Reconceptualizing What and How Women Negotiate for Career Advancement

Abstract

We propose a conceptual framework for expanding the scope of future research on the role of gender in career negotiations. Extant research on gender in career negotiations emphasizes women's disadvantages relative to men in compensation negotiations. We present an inductive study of what and how women negotiate for career advancement and the attainment of leadership positions in organizations, drawing on data from diverse samples of negotiation accounts by senior-executive, mid-level, and early-career professionals from the public, private, and nonprofits sectors and six world regions. Integrating insights from six studies, we propose a more comprehensive perspective on what men and women negotiate for career advancement, including their role development and work-family conflicts, as well as compensation. We also identify three distinct negotiating strategies-asking, bending, and shaping-that vary in the extent to which the negotiator conforms to, deviates from, or attempts to redefine organization norms. Our analyses suggest that the choice of negotiating strategy has implications for men's and women's career progression, particularly for women's navigation of nontraditional career paths and men's and women's leadership claiming. We suggest new directions for research on the role of negotiation in career advancement and in promoting and mitigating gender inequality in organizations.

Whether, How, and Why Networks Influence Men’s and Women’s Career Success: Review and Research Agenda

“…Gender role expectations shape actors’ and their contacts’ beliefs about the resources men and women actors (should) desire, seek, and receive. Men actors tend to use their network for strategic resources, which directly and quickly benefit their careers (e.g., increased visibility, promotions, compensation, endorsements, introductions to valuable contacts; Bowles, Thomason, & Bear, 2019; Khattab et al, 2020). Alternatively, women may be more likely to seek resources that benefit their career success more slowly and indirectly.…”

“…For instance, men actors are less likely to request resources that undermine an “image of competence” (e.g., help, advice, feedback; Lim, Tai, Bamberger, & Morrison, 2020) or risk backlash for not being “man enough” (e.g., flexible work arrangements; Berdahl & Moon, 2013). In contrast, women actors are more likely to seek information about how to navigate workplace obstacles (e.g., discrimination, sexual harassment, work-family conflict; Bowles et al, 2019). Women actors may also feel more comfortable using their networks to gain resources that benefit their development and job performance (Lim et al, 2020) or their workgroup and coworkers (Amanatullah & Morris, 2010).…”

“…For example, promotions are a measure of objective career success, yet workers may consider upward, lateral, and even downward career moves as advancement toward achieving their career aspirations (cf. Bowles et al, 2019).…”

The moderating effect of core self‐evaluations between the relationships of work–family conflict and voluntary turnover, job promotions and physical health

“…We propose that WFC will be positively related to job promotions because working mothers experiencing higher WFC are more invested in the work role and thus are more likely to be promoted. Indeed, research suggests that WFC can actually facilitate rather than hinder job promotions (Bowles, Thomason, & Bear, 2019). This is consistent with a study by Martins, Eddleston, and Veiga (2002), in which WFC and job promotions were positively correlated.…”

Commentary - Women Ask Less Often Than Men Partly Because They Work Fewer Hours (Revised Manuscript)

“…Are Women Less Likely to Ask than Men Partly Because They Work Fewer Hours? A Commentary on Artz et al (2018) Gender differences are a "hot" topic in negotiation research (e.g., Bowles et al, 2019;Small et al, 2007). This is because gender differences in the propensity to initiate negotiations as well as in negotiation behaviors and performance may help to account for longstanding inequalities (i.e., gender gaps in pay and top leadership positions; Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2019a; Catalyst, 2020;Kulik & Olekalns, 2012;Stuhlmacher & Walters, 1999).…”