Getting Ahead In Professional Organizations: Individual Qualities, Socioeconomic Background And Organizational Context

In order to understand inequality in society, it is necessary to understand the matching of people and positions in organizations through hiring, promotion, and other processes leading to the attainment of rank and authority. These processes are not necessarily the same in professional organizations-such as professional service firms, universities, and hospitals-as they are in non-professional settings. This essay reviews what we know about how organizational attainment processes operate in professional organizations. After examining the role of individual qualities-technical ability, cultural proficiency, and social connections-the essay turns to the effects of gender, race, and social class. Next, it traces the ways in which organizational context moderates processes occurring at the individual level. Many questions remain unanswered, and the essay concludes by outlining directions for future research.