Selling Diversity: Immigration, Multiculturalism, Employment Equity, and Globalization International Migration Review
Selling Diversity: Immigration, Multiculturalism, Employment Equity, and Globalization

International Migration Review, The, Winter 2003 by Wayland, Sarah V



Selling Diversity: Immigration, Multiculturalism, Employment Equity, and Globalization. By Yasemeen Abu-Ladan and Christina Gabriel. Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2002. Pp. 202. $29.95 (cloth).



The authors of this short but dense book argue that Canadian policymakers are promoting diversity for all the wrong reasons. Diversity ought to be recognized out of concerns for equality, human rights, and social justice. Instead, they argue, Canada has been "selling" diversity only where it upholds neoliberal values such as efficiency, competitiveness, and individualism. Diversity is promoted only insofar as it is good for business.



Abu-Laban and Gabriel, both political scientists, build their argument by looking at three areas of Canadian public policy: immigration (and to a lesser extent citizenship), multiculturalism, and employment equity (affirmative action). They atgue that these policy areas were created or expanded as the welfare state grew, and that they have been reconfigured and/or scaled back in response to the rise of neoliberalism in the 199Os. The authors lament the reduced role of the state in these areas, and, though not explicitly stated, share an underlying fear that Canada is losing its distinctiveness vis-avis the United States. In the concluding chapter, they discuss alternative visions of Canadian political community, including the Third Way and "globalization from below."



Selling Diversity highlights ways in which globalization impacts public policy, and how the results differ for persons according to their race, ethnicity, class, and gender. However, the authors seem to pursue two competing theses. On the one hand, they argue that things used to be better in Canada before the rise of neoliberal values. On the other hand, they claim that Canadian policies were and are racist, sexist, and class-biased. The thesis of "selling diversity" is least convincing with regard to immigration policy because Canadian immigration policy has always been highly selective and self-interested, as pointed out by the authors themselves in Chapter Two. It is most convincing with regard to employment equity, originally envisioned as a social justice measure to address systemic discrimination (though not enshrined in federal law until 1986), but today for the most patt relegated to voluntary efforts in the private sector.



In brief, the content spans many years and numerous policy areas, IKH all of which fit into a tidy thesis statement. Whether one agrees with the thesis or not, the book is useful as an overview of these three policy areas. Two chapters are devoted to immigration, and one chapter each for multiculturalism and employment equity. Of particular interest to migration scholars will be discussion of the policy debates surrounding the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (2002), the first immigration act in more than 25 years. The book is based on extensive research of secondary sources, though, curiously, no interviews of senior civil servants or politicians.



This book would be appropriate for senior undergraduates, gtaduate students, and scholars interested in immigration, ethnicity, or gender issues in a comparative or Canadian context. The combination of the provocative thesis, the many arguments and issues begging for discussion, and frequent use of anecdotes to illustrate broader points make for lively reading. This book will appeal to petsons with prior knowledge of Canada, but it is accessible to those without prior knowledge. Selling Diversity is an important contribution from a new generation of scholars in Canada who are interested in making connections between globalization, public policy, and human rights.



SARAH V. WAYLAND



McMaster University



Copyright Center for Migration Studies Winter 2003



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