Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
Creation-Date: 2026-08-03
Number: 26-053/VII
Author-Name: Sam Hoey
Author-Workplace-Name: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Author-Name: Thomas Peeters
Author-Workplace-Name: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Author-Name: Stefan Szymanski
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Michigan
Title: Racial Gaps in Managerial Career Advancement
Abstract: We study racial disparities in advancement to top management using the careers of 4,770 former frontline workers from a prominent industry in England. Black workers are substantially less likely than non-Black workers to reach top managerial positions (11 versus 20 percent). We identify three sources of this gap: lower entry into management, lower promotion rates within management, and shorter tenure in senior managerial roles. Counterfactual simulations show that barriers to entering management explain most of the racial gap early in workers’ careers, while differences in promotion rates become the dominant driver later on.
Classification-JEL: J24, M50, M54
Keywords: racial discrimination, career progression, systemic discrimination, football managers
File-URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/26053.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 8.529.542 bytes
Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20260053