In a survey featured in January's Monthly Labor Review published by the U.S. Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics, researchers found that in 2010

all female racial groups enjoyed higher (or in one case equal) and more uniform promotion rates than did their male counterparts.

As Job Promotion in Mid-Career notes, the improvement for women in 2010 occurred only toward the top of the socio-economic ladder. Only college-educated workers between '96 and '10 experienced a "steady narrowing of the gender gap." In historical perspective, the authors wrote,

some of the biggest promotion differences between the genders have been occupation specific. [A]lthough men in traditionally female jobs enjoyed higher promotion rates than did women in traditionally female jobs, gender promotion rates in this category were virtually identical in 2010. Further, while women enjoyed higher promotion rates in male-dominated and traditionally mixed jobs, this advantage was only significant in 2010.

In other words, by 2010, at least among college-educated women in both traditionally male and female jobs, promotion rates were either higher for women than men or identical for both genders. What the statistics do not show is whether the women promoted in 2010 had made up for their lack of promotions in earlier years. As the authors of the cited article state, men enjoyed higher promotion rates in traditionally female jobs in 1996 and 2006.

What this means for mid-career women: you deserve a raise

As the authors note, it is hardly surprising that promoted workers received higher wage increases than the non-promoted.

Female wage growth from promotion exceeded that of men at the start of the period [in 1996]; however, male and female wage growths were virtually identical at the end of the period [in 2010].

There is a wealth of data in the referenced article, including the differing reasons men and women gave as the reasons for their promotions. If you review the study, or simply read my analysis of its findings here, remember that we are talking primarily about college-educated women working for large firms.

Wage and Leadership Gaps Overall Unaffected

Also remember that promotion rates for all workers, male and female, fell precipitously between 1996 and 2010. Therefore, even though college-educated women and men reached promotion parity by 2010, there were twice the number of promotions overall during the time when men's exceeded women's. We do not know how these figures fit into the overall wage and leadership gaps which continue to range between 77 and 80% (wage) and more than 80% (leadership).