Bias-Free or Biased Hiring? Racialized Teachers’ Perspectives on Educational Hiring Practices in Ontario

Oct 15, 2026

This paper argues that despite Ontario’s equity and inclusion policies promoting “bias-free” hiring to diversify teacher demographics, teachers across the province do not mirror the identities and proportions of the student population. Framed as the teacher diversity gap, the analysis uses a literature review and interviews with 10 educators to critique how “bias-free” narratives foreground individual merit while maintaining a predominantly White teacher workforce, sidelining systemic racism and other structural barriers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Teacher-to-student representation and equity questions

Defining key terms: racialized people and poverty

Persistent non-diverse hiring and regional inequality

Bias-Free or Biased Hiring? Racialized Teachers’ Perspectiveson Educational Hiring Practices in Ontario Zuhra Abawia & Ardavan Eizadiradb a Niagara University, bWilfrid Laurier University Abstract This paper argues that while Ontario has witnessed an onslaught of equity and inclusion educational policies aimed at diversifying teacher demographics via “bias-free” hiring practices, teachers across the province do not equitably reflect the identities and demographics of the student population. We, the authors, refer to this as the teacher diversity gap which refers to the discrepancy in the proportion of racialized teachers to racialized students (Hrabowski & Sanders, 2014; Turner, 2014, 2015). Through a literature review and the accompanying responses of 10 educators interviewed, this article critiques the dominant narrative associated with the benefits of “bias-free” hiring practices embedded in equity and inclusive policies (James & Turner, 2017; Ryan, Pollock, & Antonelli, 2009) arguing that the teacher workforce has remained predominantly White and unadaptive in terms of representation with the increasingly minoritized student population. The authors further argue that bias-free hiring is a prime example of colour-blind racism (Bonilla-Silva, 2006; Zembylas, 2003) claiming to select candidates based on their individual merit and ability, simultaneously dismissing discussions about systemic racism and other barriers embedded within existing hierarchical educational policies and practices. Keywords: racialization, bias-free hiring, teacher diversity gap, colour-blind racism Introduction The City of Toronto’s motto is “Diversity Our Strength” seeking to capitalize on the notion that, as a socio-spatial location, it is the most diverse city in the world having representation from over 100 countries and nearly 50 percent of the resident’s first language(s) being something other than English (City of Toronto, 2019, para. 7). In this paper, we are exploring whether such strength in diversity is equitably represented within the teacher workforce when observing the teacher-to-student demographics in school settings. Beyond exclusively looking at outcomes in terms of representation, we seek to examine the complexities, contradictions, and nuances involved in trying to secure a permanent full-time teaching position with benefits. Hence, the question,“What are the experiences of Ontario teachers when seeking employment in publicly-funded school boards?” with a key focus on race as a key tenant of our study. According to a United Way report (2019) Rebalancing the Opportunity Equation released in May 2019, Young people, immigrants, racialized people, and women are seeing that their circumstances—the things about themselves that they cannot control (such as their age, immigration status, whether or not they belong to a racialized group, their gender, and even their postal code)—are barriers to their success in today’s GTA [Greater Toronto Area]. These groups have to work harder to achieve the income needed to thrive, and the situation is worse in the Toronto region than it is in the country as a whole. (p. 5) Non-diverse hiring practices is a trend that has persisted, even now in 2019,“whereby immigrants and racialized groups are so clearly being left behind compared to white and Canadian-born groups, demonstrat[ing] that contrary to our claims, we have made diversity a barrier” rather than a strength (United Way, 2019, para. 11). The Greater Toronto Area (GTA), particularly the City of Toronto, is currently ranked as the income inequality capital of Canada as income disparities between racialized and non-racialized people stand at 26%(Toronto Child and Family Poverty Report,2018; United Way, 2019). The findings from the aforementioned reports are based on micro-data released from the 2016 Canadian Census (Monsebraaten, 2019). It is important to operationalize some of the terms that are constantly used throughout th

FAQs

What does the paper mean by the “teacher diversity gap”?

It refers to the discrepancy between the proportion of racialized teachers and the proportion of racialized students in Ontario, highlighting unequal representation.

How does the paper evaluate “bias-free” hiring practices?

It critiques dominant claims that “bias-free” hiring improves representation by emphasizing individual merit, arguing that the teacher workforce remains predominantly White and unadaptive to changing student demographics.

Why does the paper focus on race and employment experiences for Ontario teachers?

The study centers on the experiences of Ontario teachers seeking employment in publicly funded school boards, with race treated as a key element shaping hiring access and outcomes.

Oct 15, 2026

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