A "Female Advantage" in Promotability Evaluations for Women Perceived by their Managers to be Innovative.

Relational skills, along with technical competence, have been hailed as critical for the new economy. Because women are deemed to be more relationally skilled than men, a "female advantage" argument suggests that women with effective relational skills will be prefered over equally effective men. We examine the relative explanatory power of relational skills and of innovativeness on manager-rated promotability ratings. We also examine gender differences in the effects of relational skills and innovativeness on manager-rated promotability. Using survey data from scientists and engineers and independent evaluations from their managers in 24 major corporations, we find no support for a simple "female advantage" argument. However, we find that women whom managers deem to be innovative receive a larger boost to their promotability ratings when they are also perceived to be effective in their relational skills. Thus a "feminine" advantage appears to exist for women whom managers perceive to be innovative. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]