Career Satisfaction: A Look behind the Races

Using recent survey data, this paper examines the career satisfaction of white/Caucasian and visible minority managerial, professional and executive employees in the information and communications technology and financial services sectors in corporate Canada. Black, South Asian and Chinese employees were less satisfied with their careers than white/Caucasian employees, but to varying magnitudes--with Black employees being the least satisfied. About 58% to 82% of the differences in career satisfaction scores, depending on the particular ethnic group, can be accounted for by factors included in this paper. Of the unexplained portion, most of the differences in career satisfaction between white/Caucasian and minority groups are attributable to higher returns to white/Caucasian employees' human capital and demographic characteristics.