High Hopes

Kanter argued that men's and women's positions in workplace opportunity structures, not their sex, shape their career attitudes. Women attached less importance to promotion than men, according to 1991 General Social Survey data. The authors examine the extent to which this difference stems from the sexes' segregation into jobs with unequal opportunities, as Kanter argued. The findings are largely consistent with Kanter's thesis: Men attached greater importance to promotion than women because they were more likely to be located in organizational positions that encourage workers to hope for a promotion. Net of the effects of workers' organizational locations and prior promotion by their employer, sex was not associated with promotion attitudes.