Abstract
In a study of a large Canadian business organization, wide differences were observed in the occupational status of the employees of different ethnic origins. The largest differences were found between French and non-French employees. The problem in this study is to seek explanations for these differences. The analytical task is similar to that of other studies aimed at explaining differences in the rates of mobility or in the levels of achievement not only of ethnic and racial groups, but also of social classes and religious groups. The main factors introduced to account for the observed inequalities have to do with differences in value orientation and in social and economic opportunities.1 In addition to these, it was felt that socio-economic achievements should be examined in relation to the worker’s points of comparison in the evaluation of his job situation.
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Notes
For a summary and interesting discussion of the literature on these hypotheses, see S. Keller and M. Zavalloni, “Ambition and Social Class: A respecification”, Social Forces, 43 (1964), pp. 58–70.
S. M. Lipset and H. L. Zetterberg, “A Theory of Social Mobility” in R. Bendix and S. M. Lipset (eds.), Class, Status and Power (rev. ed.; New York: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1966), pp. 561–73.
N. W. Taylor, “The French-Canadian Industrial Entrepreneur and his Social Environment”, in M. Rioux and Y. Martin (eds.), French-Canadian Society, Vol. I (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1964), pp. 271–95.
Perhaps the most relevant Canadian studies on this question are those by Porter showing a greater control of business and finance in the hands of Anglo-Saxon Canadians than of any other group. John Porter, “The Economic Elite and the Social Structure in Canada”, Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science, 23 (1957), pp. 377–94; and this volume, VIII/49. See also The Vertical Mosaic (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965).
L. Festinger, “A Theory of Social Comparison Processes”, in A. P. Hare et al. (eds.), Small Groups (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955), pp. 163–87.
The Economic Council of Canada reports average earned income per employed person based on Dominion Bureau of Statistics data for the period 1960–4 for the six central and western provinces separately and for the Atlantic provinces combined: Quebec, where the majority of the French population resides, shows the second lowest average after tihe Atlantic region. In fact, the Quebec average would probably be lower if only the French population was included in the calculation. Its rank, however, would probably remain the same. The figures are: Atlantic region — $3,080; Quebec — $3,480; Ontario — $4,120; Manitoba — $3,620; Saskatchewan — $3,660; Alberta — $3,770; British Columbia — $4,470. Economic Council of Canada, Towards Sustained and Balanced Economic Growth (Ottawa: Government of Canada, 1965), p. 118.
W. G. Runciman, Relative Deprivation and Social Justice: A Study of Attitudes to Social Inequality in Twentieth-Century England (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966).
P. K. Hatt, “Occupation and Social Stratification”, in S. Nosow and W. H. Form (eds.), Man, Work and Society (New York: Basic Books, 1962), pp. 238–49.
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© 1968 The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited
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Breton, R., Roseborough, H. (1968). Ethnic Differences in Status. In: Blishen, B.R., Jones, F.E., Naegele, K.D., Porter, J. (eds) Canadian Society. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-81601-9_45
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-81601-9_45
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