Personnel is Policy: Exploring Social Markers of Career Advancement for Current Ontario Public Service Senior Executives

Abstract

This study explores the unwritten factors that influence career trajectories of senior executives in the Ontario Public Service (OPS). Applying social capital and portfolio theory, it analyzes educational attainment, tenure, and professional diversity variables as potential social markers of career advancement. Findings show graduate-level education is nearly universal, strategic policy experience is effectively mandatory, and diversity in past cross-ministry assignments is common. Oftentimes, however, these advantages are not explicitly identified as a job requirement. Opportunities exist for both career public servants and externally recruited leaders. These insights highlight how merit may be inferred through proxies that may reinforce systemic barriers. The study contributes new empirical evidence to the literature on representative bureaucracy and raises practical questions about how the OPS can design more inclusive, transparent, and meritocratic leadership pipelines to meet the needs of a diverse and complex province.