Across industries and jobs, in companies of every size, the way people are promoted is often unfair and discriminatory.
Data from the United States and Canada shows that people from marginalized groups experience lower promotion rates, especially if they have multiple parts of their identity that are marginalized. (McKinsey, 2022) (Statistics Canada, 2022)
When the promotion process doesn’t systemically account for the experiences of people from marginalized groups and the barriers they face, the biases of decision-makers are likely to negatively impact the growth of people from these groups. As a result, not everyone who should be promoted is.
At Inclusivity, we developed a guide ‘Promotion Policies with an Equity Lens’ to offer practical advice on how to create and implement a promotion policy that is truly equitable. This guide was developed using the Inclusivity Equity Lens Framework and aims to help organizations reduce the advancement gap for marginalized groups who disproportionately face barriers in the promotion process and work towards adopting equitable practices that build diverse, high-performing teams.
Whether an organization has a formal policy in place or they’re just getting started, a promotion policy focused on equitable outcomes can go a long way to help employees achieve their full potential.
