Gender Differences in Managerial Careers: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Abstract

This longitudinal study of mid-career managers compared the career progression of men and women during the 1990's. Unlike the subjects of many earlier studies, these men and women had similar education and experience profiles. Womens income changes were less than men's and reflected the greater financial strides and greater returns from promotions for men prior to 1995. The income gaps between men and women were explained by gender differences in career determinants, such as work hours, career interruptions, and having a nonemployed spouse. There was evidence of subtle forms of workplace discrimination against women in the past but not over the most recent four-year period. Women's family situations, however, continued to present obstacles to progression. In addition, a recent decline in women's priorities for promotion, a predictor of actual promotions, signalled an impending decrease in their rate of promotion relative to men's.