UCSD - University of California - San Diego
09/02/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/02/2025 03:20
Are Men More Selfish Sponsors? Gender Differences in Workplace Advocacy Explained
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September 02, 2025Story by:
- Christine Clark- [email protected]
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- Christine Clark- [email protected]
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In many competitive industries, sponsorship is often seen as a key driver of career advancement. A new study from UC San Diego's Rady School of Management reveals that men and women take distinctly different approaches to workplace sponsorship - with men often viewing it as a path to advance their own careers, while women focus on their protégés' success.
The study, published in the Academy of Management Journal, raises important questions about which approach delivers the best outcomes, how workplace policies on sponsorship are designed and whether women may be unfairly carrying more of the burden in efforts to build a more equitable workplace.
"Female sponsors juggle multiple priorities, balancing their own career interests with the needs of their protégés," said Elizabeth L. Campbell, assistant professor of management at the UC San Diego Rady School and lead author of the study. "In contrast, men tend to focus more on how providing sponsorship benefits their own careers. This was especially true of men more senior in their role-as men gain experience as sponsors, they increasingly view providing sponsorship to their proteges as a way they can advance their own success."
For women, however, their approach remains consistent - they keep the focus on their protégés, regardless of their level of experience.
The study employed multiple surveys and experiments across industries of participants who have prior experience as managers. One survey of more than 800 participants from a variety of industries asked questions about what goals they would set for protégés and the researchers found women tended to set more goals focused on the success of the protégés and male respondents had fewer goals, relative to women, which tended to focus on their own success.
Campbell added, "the real question it raises is: What's the better way to approach sponsorship? Ethically, we might argue that focusing on the protégé is better, which aligns with how women tend to sponsor. But at the same time, it's not unreasonable for sponsors to consider how sponsorship benefits them too."
Campbell's research examines gender differences in career advancement processes like hiring, promotion, and receiving career support (e.g., mentorship, sponsorship).
Career drivers: it's as much about "who you know," as it is "what you know"
An additional experiment of nearly 600 participants asked them to list up to 10 people they would reach out to for sponsorship-related help. The results showed that men tended to think about their social capital in a broad way - people they don't interact with often but who provide diverse information and opportunities. But when balancing their own goals and priorities with helping their protégés , women leaned on a dense network of close contacts who also know each other well.
"This difference in network activation that our paper finds raises another question: Which approach is more likely to advance the career of the protégé?" Campbell noted. "Long-standing findings from sociology say broad networks, which men activate, provide better access to information and new opportunities beneficial to protégés. But other work suggests that thinking about dense networks can foster stronger, more supportive relationships for protégés. In terms of sponsorship, it's an open question that research is examining right now."
The findings have major implications for workplace policies on sponsorship. Many companies encourage sponsorship to promote diversity and equity, but this new research suggests that simply asking leaders to 'sponsor more' might not be enough. If men and women approach sponsorship differently, such that men provide it in a way to benefit themselves and women don't, there's a risk that women may disproportionately bear the responsibility for advancing workplace inclusion.
"We might need to rethink how we train leaders to sponsor," Campbell said. "Should we encourage everyone to sponsor more like men, thinking about how to sponsor protégés in a way that helps you too? Or should we push for a more protégé-focused approach like women tend to use? It's a big question, and one worth exploring further."
She concluded that with sponsorship playing a crucial role in career mobility, these gender-based differences offer valuable insights for both employees and employers looking to create fairer and more effective workplace advancement strategies.
The study was coauthored by Catherine T. Shea of Carnegie Mellon University.
Read the full paper, "The Gendered Complexity of Sponsorship: How Male and Female Sponsors' Goals Shape their Social Network Strategies."
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