Mapping Workplace Racism in Canada
A Community-Driven AI Platform Grounded in Ontario
TEAM
Canada: Christo El Morr (PI), Rachel Gorman (Co-PI), Ethel Tungohan (Co-Applicant), Yvonne Simpson (Co-Applicant), Elisha Lim (Co-Applicant), Yee Ling Elene Lam (Co-Applicant)
Community Partners: Valentina Al Hamouche (VCA Education), Berivan Sarikaya (OCASI), Demar Hewitt (BLAC)
Research Assistants: TBD
Community Partners: Valentina Al Hamouche (VCA Education), Berivan Sarikaya (OCASI), Demar Hewitt (BLAC)
Research Assistants: TBD
Project
This project develops Canada’s first national, community-governed platform for documenting and analyzing intersectional experiences of workplace racism, with initial implementation in Ontario. Positioned at the intersection of critical race studies, artificial intelligence, and organizational policy research, the project combines narrative storytelling methods with equity-focused AI analytics to examine how racism is experienced, represented, and addressed across workplaces and public discourse.
The research will create a secure repository of anonymized narratives collected from racialized individuals, centering lived experience as a primary source of knowledge production. Using community co-design approaches, the project will develop an AI-driven analytical framework based on large language models (LLMs) to identify recurring themes, intersectional patterns, and systemic forms of discrimination while prioritizing interpretability, fairness, and ethical oversight. In parallel, the project will conduct comparative analyses between personal narratives and mainstream media representations of workplace racism to investigate how public discourse shapes visibility, legitimacy, and policy responses.
Methodologically, the project advances qualitative and participatory research by integrating narrative inquiry with community-governed AI systems. It also contributes to emerging scholarship on responsible AI by demonstrating how machine learning tools can be designed to support equity-centered social analysis rather than reproduce dominant biases.
The project will generate evidence-based dashboards and policy frameworks to support anti-racism interventions across workplaces, public institutions, and community organizations. The resulting public platform will provide accessible tools for policymakers, NGOs, employers, advocates, and researchers to monitor trends, identify systemic barriers, and inform tailored anti-racism strategies. By centering racialized communities in both governance and knowledge production, the project aims to strengthen accountability, public understanding, and institutional capacity to address workplace racism in Canada.
The research will create a secure repository of anonymized narratives collected from racialized individuals, centering lived experience as a primary source of knowledge production. Using community co-design approaches, the project will develop an AI-driven analytical framework based on large language models (LLMs) to identify recurring themes, intersectional patterns, and systemic forms of discrimination while prioritizing interpretability, fairness, and ethical oversight. In parallel, the project will conduct comparative analyses between personal narratives and mainstream media representations of workplace racism to investigate how public discourse shapes visibility, legitimacy, and policy responses.
Methodologically, the project advances qualitative and participatory research by integrating narrative inquiry with community-governed AI systems. It also contributes to emerging scholarship on responsible AI by demonstrating how machine learning tools can be designed to support equity-centered social analysis rather than reproduce dominant biases.
The project will generate evidence-based dashboards and policy frameworks to support anti-racism interventions across workplaces, public institutions, and community organizations. The resulting public platform will provide accessible tools for policymakers, NGOs, employers, advocates, and researchers to monitor trends, identify systemic barriers, and inform tailored anti-racism strategies. By centering racialized communities in both governance and knowledge production, the project aims to strengthen accountability, public understanding, and institutional capacity to address workplace racism in Canada.
Publications
NA