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Ensuring that both men and women across large companies are promoted equally isn’t easy. That’s why Adam Grant, author and chief worklife expert at job review platform Glassdoor, says all employers should use an “opt out,” model.
That means HR leaders should assume that everyone at their company is yearning for a promotion, unless they specifically tell management that they want to “opt out” of such opportunities, Grant told my colleague Sara Braun in a recent interview. This helps ensure that everyone is considered for promotional opportunities, and not just those who speak up or are more aggressive about pursuing advancement.
“The reality is that in an organization, the employer has the power, and a lot of people—both men and women—are fearful that if they if they cross a line or they ask for something that’s perceived as entitled or inappropriate, that it could jeopardize their relationships, their reputation, and maybe their employment,” Grant said.
His advice follows grim new data from Glassdoor showing how much more intimidated women are when it comes to asking for a higher salary. Only 36% of women feel comfortable asking for a raise, compared to 44% of men. A separate McKinsey study found that when it comes to first-time promotions, men lead by a significant margin; for every 100 men, only 81 women advance within their organizations.
There is research to back up the wisdom of employers who create an “opt in” system. The framework can remove some of the bias inherent in promotion systems, which tend to favor those who are overconfident or like to compete—a disparity can then lead to more gender imbalances in leadership positions, according to a 2021 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It found that changing to a system in which applicants are automatically enrolled can “reduce the gender gap in competition and support the ascension of women to leadership positions.”
Even if a company doesn’t totally revamp its promotion framework, Grant says leaders need to do a better job of regularly alerting their employees as to when leadership positions become available.
“The same way that your cell phone provider tells you that you’re eligible for an upgrade, we ought to have leaders and managers reaching out to women especially, and saying, ‘Hey, you might be eligible for a raise.’”
Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com
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