Comparing immigrant and US born Hispanic business professionals Insights on discrimination

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study comparing perceptions of discrimination for immigrant and US-born Hispanics, focusing on Hispanic business professionals. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected via nationwide survey of over 1,500 Hispanic business professionals and analyzed via analysis of variance. Findings - No significant differences with regard to perceptions of discrimination were found, although both groups reported some level of discrimination. Immigrants had comparatively lower salaries and higher levels of Hispanic identity, yet, no differences in job satisfaction between groups were found. Post hoc analyses found that immigrants were significantly more likely to seek out mentors and US-born Hispanics were more likely to join affinity groups at work. Practical implications - Too often, immigrants are misunderstood and mistreated in the workplace. The present study provides an examination of how immigrants might perceive these differences and potential avenues for employers to assess this valuable segment of the workforce are suggested. Originality/value - The present study creates the groundwork for more future in-depth studies of the immigrant work experience. To this point, little research has been done on the discrimination perceptions of immigrant populations. The present study compares the perceptions of US- and foreign-born Hispanic professionals.