The effectiveness of human resource practices on advancing men’s and women’s ranks

The present longitudinal study examines the effect of 105 different human resource practices, grouped into four domains (staffing, human resource development, hygiene factors, supportive climate) on trends in the increase or decrease of the number of men and women working at different hierarchical levels. In addition to the four HR domains, the effect of initial gender ratio at the start of the program was analyzed. Results show that intitial gender ratio had the largest effect on the advancement of men and women. Surprisingly, both women and men benefited from a larger female gender ratio in the highest job levels. If the effect of gender ratio is omitted, it appears that the advancement of men and women in the highest job levels is negatively affected by hygiene practices and not influenced by staffing, development or supportive practices.