Catalyst Canada has just released another great piece of research entitled “Cascading Gender biases, compounding effects: An Assessment of Talent Management Systems,” which investigates potential vulnerabilities to gender bias in talent management systems and the resulting gaps in senior leadership.

In their report they undertook the following steps in their investigation:
1. Examined the talent management process as a whole and determined how the parts interact.
2. Identified and assessed the presence of bias in the talent management systems.
3. Explored the opportunities for gaps to arise between the design of a talent management process and its execution.

According to their report, they found that core components of talent management are linked in ways that disadvantage women, creating a vicious cycle in which men continually dominate executive positions:
• The senior leadership effect. While all employees play a role in the effectiveness of talent management, senior leadership teams have a significant effect on talent management programs and practices, as well as leadership competencies and criteria. This ultimately affects who gets promoted.
• Institutionalizing bias. Most participating organizations described their talent management system as formalized, customized, and centralized. Still, analyses revealed that many companies and industries fell short when it came to implementing appropriate checks and balances that minimize gender biases and level the playing field for women and men.
• Compounding bias. Gaps between the design and execution of talent management programs compound the disadvantages faced by women, especially those seeking professional development and advancement.
Overall, data revealed that the pervasive effect of senior leaders on the talent management process can yield new senior leaders who mirror the traits and biases of the senior leadership team that promoted them. While HR departments and talent managers across each organization are responsible for many aspects of talent management, we found that gender bias in tools and procedures can inhibit the establishment of inclusive and effective talent management programs. When organizations fail to integrate checks and balances that guard against the introduction of gender bias into their talent management systems, they open the process to the negative effects of gender stereotyping and hinder opportunities for women’s advancement, especially women in male-dominated positions and industries.

A full copy of this report can be found at http://www.catalyst.org/file/247/cascading_gender_bias.pdf
and is a must read for anyone involved with talent management or looking to advance their career.  Do your part by making sure the people responsible for your talent management systems are directed to this report.