupations have similar earnings gaps and to look at each occupation individually.

Government is addressing these challenges by:

• conducting research with Indigenous and racialized employees within BC Public Service to understand their lived experience and inform actions to remove barriers to hiring and career growth;
• continued focus on anti-racism learning and supporting career development, and increased representation within the public service;
• adjusting recruitment strategies to enhance representation on B.C.’s agencies, boards and commissions; and
• broadening economic-inclusion research to include feedback from Indigenous and racialized communities.

The Province worked in collaboration with the Anti-Racism Data Committee and in consultation with Indigenous Peoples to set research priorities for 2025-27. Priorities are meant to help steer the Province toward research that identifies systemic barriers and requires action to advance racial equity. Priorities also help focus research on the areas that matter most to Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities.

Themes of the 2025-27 priorities include: health and wellness, education, housing, racial equity within the BC Public Service, justice system and community safety, sports and economic inclusion.

Quotes:

June Francis, chair, Anti-Racism Data Committee —

“We cannot fix what we do not understand. Dismantling systemic racism requires us to truly understand the barriers that Indigenous, Black and racialized people face. By working with communities to understand their experiences and to put research behind it allows us to advocate and amplify our voices – data and research supports community empowerment. With the release of updated research priorities, we are steering the B.C. government to take a deeper dive into health, education and justice, yet we also expect these will trigger an all-of-government approach, as we know inequities remain in many other areas. We trust these data and the research priorities will catalyze the B.C. government to take urgent and intentional actions to address the inequities that are being made transparent, and to focus more research in priority areas to deliver real and lasting change for the many people in British Columbia who face racism and discrimination each and every day. This new release of research findings increases the Province’s understanding of what Indigenous and racialized people have been saying for many years – government programs are not serving people equitably.”

Michael Suedfeld, lands manager, Skawahlook First Nation —

“It’s encouraging to see the Province finally taking steps to look at long-standing issues, such as public-sector employment and civic participation. Over the coming years, we hope to see government continue to tackle topics that are front of mind for members of the Skawahlook Nation, including health and mental-health outcomes, housing, the justice system and Declaration Act Action Plan commitments. We look forward to being part of this conversation.”

Susie Hooper, Minister of Citizenship, Métis Nation British Columbia —

“Research from the 2023-2025 priorities highlighted barriers for Métis people in health care and advancing careers in the BC Public Service. These updated priorities provide an opportunity to broaden the research focus to consider key concerns for our government, including improving health and well-being, especially for those in care, and reducing barriers experienced by Métis students. We look forward to continued participation in these dialogues to shape future research in partnership with the provincial Ministry of Citizens’ Services.”

Learn More:

To learn more about the Anti-Racism Data Act, view the research findings and actions to date, visit: https://antiracism.gov.bc.ca/

To learn more about the Declaration Act Action Plan, visit: https://declaration.gov.bc.ca/declaration-act-action-plan/

Three backgrounders follow.

Contact:

Ministry of Citizens’ Services
Media Relations
250 896-2057

BACKGROUNDER 1

Research priorities for 2025-27

The 2025-27 research priorities were developed in collaboration with the Anti-Racism Data Committee and in consultation with Indigenous Peoples.

To create these priorities, Indigenous Peoples and the Anti-Racism Data Committee reflected on feedback, reports and recommendations gathered from partners, community members and advocates over the past few years. Many research priorities for 2025-27 build upon previous priorities and calls to action. This reflects the persistent and pressing nature of these issues and their historical and continued impact on racialized communities and the rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples in B.C.

Indigenous Peoples

The 2025-27 research priorities reflect the common themes heard from Indigenous Peoples who participated in the consultation and co-operation process. They do not reflect all of the distinct and unique issues of systemic racism facing First Nations, Métis and Inuit people throughout B.C. The research priorities are:

• understanding systemic racism related to health and well-being for First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples, as well as access to and experiences in health care;
• understanding education outcomes and systemic barriers for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students from early childhood to post-secondary;
• looking at the interconnected factors that affect safety and well-being, including housing, environment, public transportation, justice and community safety, economic inclusion and food security; and
• support for Action 3.14 of B.C.’s Declaration Act Action Plan to advance Indigenous data sovereignty and self-determination.

Anti-Racism Data Committee

The nine research priorities identified by the Anti-Racism Data Committee for 2025-27 are:

• racial equity within the BC Public Service, including assessing diversity and equity in recruitment, retention and career advancement across the B.C. government and broader public service;
• inequities Indigenous and racialized people face in B.C.’s justice system, including community safety and law enforcement;
• understanding the health and well-being of Indigenous and racialized people and their experiences using the health-care system;
• understanding the impact of systemic racism on students’ experience and education outcomes, from early childhood to post-secondary;
• examining the well-being of Indigenous and racialized children, youth and families in care, including looking at systemic racism in the child welfare system;
• looking at systemic inequities Indigenous and racialized people face in employment and income;
• understanding systemic inequities in access to housing, precarious and inadequate housing, and homelessness;
• understanding systemic racism in access to sports and the impact on youth well-being; and
• data availability and data sharing across government, including identifying and assessing what data exists, what is lacking and what barriers exist to accessing government data.

Contact:

Ministry of Citizens’ Services
Media Relations
250 896-2057

BACKGROUNDER 2

Anti-Racism Data Act progress

Since June 2022, the Ministry of Citizens’ Services has introduced initiatives related to the identification and elimination of systemic racism under the Anti-Racism Data Act. Some of these include:

• The Anti-Racism Data Act was informed by feedback from more than 13,000 people in British Columbia through engagement with Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities, and this information continues to shape the implementation of the act.
• The Anti-Racism Data Committee was established in September 2022 and is made up of 11 members that represent a cross-section of racialized communities and geographic regions of B.C. The committee offers expert guidance to the Province in implementing Anti-Racism Data Act.
• In May 2023, anti-racism research priorities for 2023-25 were developed in collaboration with the Anti-Racism Data Committee and Indigenous Peoples. The research priorities help ensure that the Province is focused on research areas that matter most to Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities.
• In 2023, the B.C. Demographic Survey was launched. The survey included questions related to race, ethnicity, ancestry and other areas of identity. Information collected was combined with information already held by government, to help identify areas where people were not getting equitable services.
• To help mitigate harm to communities, the Province developed mandatory anti-racism in research training and put in place other requirements for researchers doing anti-racism research in the Data Innovation Program.
• In May 2024, the Ministry of Citizens’ Services published several reports under the Anti-Racism Data Act, including a summary report on the B.C. Demographic Survey and research related to three priority areas (education, health and racial diversity in the BC Public Service).
• The Ministry of Citizens’ Services is developing two new data standards: one regarding Indigenous identity and a second on racial identity to collect consistent and culturally safe information that accurately reflects the identities of people in B.C.
• The Ministry of Citizens’ Services holds monthly meetings with Indigenous Peoples to discuss issues and opportunities related to Indigenous data governance and engage on the implementation of the Anti-Racism Data Act.
• The Ministry of Citizens’ Services is working closely with leaders from First Nations Leadership Council to support the creation of a First Nations-led Regional Information Governance Centre. This work is supported under the Declaration Act action plan and is one of the 2023-25 research priorities set by Indigenous Peoples.

Contact:

Ministry of Citizens’ Services
Media Relations
250 896-2057

BACKGROUNDER 3

Broader government actions help combat racism

In recent years, the Province of B.C. has introduced a number of initiatives designed to combat racism, including:

• introducing the Anti-Racism Act and the Anti-Racism Data Act, to address systemic racism in provincial government policies, programs and services;
• establishing a new racist-incident-support help line that can provide trauma-informed, multilingual services to witnesses or victims of hate and make it easier for them to find support;
• supporting marginalized and at-risk groups with funding for security equipment, graffiti removal and repairs to damaged property through an anti-hate community support fund;
• implementing the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan provincewide, from kindergarten through Grade 12;
• launching the Safer Communities Action Plan, a comprehensive, across-government plan to make B.C. safer for all, including key actions to tackle incidents of hate or discrimination;
• opening Indigenous Justice Centres in partnership with BC First Nations Justice Council, which provide culturally appropriate information, advice, support and representation directly to Indigenous people at the community level;
• using proceeds from assets forfeited by the Civil Forfeiture Office to support community safety and crime prevention initiatives, including anti-racism/hate programs;
• helping community organizations reduce systemic racism and hate incidents through annual multiculturalism and anti-racism grants;
• consulting with Indigenous governing bodies on how to include Indigenous languages names in government systems and official records to enhance access to services;
• establishing a new Indigenous languages technology standard to ensure that all new investments into government information technology systems will have the technology necessary to support Indigenous languages;
• recognizing Indigenous languages within government operations through the Indigenous languages technology standard;
• offering translation services in more than 200 languages through the Service BC provincial contact centre;
• through B.C.’s Digital Plan, supporting ministries with research to identify service gaps and to adopt a service design approach across government that will help make services more inclusive and accessible for everyone;
• reinstating the B.C. human rights commissioner, who produced the Grandmother Perspective report that highlighted the importance of collecting disaggregated race-based data, and the From Hate to Hope report that highlighted experiences of racial hate in British Columbia during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• introducing pay-transparency legislation to help address the gender pay gap in B.C., which is higher for Indigenous, racialized and newcomer women; and
• instituting a gender-based violence action plan to help prevent and respond to gender-based violence and ensure survivors of violence can access the care and supports they need. Indigenous women and girls, other racialized people, immigrants, 2SLGBTQIA+ people and those with disabilities are especially targeted with violence.

Contact:

Ministry of Citizens’ Services
Media Relations
250 896-2057

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