Episode 101: Alan Benson on the Gender Promotion Gap

Alan Benson is an Associate Professor at the Department of Work and Organizations at the University of Minnesota

The paper discussed in this episode is this one.

Women get promoted at a lower rate than men (i.e. the gender promotion gap). This paper studies the role of perceptions of 'potential' in explaining this promotion gap. Managers are asked to evaluate the potential of their subordinates, and women consistently receive lower average 'potential' evaluations than men. The paper shows that accounting for differences in potential explains a large proportion of the gender promotion gap.

Other articles discussed in this episode are:

Roussille, N. (2024). The role of the ask gap in gender pay inequality. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 139(3), 1557-1610.

Benson, A., Li, D., & Shue, K. (2019). Promotions and the peter principle. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 134(4), 2085-2134.