Universities: Will centuries of discrimination be replaced in ten years?

The 30-year-old, who holds a post-doctorate in biology, who sees his career as a white man losing his job in academia, has questioned the relevance of correcting centuries of discrimination in just ten years with “perverse effects.” Can cause.

Also read: Whites were barred from UL calls for applications

The man we call Simon, refuses to be identified without interfering with his job search efforts. Finished postdock four years ago. Since then, he has seen many job opportunities away from him due to equity, diversity and inclusion policies in the academy.

“The window of my possibilities is closing. It is not very available anymore and it is becoming very complicated, ”he said.

Opportunities are also closing in on the Federal Public Service. Last year, researcher positions in Environment and Climate Change Canada were posted. Simon’s candidacy was not selected for interview. She later explained that only female candidates were selected for representation and equity reasons.

Simon is well aware that this is a “highly sensitive” issue and fully shares the goal of a more equal and inclusive society. However, he wonders about the deadline for federal goals and the ways in which they can be achieved.

“There is a significant social benefit, but there is also a very significant personal expense that I am currently experiencing,” he says.

The goals of the federal program in the university environment are gender equality and the equal representation of other low-representation groups in the ten-year horizon.

“I understand the problem, but how quickly do you have to turn the boat around? Discrimination has been around for centuries and must be resolved within ten years. We are discriminating against those who have been privileged in the past to achieve this,” he said.

Michelin Labelle, Professor Emeritus at Sociology at UQAM, disagrees with the establishment of “quotas” in the university environment because such a measure would have a negative impact on young whites.

“It develops a sense of anger and injustice in them, it only divides them,” she lamented.

At Laval University, whites were excluded from certain calls for candidates, assuming that correcting past inequalities would be justified by favoring individuals from historically discriminated groups.