Visions Journal

Equity for immigrants

Vishad Deeplaul, MGC

Reprinted from the Is It Safe to Be Me? Creating inclusive and accessible workspaces issue of Visions Journal, 2024, 20 (1), pp. 33-34

My husband and I come from the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. We met 24 years ago and are together and married 21 years. We have a son who'll be 13 this November. We had him via surrogacy in South Africa. Immigration was not something we ever considered. I'm fourth-generation South African. We were established individuals. You have all your support system, all your people.

Still, we could see that South Africa was becoming more dangerous, crime-wise. Politically, there was a decline. We wondered: when our son was at the age to either study or get into the workforce, would there be opportunities for him? We wanted a better life for him.

We immigrated in 2017 to Coquitlam. Irshad, my husband, was offered a job in Vancouver. My son and I followed three months later. We wanted good schools, a good community.

Immigration is only for the very brave. The first two years were very difficult. The sense of community was the biggest piece missing.

Entering a workforce without supports

My son was five and I needed to find a job as quickly as possible. I was turning 40 and very confident. But that confidence soon was taken away. Everybody asked for Canadian experience. How would you have Canadian experience when you haven't lived here?

One day, I went into a furniture store just to look. The manager offered me a job because I spoke about the struggles of not being able to find one. I worked 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday, then on the weekend I'd do a full shift. I was very appreciative for the work, but it also affects you when you're educated or have international experience and it isn't recognized. We all need to start somewhere, but I think as an immigrant it's harder.

Not finding work brings stress, and then when you do get it, it's different. In working hard to prove yourself, you neglect yourself, your mental health. It impacts your home and family. I eventually got alopecia, where your hair falls out. I didn't want to come across as ungrateful. But clearly it had an effect, not only mentally but physically.

As immigrants, you don't have the tools to navigate this space. You worry when you ask questions: are you going to offend somebody? I felt incredibly isolated because I'm such a people person.

Feeling the mental health impacts

I can't remember any supports for immigrants. Workplaces didn't have that. There was no understanding that I might need a day off because of a cultural celebration. When I worked in retail, there were no initiatives for people to meet your family, spouse or kid.

Through a conversation back in South Africa, my dad introduced me to his friend's daughter, who works for Anxiety Canada. She was our support. She shared the MindShift® CBT app with me and told me how to use it to calm myself down. It really was a big help.

In my home country, going for therapy and getting support is shunned. I think we have to show new immigrants there's nothing wrong with it. It's a powerful tool. The other big help was my son. When you immigrate with kids, you're forced to settle very quickly. You want them to be comfortable. So I joined the school parent advisory council (PAC). The PAC was made up of seven individuals from seven different countries, all immigrants. We were each other's support system. And we still are today.

Changing the workplace

Where we are today in workplace culture is very different. Creating workplaces where we are included and voices and diversity are celebrated is what I get to do in my work with the City of Burnaby. Knowing, as an immigrant, what it is to experience those feelings, I make sure we push an equity agenda forward. I don't want anyone to ever feel unheard.

We did a cultural assessment at the City of Burnaby. This showed us the demographic landscape of the city. We wanted that information so we could support our staff. From that, we created engagement initiatives. We have cultural celebrations, like Lunar New Year, Diwali and Nowruz. We aim for pride in the workplace.

If I could make magical wishes for what workplaces should be, one of the biggest is realizing the value of lived experience. You can have the most amazing mind working for you, but if you're not creating opportunities for staff to give you feedback, you don't know that value. When you do, automatically, you have somebody feeling more included.

Some people feel that a master's or PhD from a developing country is not as credible as a degree from Canada. It's such a silly belief. That's why immigrants are probably going to feel undervalued and permanently chase feeling valued again. We need mental health resources, policies, education and programming pieces. We must create opportunities for staff to get to know each other's backgrounds.

We held a welcoming week in September last year. We reached out to staff who felt comfortable to share their stories as newer immigrants. It was so great to read. When you take these opportunities, you go in depth. This is a person, that's their spouse, that's their kids.

Progress towards equity for all

I still get folks asking me, "So tell me where you're from?" I say I'm from Burke Mountain, in Coquitlam. I think we can get to more respectful language, with education and resources for folks who are not immigrants.

Currently I'm studying because my workplace gave me that opportunity. It's going to help me grow. I feel more connected with my workplace, but also more commitment, because they've shown that commitment back to me.

When I describe myself now, I say I'm a South African–Canadian. The seven years I've been here have made me very proud to be an immigrant. The initial struggles make you stronger. And I love supporting other newer immigrants so they know it's going to be OK. It's going to be OK.

Related Resources

To learn more about the MindShift® CBT app, visit: anxietycanada.com/resources/mindshift-cbt