why men still get more promotions than women HBR ARTICLE SEP 2010 ISSUE

REVIEW BY

Abhishek Jha

IMPORTANT ISSUE DERIVED IN ARTICLE..

Does mentoring provide the same career benefits to men and women? Are women as likely as men to get mentoring? Women in Management: Delusions of Progress? Do men and women have the same kinds of mentors Aren't much of these mentoring programmes more like indocrination projects to shift female consciousness?

ARTICLE SUMMARY

The article in the September 2010 issue on "Why Men Still Get More Promotions than Women" argues that those women seeking top positions on the organizational hierarchy need more than well meaning mentors to succeed, they need advocates. While this finding offers an important insight about how to "help" women succeed, it downplays the underlying drivers that create and perpetuate promotion bias for marginalized groups.

Fair assessment and open access to the top for all will only emerge when we
acknowledge how those in power mold decision-making dynamics especially for pinnacle positions which involve stakes and rewards at the highest level. This power emerges in both formal and informal committee dynamics and in perceptions of the candidate as they are evaluated for suitability for the position.

ARTICLE SUMMARY
Committee dynamics including factors such as the selection of committee members that may favor some candidates over others, the adjusting of "criteria" to bolster certain candidates, the casting of performance evidence as negative for some candidates and the showcasing of the indispensability of other candidates, the suppression of support for marginalized candidates during decision-making, behind the scenes bargaining for the success of different candidates and a range of other political dynamics all can sway

decisions and outcomes significantly.

In addition to committee dynamics, perceptions of the candidate are crucial. Indeed, we would suggest that visible attributes such as demographics and invisible attributes (religion, sexual orientation etc.) as well as the perceived degree of behavioral congruence or incongruence with the dominant organizational ideology act as "lenses" through which performance is viewed.

ARTICLE SUMMARY

Holding performance constant, the more counter-cultural the candidate is perceived to be (and note demographics and other factors may distort these perceptions) the less likely the candidate is to be promoted.

Thus, while this article is on the right track because it alludes to the role of politics
when it suggests that women need advocates to overcome being seen as "risky" appointments, tackling these institutionalized and embedded forces is what is further needed if historically disenfranchised groups such as women are ever going to be judged on their merit and accomplishments when striving for pinnacle positions within their organizations.

ANY QUERIES