Gender, race, and perceived promotability among American employees

Abstract

Purpose – This research examines the effects of gender, race, human capital, work conditions, and organizational characteristics on employees’ current supervisory status at work, and their perceptions of their future promotability.

Methodology – Data are drawn from the salaried employees of The National Study of the Changing Workforce in 2002, a nationally representative sample of all U.S. workers. Employees are compared by race and gender using correlation coefficients, t-tests, and multiple regression.

Findings – In contrast to earlier research, in 2002 non-white women are as likely as white women and non-white men to have attained supervisory status at work. There also is no gender or race effect on employees’ perception of their future promotional opportunity.

Workers who are supervisors, both white and non-white, are more likely than non-supervisors to perceive that they have future promotional opportunity. Having a work context that is supportive, and having supportive coworkers and a supportive supervisor, leads to the perception of greater chances to continue to move up in one's company, as does having greater job demands and union membership. On the contrary, work/family spillover, having a supervisor of the same race, and perceiving racial discrimination at the workplace leads to perception of less chance to continue to move up.

Research limitations – Employees’ actual job titles are not known except that supervising others is a major part of their job.

Practical implications – Many of the variables shown to be related to supervisory status and promotability suggest directions for the restructuring of workplaces to provide more supportive and less biased environments.

Citation

Cummings Perrucci, C. and Banerjee, D. (2010), "Gender, race, and perceived promotability among American employees", Texler Segal, M. (Ed.) Interactions and Intersections of Gendered Bodies at Work, at Home, and at Play (Advances in Gender Research, Vol. 14), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 147-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-2126(2010)0000014010