DATE: September 20, 2021

TO: Dr. Tisdale

FROM: Zoe Ring

SUBJECT: Advancement for Women in Business

This memo highlights how women can advance in the business workplace and why it is
important to use different strategies from their male colleagues to successfully do so.

Background

Most people will not be granted a higher up position in their chosen career field right after
college. They will need to be familiar with negotiation strategies, so they are able to advance in
the business world when the opportunity presents itself. Advancement is a common goal for
anyone in the workplace, but it is important to acknowledge how gender can play a role in the
approach to advancing in the male-dominated business world. Naomi Cahn, writer for Forbes
Magazine, states “for every 100 men who are promoted to a manager position, only 85 women
are promoted” (Cahn, 2021). The Darla Moore School of business currently has 40% female
students out of 5,315 undergraduate students (University of South Carolina, 2021), so only 1,807
of the female students would be promoted to a manager position, according to this statistic. It is
time for the rising women in business to close this opportunity gap.

Negotiation Strategies for Advancement

Bowels, Thomason, and Bear’s (2019) Academic Journal “Reconceptualizing What and How
Women Negotiate for Career Advancement” provides research and statistics that conclude “more
than three-quarters (78%) of the career negotiation examples related to role advancement,
include asking (42%), bending (26%), and shaping (32%) strategies.”

1. The “Asking” Strategy

“Asking” is an “organizational routine” (standardized procedure or practice in an organization)

in which one negotiates, informally or formally, career-related issues or options (Bowels,
Thomason, Bear, 2019).
Bowels, Thomason, and Bear (2019) state “the most negatively rated asking example was
distinguished by a lack of clarity,” in which minority men and most women tend to have a harder
time making standard asks for advancement than majority men, which leads to unclear answers
to their requests from their bosses (Bowels, Thomason, Bear, 2019).

Steps to successfully negotiate advancement according to the Association of International

Certified Professional Accountants (2016):
• Ask for a meeting
• Give yourself time to prepare
• Ask your manager for ideas
• Avoid being confrontational
• Act independently

2. The “Bending” Strategy

“Bending” is an individual negotiation of nonstandard work arrangements. Not to be confused

with “asking,” which involves negotiating terms that already exist in the organization's policy,
“bending” involves negotiation terms that are absent or deviating from the organization's policy
(Bowels, Thomason, Bear, 2019).

Example:
A female employee was asked by her boss’s boss to contribute to a project she has had a lot of
experience with during her career. He stated that she would not join the task force because it was
in his department, but that’s what she wanted to do to gain growth experiences in her career. This
is how she negotiated her wants using the “bending” technique:
“Rather than accept an unsatisfactory outcome, the executive sought an unconventional
solution. She worked with her direct supervisor to build a coalition of support for her to join the
task force. "It probably took a month and a half," she explained, including getting "a directive
from the undersecretary" and "some politicking with the boss's boss." The conflict was finally
resolved with a proposal for her to support her home department while serving on the task force:
I said that I would be willing to help [his department] on the side, but that I did not want to do
that as a full-time, 120-day development assignment. ... He said, "Well, you can go ..." and I held
true to my word and did both jobs. (G55)” (Bowels, Thomason, Bear, 2019).

Contrary to “asking,” women reported more positive “bending” experiences than men (Bowels,
Thomason, Bear, 2019).

3. The “Shaping” Strategy

“Shaping” is a proposal for individual career advancement that would alter the organization’s
structures or practices (Bowels, Thomason, Bear, 2019).

Example:
A female employee had an idea to take what she was already doing in her company and make it
big. She approached the CFO and discussed how her vision would add to the company’s
corporate vision, and she was granted a few months to come up with the business plan. Her plan
was a success, and she became the head of the corporate program she envisioned (Bowels,
Thomason, Bear, 2019).
It is important to emphasize how your proposal is in the interest of the company or how its
competitors are already doing it, this is known as a “win-win” situation.

Key Take-Aways:

• Be aware of how different situations at work present opportunities to negotiate

advancement.
• Having a good relationship with your superiors will make all the negotiation strategies
easier, since they will have good faith in your ability as an employee.
• The “bending” strategy has had the most positive feedback from women, so it would be
beneficial to familiarize yourself with this strategy.
• Lastly, do not get discouraged! Opportunities will come and go, and it is okay if a couple
don’t work out. The ultimate thing that prevents advancement is giving up.
References

Bowles, H. R., Thomason, B., & Bear, J. B. (2019). Reconceptualizing What and How Women
Negotiate for Career Advancement. Academy of Management Journal, 62(6), 1645–1671.
https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2017.1497

Cahn, N. (2021, February 19). Women's status and pay in the C-suite: New study. Forbes.
Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/naomicahn/2021/02/19/womens-
status-and-pay-in-the-c-suite--new-study/?sh=4a3a3a893762

How to ask for additional career development (successfully) in 5 easy steps. (2016, January 12).
The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants Global Career
Hub. https://mycareer.aicpa-cima.com/article/-how-to-ask-for-additional-career-development-
successfully-in-5-easy-steps/

University of South Carolina. (2021). Darla Moore School of Business at a Glance. University
of South Carolina. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from
https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/moore_school_of_business_at_a_glance/index.php