Promotion in a Corporation: is your position affected by your gender?

Abstract

Gender equality has been one of the most important discussion topics of this century. Considering that the labor market is an environment that can be regulated through governmental policies, it is representative of the gender equality standards that a country offers. Such gender disparities can be measured by a wide range of aspects, including employment rate, wages, educational bias, gender-based violence and existing legislation. Currently, according to the CEOE 2019 Report (Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations), a 85,7% of the executives in Spain are male. This paper examines in depth the role of gender in promotion opportunities. Using ESCA data from 2011 to 2018, our results provide evidence of the gap evolution during this period in Catalonia. The study tests whether a statistically significant relationship can be established between promotion opportunities and gender. We show how the fact of being women negatively influences opportunities to work in a position with subordinated employees. Moreover, a sectorial analysis reports that the level of development in each sector is not associated with the gender equality that it offers. Although statistical evidence demonstrates that gaps on wages and employment have decreased for the Catalan society, still, a discrimination focus is identified on our labor market.