Workplace Bibliography

March 2003

An annotated bibliography of surveys and studies that demonstrates the impact of positive and negative human rights practices in the workplace. 

Adams, Scott J. (2002). Passed Over for Promotion Because of Age: An Empirical Analysis of the Consequences. Journal of Labor Research 23:3:447-461. 

  • Although older workers experience higher wages and lower unemployment rates, there is increase in number of cases filed with Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC). 
  • American study utilizes the Health and Retirement study to determine whether preferences for younger workers harm older workers. 
  • Samples of individuals in their fifties. 
  • Findings show that as promotion practices (based on age) increase, wages decrease and as promotions practices (based on age) increase, the decision to retire also increases. 
  • Data also demonstrates that there is a possibility that some individuals experience undue harm when discriminated against in promotions. 

Agocs, Carol and Jain Harish (2000). Systemic Racism in Canada: Diagnosing Systemic Racism in Organizational Culture. A Report Prepared for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Retrieved from the World Wide Web

  • Canadian study examines systemic discrimination in the workplace, using qualitative and quantitative data. 
  • 25 Focus group interviews with at least 6 groups from Aboriginal, Black, Asian, and South Asian backgrounds; at least 3 groups of each population were exclusively women and exclusively men. 
  • Authors also analyzed 119 legal cases related to employment race discrimination, published in the Canadian Human Rights Reporter, between 1980-1998. 
  • Evident that presence of racism in Canadian workforce. 
  • Assessment tool was developed to identify racial discrimination alone or combined with sexism, to aid in employment equity at work. 

Canadian Council on Social Development (2000). Unequal Access: A Canadian Profile of Racial Differences in Education, Employment and Income. A Report Prepared for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: Report Highlights, Full Report

  • Report highlights discrepancies in education, employment, and income 
  • Claims to be the first report documenting the socio-economic profile of racial groups in Canada combining quantitative (mainly 1996 Census) and qualitative data. 
  • Using random sample, 7 focus groups were conducted in Halifax, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto. 
  • Findings show that "racial minorities" have difficulties finding jobs that match their qualifications (they are usually overqualified) and getting promotions. 
  • Foreign credentials are not recognized. 
  • Visible minorities have equal or better educational attainment than "non-racialized" groups, yet experience significantly lower rates of employment and annual earnings. 

Chenevert, Denis and Michel Tremblay (2002). Managerial Career Success in Canadian Organizations: Is Gender a Determinant? International Journal of Human Resource Management 13:6 920-941. 

  • Research to determine whether 5 theoretical explanations/approaches of managerial success can eliminate the influence of gender on the position. 
  • Five theoretical explanations include human capital, family context, socio-economic origin, work investment and reward expectations, and structural factors. 
  • Research sample included 2,562 male managers and 498 female managers in 3 sectors of Canadian economy. 
  • Questionnaires used to obtain data with the response rate between 23% and 42%. 
  • Two equal sub-samples were taken from the larger sample, formed on the basis of seniority in organization and creating more homogeneity in sample; 282 men and 282 women. 
  • Despite homogenous sample, numerous controlled variables, and related theoretical approaches, findings did not allow researchers to eliminate the possibility of discrimination in Canadian enterprises. 
  • Theoretical explanations could not eliminate the influence of gender on managerial success. 
  • Authors caution that women are more likely than men to change employees when treated inequitably, causing the loss of competent managers and affecting the performance of the organization. 

Griffen Cohen, Majorie and Kate Braid (2000). "Training and Equity Initiatives on the British Columbia Vancouver Island Highway Project: A Model for Large-Scale Construction Projects". Labor Studies Journal 25:3:70-103. 

  • Study analyzes the project agreement and procedures taken to integrate women and First Nations people in a seven-year commercial highway project. 
  • Equity initiatives for the Vancouver Island Highway Project was the first time that equity measures were requirement in project agreement in Canada.
  • Detailed biweekly labour force statistics were collected by employer (HCL) to give an overview on equity workers involvement in project. 
  • 38 Extensive interviews were conducted with workers, contractors, trainers, trade union representatives, and government personnel.
  •  "Our assessment is that the [Victoria Island Highway Project] is an excellent model to use as a generic approach for training and integrating people from traditionally excluded groups into the workforce of large-scale construction projects (74)." 
  • Number of women and First Nations people was a great deal higher than is normally the case for building construction projects. 
  • Each year the number of hours worked by equity groups increased 
  • Authors provide reasons as to why this initiative was so successful. 
  • Case study is unique as the nature of the industry lends itself to "workers who face a succession of hiring barriers not typical in other discriminatory workplaces (71)". 

Hammonds, Keith H. (2000). Difference Is Power. Fast Company 36:258. July Edition from the World Wide Web

  • Interview with Ted Childs, IBM's Vice President of Global Workforce Diversity. 
  • Article about IBM's success at promoting diversity. 
  • Illustrates the change in their approach which lead to a change in the corporation's environment. 
  • A larger and diverse talent pool is evident. 
  • Brief history of IBM's appreciation for the power of diversity dating back to 1924. 

Konrad, Alison M. and Kathy Cannings (1997). The Effects of Gender Role Congruence and Statistical Discrimination on Managerial Advancement. Human Relations 50:10:1305-1328. 

  • Researchers to determine if managerial advancement different in process for men and women. 
  • Study involving data from 2 publicly held corporations, both competing internationally and directly competitive in some markets. 
  • One company is Canadian and the other is American. 
  • Questionnaires were distributed to middle-level managers randomly chosen in each company. 
  • American company had 686 responding out of 1000 (68.6% response rate), while Canadian company had 672 out of 800 (84.0% response rate). 
  • Findings show that men are rewarded for their efforts in paid work and penalized for their efforts toward unpaid home and family work; years of service affects Canadian men more strongly than Canadian women. 
  • Also shown that men have more years of service than women and women have better performance appraisals than men; women and men in the U.S. company are both likely to hold graduate degrees, while Canadian women are more likely to have a graduate degree compared to Canadian men. 

Mueller W., Charles and Tor Wynn (2000). The Degree to Which Justice Is Valued in the Workplace. Social Justice Research 13:1:1-24. 

  • Study to provide descriptive baseline data to determine to what degree people value justice in the workplace relating to workplace conditions and rewards. 
  • Examines whether the importance of justice varies by gender, race, income, age, and organizational tenure. 
  • Cross-national and cross-study project examining 17,713 cases in the U.S./Canada, South Korea, and Kenya. 
  • Findings revealed that justice in workplace was valued in all 3 cultures; variance was small. 
  • Justice in the workplace does not, or only weakly covaries with race, income, age, and tenure but women value this form of justice more than men. 

Stelcner, Morton (2000). Earnings Differentials among Ethnic Groups in Canada: A Review of the Research. Review of Social Economy 58:3:295-317. 

  • Literature review of Canadian research findings on ethnic earnings differences. 
  • Claims that small sample sizes hinder Canadian research on topic. 
  • Demonstrates that it creates a problem with data when "whites" and "visible minorities" are combined as two heterogeneous groups. 
  • Some white groups are disadvantaged and others are favoured in terms of earnings. 
  • Earnings of visible minorities show great discrepancies and when gender is considered, there is more variation. 
  • Aboriginal men earned 85% less than the national average for men. 

Other References 

Buchanan, Anne and Mary O'Neil (2001). Inclusion and Diversity: Finding common ground for organizational action. A Guide prepared for the Canadian Council for International Co-operation. 

Cadrain, Diane (2003). Equality's Final Frontier. HR Magazine. March Edition from the World Wide Web

Kirkpatrick, Laura (2001). Multicultural Strategies for Community Colleges: Expanding Faculty Diversity. EricDigest. Obtained from World Wide Web

Stutz, Johnathan and Randy Massengale (1997). Measuring Diversity Initiatives. HR Magazine. December Edition from the World Wide Web

Zachary, G. Pascal (2000). Mighty is the Mongrel. Fast Company 36:270. July Edition from the World Wide Web 

Reviewed: March 23, 2010

 

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