Gender Based Differences in Promotions of Clerical Workers

An attempt is made to empirically address the issue of whether promotions of female clerical employees are less likely when education and other qualifications are held constant. A model was developed for the probability of promotion. The data were drawn from a large public employer and covered the period of the early 1980s. Questionnaires were sent to all employees, with a 75% response rate. The questionnaires supplemented employer records. Results of the study demonstrated that female clerks were not treated in the same way as their male counterparts in regard to promotions to junior levels of management. The regressions predicted that, if females had been subject to the male criteria, their success in obtaining the promotions would have been almost double its actual value and higher than the actual success of males. The results also indicated a prima facie case of discrimination in promotion. The results were especially important since most discussion of affirmative action focuses on increasing the number of women in upper levels of management.