You may have spent months or even years working toward a promotion. If you have strong reviews and the right experience but your employer chooses someone else, you may want to know why.
Employers often weigh several factors when deciding who moves up, so losing out on a promotion does not by itself prove discrimination. Still, federal and Texas laws bar covered employers from denying you a promotion based on protected traits such as race, national origin, sex, disability or age if you are 40 or older.
Bias might influence how your manager judges your work, which assignments you receive or what your manager assumes about your abilities. Here are three ways those issues may come up when your employer decides who moves up.
1. Your manager holds you to a different standard
Employers often compare candidates based on their work, skills and experience. A problem may arise when your manager expects more from you than from another worker seeking the same role.
You might meet the stated requirements yet hear vague criticism about leadership or work style. If your manager overlooks similar issues for another candidate, that difference could matter when the treatment appears tied to a protected trait.
2. You get fewer chances to build your record
Your assignments can affect your chances of moving up. If managers give major projects or lead duties to other workers, you may have fewer chances to build the experience they value for a promotion.
That pattern might matter if a protected trait seems to influence who gets those opportunities. Your employer could later favor someone who had more chances to build that experience.
3. Stereotypes influence the choice
A manager may assume that your age or disability limits what you can handle at work. If comments like that come up around the promotion, they could help explain why your employer chose someone else. Your past reviews might also matter if they do not match the reason you were passed over.
Review the facts around the decision
A missed promotion may affect your pay and future career options. If you suspect unequal treatment at work, you could keep the job posting, performance reviews and written feedback about the role. It might also help to compare the standards your employer used for you with those it used for other candidates.