Are we in need of our own “Rooney Rules” up here in Canada? Let me explain.

While football fans all across the United States and Canada were watching Super Bowl XLI, I was making my way home on a long flight from Toronto. I used to be a Blue Bombers fan when I lived on the prairies, but my enthusiasm for the sport isn’t up to par with that of my Dad (who’s 1952 Norwood St. Boniface Legionnaires football team was inducted in Manitoba’s Sports Hall of Fame this past November, he says with a bit of pride). Hence, I never thought to schedule my flight home around the Super Bowl.

After the game, the news was filled, not only with who won, but also with highlights of the half time show (anything as shocking asJanet Jackson this year??) and all the 30 second commercials, some calling them “super ads”, that went for $2.6 million a piece.

What won’t be news is the fact that for the first time in NFL history, an African American head coach won the Super Bowl. That’s because both coaches, Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears, are Black.

Considering more than two-thirds of the players are African American, you wouldn’t think this would be such a big deal. However, in contrast, only 7 of the 32 NFL head coaches are African American (21%).

The fact that the NFL had so many African American players and so few African American coaches eventually became an issue within the sport. So in 2002, the NFL adopted the “Rooney Rule,” requiring teams to interview African American coaches when making a selection. This rule was named after the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dan Rooney, who headed up the league’s workplace diversity committee.

The sports pundits can’t say with any certainty that the rule actually lead to the hiring of more African American coaches, but it appears that the league has taken it seriously. Just months after the rule was put in place, Detroit Lions President Matt Millen was fined $200,000 for not interviewing any “minority” candidates before hiring coach Steve Mariucci.

Why is it that in a league with so many African American players, there is a need for some kind of special action or “rule” in order to ensure equality is part of the process? In the States, at least, hasn’t that day come and gone? With more than four decades of affirmative action, you’d think there’s no need.

However, in the States, just as in Canada, unfortunately there are still times we have to take special measures just to ensure there is equality.

It was the late American President Lyndon B. Johnson, when speaking at Howard University in 1965, who said, “You do not take a person who for years, has been hobbled by chains, and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, ‘You are free to compete with all the others,’ and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.”

All too often I hear from Canadians who look like me (White and of European descent) that everything is fine, we get to pat ourselves on the back, and say we’ve come a long way. In fact, I often hear that things have gone way too far and white people like me are being discriminated against. While there clearly have been some significant strides made, we still have a long way to go and there’s more need for our own Rooney Rules than one would think.

In Canada, the vast majority of new immigrants are dark skinned, as our country takes in people who represent the world. By world standards, I’m a “visible minority” and as such fewer people who look like me are coming to Canada.

And yet, study after survey, after study, continues to show that while immigrants have more education and experience than Canadian born workers, there is still something holding people back. Language is one barrier and Canadian experience accounts for others, but those excuses will only go so far. And when it comes to equality for Aboriginal Canadians, those excuses don’t even apply.

There are loads of reasons why equality is elusive – and not all of them are insidious. Getting out of a cycle is not that easy and if you mingle and schmooze with people who are similar to you, then you have to make a special effort to break that cycle.

Here are some suggestions:

The market won’t take care of everything
We’d like to think that the “market” will be the great equalizer, but that’s not going to be the case. There are tonnes of regulations throughout all kinds of industries to level the business playing field, as opposed to just letting things happen. The same is true for the employment market. Get into the mind set of “what is needed to truly level the playing field?”

Strive for equality, but don’t be shocked when you haven’t achieved it
Who wants to think of oneself as a “bigot” or “prejudiced”? No one, and yet if we think we don’t have any biases, stereotypes, or prejudices, then we’re ignoring reality. I have stereotypes popping into my head all the time and I have to catch myself and think “despite this, am I giving this person a fair shake?”

Ask people affected
When the time is right and you have created trust, ask a person about barriers and be truly open to listening. If your response is “oh, that’s just Stephen, he doesn’t mean anything by it” or “don’t take it personally” then there’s little chance dialogue will lead to real understanding.

Don’t assume you need a fire
You may not even see the smoke before the fire. Our system in Canada is basically complaint driven and most people know when they complain (formally or informally) this will have an impact on their career. There may be all kinds of things smoldering and if you wait for someone to yell “fire”, you may be too late. Be pro-active. Don’t wait for something to happen.

Oh, and by the way, congratulations to Tony Dungy and his Colts.

Stephen

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Stephen Hammond, B.A, LL.B, CSP, is a speaker, trainer and author working in the field of workplace human rights. Articles, tips and his books Managing Human Rights At Work: 101 Practical Tips to Prevent Human Rights Disasters and Steps in the Rights Direction: 365 human rights celebrations and tragedies that inspired Canada and the world are available on his website www.stephenhammond.ca. Contact Stephen at 866-685-8338 or stephen@stephenhammond.ca