Dealing With Gender Bias on Promotions

Women in the workplace, particularly in middle management positions, may have bigger workloads while they confront challenges surrounding career advancement. Plus, many women feel gender bias occurs with respect to promotions when compared to male counterparts.

A survey released in April 2015 reports more that 40 percent of professional women, primarily in mid-level management roles or higher, said they face tough times with career advancement. The same percentage of women who completed the online survey indicated they learned the importance of making and keeping relationships during a career path. More than 25 percent of women surveyed felt gender bias was a top concern, while 58 percent believed their workplaces lack equal gender representation.

Respondents felt companies promote women based on hard work, meeting deadlines and achieving high-performance ratings. However, these same women perceive that men earn promotions through participation in office politics, which leads to potential gender bias. Hence, more female professionals have learned to manage workplace politics as a critical skill for advancement. Learning to deal with underlings, managers and executives could make mid-level managers more business savvy and successful.

This doesn't mean you should have less integrity or compromise moral values in order to earn a promotion. Instead, mitigate perceived gender bias by identifying the value you have to a company and confidently communicating with everyone. Both these assets make you a very strong candidate for advancement since every single day you show what you bring to the team.

Another way to wade through gender bias involves seeking a sponsor. Nearly 34 percent of women in the survey didn't realize what a sponsorship program entails. A sponsorship occurs when a high-level executive helps a high-potential employee catapult her career. Ask if your workplace has a sponsorship program, as these programs have more involvement than just a simple mentoring system.

It stands to reason that more women should earn promotions since 30 percent of those surveyed feel they have an increased workload. More than 46 percent of managers work more than 40 hours per week. Unfortunately, many women surveyed feel the extra work doesn't benefit their careers.

One way to prepare for advancement includes observing your peers and how they deal with responsibilities and personal interactions at the office. Learn how managers earn respect. Mimic examples you admire rather than the ones you detest. Aim high when it comes to a promotion. Read books, articles and ideas put forth by CEOs, and talk about those ideas to your sponsor and your company's CEO. See what happens when you have interesting conversations about lofty subjects expounded by Meg Whitman, Marissa Mayer or Ginni Rometty.

Gender bias doesn't have to ruin your career. Instead, find ways around any perceived biases, stereotypes or office politics by learning how to deal with varied personalities in your office diplomatically. Even if you don't earn a promotion, you may earn the respect of your peers.

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