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The Glass Ceiling and the Sticky Floor: Immigrant Women's Struggle in the Canadian Workforce

When she arrived in Canada, she brought more than baggage; she bore a decade of experience as a civil engineer, a university degree, and the unassuming self-assurance of one who had constructed bridges, literal and figurative. But in Canada, it did not count. She was now an immigrant woman of color. And everything was different.


 The Systemic Barriers That Silenced Her Credentials

Canada boasts of being a land of opportunity, but for racialized immigrant women, the job market is too often a locked door. Her Kenyan degree was "non-equivalent," and she was informed that she would have to requalify, a costly, lengthy procedure that was tantamount to starting over.

This is not her alone. Racialized immigrant women have a triad of systemically imposed obstacles: credentialing difficulties, discrimination, and restricted occupational choices, as per the findings of Dr. Ana Ferrer (Women, Work and the Economy Research Group et al., 2024).


Even though they are well-educated, they often end up doing work that is beneath their capabilities, such as survival jobs, cleaning, caregiving, or retail. She worked as a night cleaner for an office building. Ironically, she cleaned floors in buildings that others like her engineered. With each swipe of the mop, it felt like a silent erasure of her history.

 

Language, Accent, and the Invisible Wall

She speaks fluent English. But her Kenyan accent, warm and unmistakable, became a barrier. In interviews, she saw the subtle shifts: the polite nods, the quick dismissals. “You’re so articulate,” they’d say, surprised. It was a compliment wrapped in bias. Language barriers and accent discrimination are well-documented hurdles. As noted in a SAGE Open study, immigrant women from non-Western countries often face exclusion and marginalization in Canadian workplaces, regardless of their fluency (Jagire, 2019).

 

Isolation and the Burden of Intersectionality

To be a woman, to be Black, to be an immigrant, each identity brought its own burden. Combined, they created a heavy shroud of invisibility. She attended professional organisations expecting to network, yet she was frequently the sole racialized woman in attendance. She was not viewed as an equal. She was the token diversity. Canada's immigration policies, though progressive in writing, continue to be gender-neutral, ignoring the specific needs of racialised women (Immigration, 2022). Without special assistance, such as low-cost childcare, mentorship, and recognition of qualifications, many of us remain on the fringes.

 

Organizing, Resisting, and Reclaiming Space

Later, she came across another immigrant woman, a Pakistani engineer, in a community workshop. They exchanged experiences, tears, and tricks. She was introduced to a mentorship initiative for internationally educated professionals. It was not ideal, but it was a beginning.

As underlined in Canada's policy literature, racialized immigrant women are organizing more to counteract discrimination in the workplace and to force policy change. We are not merely victims of the system; we are agents of change (Immigration, 2022).

 

 Today, She Builds Again

 

Two years of volunteering, training, and tireless effort finally paid off. She got a junior engineering job. It's not what she had in Nairobi, but it's her. And it's Canadian. She now also mentors other immigrant women. She informs them, "You are not invisible. You are not defined by your accent or color. You are brilliant and you belong."

 

If your narrative resonates with the one presented here, if you ever felt as though your degree was negated, your voice was mediated through prejudice, or your talent was overshadowed by institutional exclusion, NJCCS can help. You are not alone. You are not invisible. And your healing is important.

 

NJCCS Is Here for You

At Nada Johnson Counselling & Consultation Services (NJCCS), I realize that the work that I do and the women that I support, many of them carry the pain of migration and loss of identity in creating a new world in their host country. Through trauma-informed counselling, culturally inclusive support, and facilitated safe spaces for reflection, NJCCS assists women in breaking down the unseen weights of immigration, discrimination, and loss of identity. You, too, deserve to heal. Let me be your guide in making that happen.


You don’t have to carry the burden of invisibility or inadequacy alone. Healing is possible—and you deserve it.


With warmth,



Nada Johnson, MSW, RSW

Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist / trained Family Mediator / EMDR Trained Therapist / Certified Racial Trauma Clinician / Mental Health & Sexual Violence Consultant / Professional Speaker


Nada Johnson Consulting & Counselling Services – Online phone and video sessions available

Village Healing Centre: 240 Roncesvalles Avenue



Follow our platforms for empowering content, mental health support, and resources on healing from racial trauma. Please share this post to support others navigating the hidden wounds of colourism—they deserve care and healing too. 🤝


References

Diverse Women of Canada | Empower Diverse Women Now — Skills for Change. (n.d.). Skills for Change. https://skillsforchange.org/diverse-women-of-canada

Immigration, R. a. C. C. (2022, July 18). Racism, Discrimination, and Migrant Workers in Canada: Evidence from the Literature. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/reports-statistics/research/racism-discrimination-migrant-workers-canada-evidence-literature.html

Jagire, J. (2019). Immigrant Women and Workplace in Canada: Organizing Agents for Social Change. SAGE Open, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019853909

Women, Work and the Economy Research Group, Jezoriek, M., Ferrer, A., Drolet, M., Mardare Amini, M., Devillard, UN Women, Government of Canada, International Labour Organization, & Momani, E. Al. (2024). Advancing Equity and Inclusion: Strategies for Integrating Racialized Immigrant Women into Canada’s


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