Summary.
Every job involves non-promotable tasks. These are tasks that benefit the organization but likely don’t contribute to an employee’s performance reviews and career advancement. But research suggests that these tasks disproportionately fall on women. Across field and laboratory studies, researchers find that women volunteer for non-promotable tasks more than men; that women are more frequently asked to take such tasks on; and that when asked, women are more likely to say yes. This matters — if women are disproportionately saddled with work that has little visibility or impact, it will take them much longer to advance in their careers. Changing this dynamic should be a priority for any organization that wants to advance its most qualified employees.
Here’s a work scenario many of us know too well: You are in a meeting and your manager brings up a project that needs to be assigned. It’s not particularly challenging work, but it’s time-consuming, unlikely to drive revenue, and probably won’t be recognized or included in your performance evaluation. As your manager describes the project and asks for a volunteer, you and your colleagues become silent and uneasy, everyone hoping that someone else will raise their hand. The wait becomes increasingly uncomfortable. Then, finally, someone speaks up: “Okay, I’ll do it.”