Pressure in the business community to get more women into head company positions is mounting. According to a 2015 study by the S&P 500, women only held 20 percent of corporate board positions in the country. Stanford research professors have found that women often get replaced with women, and men with men. This discovery may give some insight as to why women are systemically repressed in the workplace. Often times hiring managers hire based on gut instinct, which can cause them to replace a candidate with another candidate of the same gender, rather that the candidate who is actually most fit based on their skills and experience. Not being promoted for a position based on your sex is illegal, and there are steps you can take if you feel you are being treated unjustly.
Ways to Know if You’re Experiencing Promotion Discrimination
- Who has the top positions? If you have noticed that the board members at your company are mostly male, and recent promotions to the top have been male, this could be a warning sign of a “glass ceiling” in your company. A glass ceiling means women and minorities are being held from advancing.
- Are you equally qualified as those being promoted? If you have been working at the company for a while and gained the skills necessary for another position, and notice that men keep getting that position ahead of you, maybe even with less skills and experience, it could be time to raise a red flag.
- Are you being left out of company proceedings? Women and minorities that are consistently left out of company meetings risk losing important business information that can lead to promotions and make the employees affected feel excluded.
Noticing a Trend? You are probably Not Alone
Most likely, if you are experiencing a glass ceiling, you are not alone. Other women have likely noticed the same trend of discrimination in the workplace, and having numbers can help your case to win you that job you deserve. Having an experienced Los Angeles discrimination attorney can help you find out if you are being held back from progressing in the workplace.