New Poll Says Newcomers Outpace Canadian-Born In Saving Their Money | Link Newspaper

2015/03/05 Leave a comment

Not completely surprising given the risks newcomers take coming to Canada and likely the savings culture that they bring with them. Nice counterpart to the Grubel and Grady studies arguing immigrants are a drain on the economy:

Half (50 per cent) of  those who have lived in Canada for five years or less, say they save more than 10 per cent of their income, compared with 19 per cent of those born in Canada. Only two per cent of newcomers said they save less than one per cent of their income, whereas 28 per cent of those born in Canada make this claim. The research is based on poll respondents who reside in British Columbia or Ontario, two provinces that attract many newcomers.

“Newcomers have a healthy approach to saving, and regardless of income, seem to have a greater focus on putting money away,” says Christine Shisler, Director, Client Strategy, RBC. “While balancing a new life in Canada, newcomers place a priority on savings and financial planning – a solid start to their journey in a new country.”

According to the research, newcomers and those who are Canadian-born share common financial goals for the next five years, such as having enough money to cover daily expenses (77 per cent of newcomers, 75 per cent of Canadian-born) and saving for retirement (67 per cent and 59 per cent respectively). Both groups also aim to pay down non-mortgage debt (52 per cent versus 54 per cent).

While both prioritize saving money to cover daily expenses as a primary goal, the two groups differ when it comes to their financial behaviour:

Not only do newcomers save more of their income, they also have very different savings goals. Newcomers are more likely to place a priority on starting a small business (41 per cent) and education for their children (61 per cent) than Canadian-born respondents (9 per cent and 21 per cent respectively).

New Poll Says Newcomers Outpace Canadian-Born In Saving Their Money | Link Newspaper.

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ICYMI: Moving past diversity: RBC’s journey to rid its upper ranks of ‘unconscious bias’

2015/02/04 Leave a comment

Good interview with outgoing RBC CEO Gord Nixon and taking diversity and inclusion to the next level and making people aware of unconscious bias. Well worth reading:

Diversity is about mix. Inclusion is really putting that mix to work for you. This unconscious-bias work, when we started last year, we had (esteemed scholar and co-author of Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People) Dr. Mahzarin Binaji come and speak with our senior leadership team and other employees. We really felt it was the next frontier of this work — trying to get to the more subtle issues and the more politically incorrect or more difficult to speak about (because bias is not an easy thing to talk about). We are working to really get people to become self-aware. And I think along with that it’s also realizing that having a bias doesn’t make you a bad person. We all have them. What’s important is recognizing them and then looking for ways to actually mitigate those biases. We’re doing this in a number of different ways. One is just for individuals — influential individuals (people who make important decision in the company). We really had a lot of our senior people go through this awareness building. I hear leaders say, “I was putting together a team to be working with this important client and as I was looking at people I was going to select, I realized that I was actually looking for somebody like me.” That’s often what your natural bias is.

I think maybe to provide a very practical example. Sometimes you find people assuming that a woman with young children won’t accept a promotion that involves travel because you heard about some woman who did it. The answer there is, don’t assume that. Ask the woman if she is interested in being a candidate for a role that involves travel. Our assumptions and our biases get us there automatically. Or, you think, “This is a new immigrant and why is it relevant to understand how they do banking in a different country?”. Actually, it’s very relevant because we have new immigrants coming to this country and understanding how they do banking allows us to serve them better. So, those are the practical aspects, practical issues that we try to address when they actually happen by having good processes.

You need somebody else to be there and stop you and say, “Hey, I think we might have a bias here” and by making this a more common language in our organization — by talking about it and by having the sessions — it gives you permission to have those conversations and it just makes it easier to go there where sometimes you’re not sure or you don’t want to offend people. This just makes it part of how we do business.

Moving past diversity: RBC’s journey to rid its upper ranks of ‘unconscious bias’ | Financial Post.

The report, by RBC and EY, also well worth reading:

Outsmarting our brains: Overcoming hidden biases to harness diversity’s true potential 

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Toronto is diverse but not as inclusive as it could be: Goar

2014/07/10 1 Comment

Carol Goar on diversity and inclusion, using the United Way keynote speech by Zabeen Hirji to frame her piece:

“Having diversity is interesting,” said Zabeen Hirji, chief human resources officer for the Royal Bank non-commitally. “It’s when you do something with it that it becomes powerful.”

She had put her finger on one of the biggest challenges facing this city: moving from diversity to inclusion.

As a woman, an Ismaili Muslim and an immigrant from Tanzania, Hirji is acutely aware of the difference. Many Torontonians are not.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the United Way of Toronto, Hirji was careful not to offend the business leaders in the room. Eighty per cent of the charity’s funds come from the corporate sector in direct donations and employee payroll contributions. But she made it clear that diversity — which Toronto has in abundance — is simply a description of the city’s talent pool. Inclusion is the act of tapping into the whole pool — not just the top layer — and mixing people from disparate cultures, backgrounds and generations together in a way that allows them to combine their strengths.

On that score, Toronto doesn’t do as well. Very few immigrants — who make up 46 per cent of the city’s population — hold senior positions in business, politics or civil society. Racialized Torontonians — as they call themselves — are disproportionately poor, underemployed and socially isolated.

Many influential Torontonians who could reach out — corporate CEOs, political leaders and heads of major public institutions — don’t; or don’t do it effectively. Many immigrants and their descendents in turn, live in ethnic enclaves, work for employers from their country of origin and socialize among themselves.

Hirji wasn’t there to preach. Her primary message was that harnessing the talent and energy of young people, newcomers, members of First Nations, gays and lesbians and other minorities is good for business and good for the city. She offered three tips, drawn from her 13 years spearheading RBC’s drive to make its workforce a better reflection of the population: Start with a clear commitment from the top, develop an explicit plan and get buy-in from all employees.

It was the right approach for a breakfast speech to the United Way. But it will take more than an upbeat sales pitch to identify and dismantle the barriers that hold non-white Torontonians back.

Toronto is diverse but not as inclusive as it could be: Goar | Toronto Star.

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Canada must see immigration as a competitive edge – Royal Bank of Canada CEO

2014/05/13 Leave a comment

Strong message on immigration, diversity and inclusion from the CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada, Gordon Nixon:

Our diverse population is only an advantage to the extent we are inclusive. Full inclusion means everyone feels enabled to bring their perspectives, knowledge and experiences to the table. Diversity, together with inclusion, plays a central role in driving productivity, innovation and growth.

We are building the next phase in the growth of our great country in an era of economic interdependence, shifting demographics and wars for talent. A work force with global experience is a competitive advantage. International experience is an asset to business. Too often, we hear that newcomers with no Canadian experience would be hard to fit into the Canadian work force. In truth, international experiences relate directly to the modern Canadian context.

Business leaders – no matter the size of the company or the industry – should play an active part. A simple place to start is in guiding your company to increase diversity and to be inclusive. We all have and are impacted by systemic and unconscious biases; rather than acting as if they don’t exist, we must find ways to identify them and develop strategies to compensate for them.

Canada must see immigration as a competitive edge – The Globe and Mail.

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“Hidden” opportunity for organizations to build more diverse teams

2013/11/20 Leave a comment

Good piece by RBC and Ernst & Young on unconscious bias in organizations and how this affects staff development. Summary of recommendations:

The report suggests some of the following questions for leaders to ask themselves to help identify unintentional biases:

  • Who do I take to important client or cross-team meetings?
  • Who do I encourage to lead or speak out at meetings? Am I creating opportunities for those less extroverted to demonstrate their capabilities equally to clients or other colleagues?
  • Do I typically hire the same type of person, or personality type?
  • When I say a candidate is not the right “fit”, what do I mean?

rbc.com – RBC – Media Newsroom.

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