[Visible minority nurses and vertical mobility in hospitals]

Area of Science:

• Sociology of Health
• Nursing Management
• Critical Ethnography

Background:

• Canada's demographic shift includes increased immigration, leading to visible minorities in healthcare.
• Visible minority nurses (VMN) are underrepresented in Canadian healthcare management positions.
• Understanding career path barriers for VMN is crucial for equitable healthcare leadership.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the career paths of visible minority nurses in Canadian healthcare.
• To identify barriers contributing to the underrepresentation of VMN in management roles.
• To analyze the influence of 'Othering' and 'la lutte de classement' on VMN career progression.

Main Methods:

• Critical ethnography and postcolonial theoretical approach.
• Semi-structured interviews with eight visible minority nurses and four caucasian managers.
• Analysis guided by the theoretical framework of 'Othering'.

Main Results:

• Four major themes of barriers emerged: Hiring and Promotion, instrumentalization of VMN, interpersonal issues, and defensive strategies.
• VMN reported unfair and discriminatory hiring and promotion processes.
• Invisible obstacles contribute to VMN remaining at lower institutional hierarchy levels.

Conclusions:

• Visible minority nurses encounter significant, often invisible, obstacles in advancing to management positions within Canadian healthcare.
• Discriminatory practices in hiring and promotion perpetuate the underrepresentation of VMN in leadership.
• Addressing these systemic barriers is essential for achieving diversity and equity in nursing management.