Looking Up and Looking Out: Career Mobility Effects of Demographic Similarity Among Professionals

Abstract

We investigate the role of workgroup gender and race composition on the career mobility of professionals in “up-or-out” organizations. We develop a nuanced perspective on the potential career mobility effects of workgroup demography by integrating the social identification processes of cohesion, competition, and comparison. Using five years of personnel data from a large law firm, we examine the influence of demographic match with workgroup superiors and workgroup peers on attorneys’ likelihood of turnover and promotion. Survival analyses reveal that higher proportions of same-sex superiors enhance junior professionals’ career mobility. On the flip side, we observe mobility costs accruing to professionals in workgroups with higher proportions of same-sex and same-race peers. Qualitative data offer insights into the social identification processes underlying demographic similarity effects on turnover and promotion in professional service organizations.

What happens before? A field experiment exploring how pay and representation differentially shape bias on the pathway into organizations.

“…Past research examining race and gender bias in organizations and in the Academy, in particular, has focused largely on the obstacles that women and minorities face at formal gateways to those institutions (e.g., in admissions decisions and hiring decisions; see Kolpin and Singell, 1996;Attiyeh and Attiyeh, 1997;Steinpreis, Anders and Ritzke, 1999;Bertrand and Mullainathan, 2004;Pager, Western and Bonikowski, 2009;Moss-Racusin et al, 2012) and on the performance of these groups once they have entered (e.g., grades, promotions, pay, job satisfaction, turnover; see Simons, Andrews, and Rhee, 1995;Tolbert, et al, 1995;Toutkoushian, 1998;Castilla and Benard, 2010;Carr et al, 2012;Sonnert and Fox, 2012;McGinn and Milkman, 2013). However, before an individual can be granted or denied admission to an organization, or begin to compete for accolades, she must decide whether to apply, and self-assessments shaped by others' treatment of her can influence such decisions (Correll, 2001;Correll, 2004).…”

“…While a small number of studies have hinted increases in the size of minority groups carry risks for minorities (e.g., Tolbert et al, 1995;McGinn and Milkman, 2013), most findings suggest that bias against women and minorities is likely to decline in settings where they are better represented. Thus, we hypothesize:…”

“…It is well known that women and minorities are underrepresented in organizations, particularly at the highest echelons (Smith, 2002;Bertrand, Goldin and Katz, 2010;McGinn and Milkman, 2013), despite widespread efforts to promote diversity (Kalev, Dobbin, and Kelly, 2006;Dobbin, Kim, and Kalev, 2011). In academia, the majority (60%) of full professors at U.S. postsecondary institutions are White males, while 28% are female, 7% are Asian, 3% are Black, and 3% are Hispanic (U.S. Department of Education, 2010), and underrepresentation for many groups begins in early as early as doctoral programs (U.S. Department of Education, 2014).…”

Parents’ performance in entrepreneurship as a “double-edged sword” for the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship

“…When offspring perceive their PPE as low, however, this is more likely to lead offspring to have a positive view of the attribute under assessment, i.e., becoming an entrepreneur, resulting in an interest in achievement or selfimprovement and learning (Molleman et al 2007;McGinn and Milkman 2013). Offspring who exhibit strong entrepreneurial desirability and feasibility perceptions and engage in upward social comparison with parents who are believed to be not very successful entrepreneurs will be more willing to set developmental goals, which increases the likelihood that they take on the challenge of entrepreneurial engagement (Loasby 2007).…”

Seeing herself as a leader: an examination of gender-leadership Frames in women’s leader identity development

“…Further, social capital and network theories reveal that men's domination in positions of power in organizations offers them access to information and opportunity primarily through informal organizational networks that are vastly instrumental to career success and advancement, from which women are oft-excluded (e.g., Ibarra, 1992;Podolny & Baron, 1997;Ragins, 1998). Such gender imbalance at the top of organizations offers women little access to female role models and mentors in top leadership roles to assist in their own career development (Eagly & Carli, 2007;McGinn & Milkman, 2012; Women's leadership research taking an interpersonal lens (also referred to as the "attitudinal" perspective -see Ely & Rhode, 2010) considers how others' perceptions and attitudes shape women's leadership advancement and success in leadership roles. Drawing most heavily from theory and literature on stereotypes, this work demonstrates that men and women alike still associate effective leadership with predominantly male characteristics and that traditional gender stereotypes continue to impact evaluations of women leaders (e.g., GarciaRetamero & Lopez-Zafra, 2006;Heilman, Wallen, Fuchs, & Tamkins, 2004;Johnson, Murphy, Zewdie & Reichard, 2008;Powell et al, 2002).…”