Report details anti-Black racism in the public service, calls for commissioner [Video]

A government-funded report says Black executives within the public service are subjected to harassment and intimidation, career stagnation, unjust workloads and, as one executive wrote, a “cesspool of racism.”

Lawyer Rachel Zellars, who authored the report for the Black Executives Network, wrote that the interviews she conducted with 73 participants were the “most distressing” she has witnessed and recorded. Of the 73 people she interviewed, 63 are current employees.

“It is my great hope that the patterns and data revealed through these career narratives provide affirmation and recognition for career Black public servants whose narratives about racist career experiences have been long dismissed as anecdotal or hysterical when they have reported anti-Black abuse,” Zellars wrote.

A majority of executives interviewed said they experienced harassment, intimidation or the threat of reputational harm from supervisors or senior leaders, with 78 per cent of Black women reporting harassment and intimidation.

“Executives encountered outright …