This article originally appeared in LA&PS in the News

In Banking while Black: The business of exclusion, Social Science Professor Caroline Shenaz Hossein discusses the levels of exclusion that Black Canadians are subjected to in the banking industry.

Hossein’s article was originally published in The Conversation, and republished by the National Post. In it, she gives multiple examples of scenarios where Black Canadians have been racially profiled by bank employees. She explains that often people of colour will have a difficult time accessing money, borrowing money or banks will even deny them because of the colour of their skin.

“It’s no wonder Black people want to redo the way banking works,” says Hossein, whose “current research examines business exclusion for racialized Canadians and how they co-opt resources to create vibrant local economies.” She continues on to write that many “hyphenated Canadians engage in mutual aid groups or peer-to-peer banking institutions.”

Hossein highlights “Banker Ladies,” a group of women who come together and organize rotating savings and credit associations (ROCAs) in a voluntary manner so they can meet their social and economic needs when they move to big cities without having to lean on big city banks.

“Canada’s Banker Ladies are a perfect example of self-help, economic co-operation, love and the sharing economy because what they do is ensure the betterment of society,” Hossein writes.

Read the full article on The Conversation where it was originally published.