Should women be promoted because they’re women?
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Over the last decade, I have had the privilege of mentoring about 15 women and about five men in entrepreneurship. It’s a fulfilling activity; I’m a big believer in mentoring, as my mentors changed my life. I like to pay it forward. However, with my female mentees I am often faced with anxiety when one of them is overlooked for a promotion. Gender worries surface. Did a woman not get a promotion because of her sex? It’s a reality we all deal with.
Recently, however, I was faced with an unusual situation: two of my male mentees were overlooked and a woman received a partnership offer. In most tech companies, there are very few partnership positions. The candidates, male or female, have to work very hard and show great talent, year after year, to be considered for a partnership promotion. I had to look at the problem impartially: were these men denied a promotion because of ability or because their company wanted to promote a woman?
I investigated and checked with insiders and concluded that yes, the men were more qualified than the woman. It seemed clear that one of them should have been promoted and not the woman. I’m a female technologist and entrepreneur in what is largely a male world. I want to see women succeed, but the success must be deserved, not the product of political correctness! We do women, companies and the world no favors by lowering the bar based on gender.
I had to explain to my two mentees that they had a point and that I shared their frustration. They were relieved that a woman agreed with their position but they were equally angry. I suggested that they document the reasons why they felt they each deserved this promotion and make their cases to HR. Most likely, the decision will remain, but eyes will be opened in the company.
In Provoke, I talk about the Culture of Disruption, or CofD. Part of being a member of CofD is having the courage and wisdom to observe and question what is happening around you. The key is to be productive and constructive in this process. Don’t write irate letters or indignant emails, or pollute the company environment. Bring up issues of fairness to management, but focus rationally on why the company would benefit from your vision, execution and capabilities. As I tell my mentees, you get few chances for people to really listen. Don’t blow it.
I believe in the extraordinary power of women in the tech world. We need more women CEOs, women on boards and women solving problems. However, I want us to rise because we work smarter and harder—and because we show more courage in disrupting the status quo. My motto is “may the best person win,” not “may the best woman win.” If that person happens to be a woman, so much the better!
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I don’t believe that a woman should be promoted just because they are a woman. I think the best person for the job should be given the job. Why? Because I think it’s the healthy thing to do. Healthy not only for the employees involved but healthy for the company. It promotes fairness, and in the long run, loyalty. If I know my company is putting its best people at the top, then I’m going to feel good about working there, innovating there, and producing great work there.
Great to hear your thoughts. I think the same. I agree that it is only healthy to be in an org when fairness is practiced and unfair promotions infact do more damage than good. thanks for sharing your thoughts openly!
I also believe that a woman should not be promoted just because she is a woman. I know that there is a big disparity in the upper management ranks with significantly fewer woman then men, but this is not the solution. I have known women who were promoted for no other reason than their gender. It was not only a bad idea; it served to perpetuate the misconception that all women are given upper management positions for appearances. Everyone should only be promoted because they deserve it, not for any other reason. When employees know this, it gives them an incentive to work hard and innovate.
People, regardless of gender, should be evaluated based on their individual merit. Skills, knowledge, performance, and execution are all integral characteristics that should be used to determine an employee’s net value to a company. How an employee does their job should be the factor that determines upward progression not gender. If gender is used as a justification for a promotion the underlying issue of gender inequality is not addressed. By using gender as a factor other employees are left demoralized, meanwhile their efforts and contributions go unrewarded.
This is a refreshing view because it is a position I rarely see anyone willing to take very publicly. For entertaining reading on the subject, I recommend the 1996 commentary from CEO and perennial Silicon Valley gadfly and rabblerouser T.J. Rodgers, a man apparently never shy of going non-PC. When Rodgers received a letter from an order of nuns about the lack of diversity in his company’s board of directors, he responded with a scathing and very public tirade that stated bluntly: “a ‘woman’s view’ on how to run our semiconductor company does not help us, unless that woman has an advanced technical degree and experience as a CEO.” Also near and dear to this blog, he pointed out that “The Board of Directors is not a ceremonial watchdog, but a critical management function.” Most tellingly, when a reader wrote in to offer Rodgers the resumes of qualified female candidates, he took her up on it.
Read the long version here: http://www.cypress.com/?docID=14487
I agree with Tom and Paul above in that people need to be evaluated on the skills and accomplishments they bring to a job and not because they fit some “underrepresented” social group. Hiring based on gender does a disservice not only to the company but also to the people that this social engineering is trying to help. This is because their peers will find out that they were not chosen based on skills or performance. Their peers won’t accept them as equals because they will feel cheated since they had to actually work for their position. In “Provoke”, it describes some women failing to get ahead because they have a hard time promoting their ideas for fear of not being “liked”. She can not let this fear get in the way of her effectively and passionately communicating her ideas to investors or else she will not land the funding. And sadly, that is fair and just to her and the other entrepreneurs who can communicate the value in their innovation.
Blog Response for BBUS 525
In today’s corporate structure saying that the best person for the job will get the job is not realistic. The truth is that companies have to look at the intangibles and weigh all their options. Perception is everything in larger companies. Companies want to give the perception that they are fair and consider everyone for all position. That means sometimes women and people of ethnic decent will get jobs over qualified white males.
It’s not just in the corporate world you’ll see this. Schools do this all the time to make sure that people from different background get accepted. Even though a white male may have been more qualified, women may be selected. It’s become a social norm that people now that to deal with and it makes it just that much harder to compete for jobs.
No one should be promoted based solely on gender. People should be promoted because they have earned the promotion or they are the most qualified for the promotion. In our competitive business environment, companies are weakening their internal ability to grow and respond to changes when they place less qualified people in roles just to fill a quota or to give them a better image. I’m all for women getting promotions when they are the best fit and/or the best candidate for the position. However, if anyone is promoted just because of gender, there is the risk that they won’t be able to perform the job as well as a more qualified person and everyone will suffer – the people that work for them, the company as a whole, and the company’s customers.
I believe the person that is the most qualified should be promoted. Period.
However, I believe that this doesn’t always happen. Unfortunately, due to discrimination and unfair treatment of women and minorities over history, laws and programs exist that ensure “diversity.” These laws and programs end up creating reverse discrimination on the majority. The result is people getting hired that don’t deserve it because of their race or sex and a company trying to meet some “diversity” standard.
We’re all adults and we live in a country where discrimination is no longer a widespread issue. Unfortunately, it is still an issue in some places and because of that, programs exist that try to swing the pendulum back the other way. It’s really a catch 22.