Skip to main content
About HEC About HEC
Summer School Summer School
Faculty & Research Faculty & Research
Master’s programs Master’s programs
Bachelor Programs Bachelor Programs
MBA Programs MBA Programs
PhD Program PhD Program
Executive Education Executive Education
HEC Online HEC Online
About HEC
Overview Overview
Who
We Are
Who
We Are
Egalité des chances Egalité des chances
HEC Talents HEC Talents
International International
Campus
Life
Campus
Life
Sustainability Sustainability
Diversity
& Inclusion
Diversity
& Inclusion
Stories Stories
The HEC
Foundation
The HEC
Foundation
Summer School
Youth Programs Youth Programs
Summer programs Summer programs
Online Programs Online Programs
Faculty & Research
Overview Overview
Faculty Directory Faculty Directory
Departments Departments
Centers Centers
Chairs Chairs
Grants Grants
Knowledge@HEC Knowledge@HEC
Master’s programs
Master in
Management
Master in
Management
Master's
Programs
Master's
Programs
Double Degree
Programs
Double Degree
Programs
Bachelor
Programs
Bachelor
Programs
Summer
Programs
Summer
Programs
Exchange
students
Exchange
students
Student
Life
Student
Life
Our
Difference
Our
Difference
Bachelor Programs
Overview Overview
Course content Course content
Admissions Admissions
Fees and Financing Fees and Financing
MBA Programs
MBA MBA
Executive MBA Executive MBA
TRIUM EMBA TRIUM EMBA
PhD Program
Overview Overview
HEC Difference HEC Difference
Program details Program details
Research areas Research areas
HEC Community HEC Community
Placement Placement
Job Market Job Market
Admissions Admissions
Financing Financing
Executive Education
Home Home
About us About us
Management topics Management topics
Open Programs Open Programs
Custom Programs Custom Programs
Events/News Events/News
Contacts Contacts
HEC Online
Overview Overview
Degree Program Degree Program
Executive certificates Executive certificates
MOOCs MOOCs
Summer Programs Summer Programs
Youth programs Youth programs
Article

How to Reach the Top Position? Insights by HEC professor Roxana Barbulescu

Human Resources
Published on:

"Diversity is a challenge and it is not only for women trying to reach the top but for whom diversity is a challenge", Roxana Barbulescu, Associate Professor at HEC Paris, specialist of Career and Mobility.

How to Reach the Top Position? HEC Paris Professor Barbulescu

 

A new study conducted in the financial industry by Roxana Barbulescu, Associate Professor at HEC Paris and Joanna Zapior, Managing Director in the capital markets arm of a Top 5 bank in Toronto, advises that transparency, accountability, and managerial support are key factors to consider for companies willing to give equal chances to men and women who want to reach the top levels of the corporation.

Over a period of three months in the fall of 2015, they confidentially interviewed a number of high-level finance professionals who had been through, or were on the cusp of, being promoted to Managing Director positions. Their goal was to see how the process of promotion to Managing Director is experienced by the individuals being promoted and how those aspiring to be promoted think about it. From here, the study aims to understand to what extent a gap may exist between how the process is intended (by the management of the firm) and how it plays out in practice. This gap may lead to unintended consequences as described by both the respondents and the academic literature in the field.

In the video, Professor Barbulescu explains how transparency, accountability, and managerial support are key factors to consider for companies willing to give equal chances to men and women who want to reach the top levels.

Read the report :  A qualitative study of the promotion practices in Canadian banks at the Managing Director level conducted in the financial industry by Roxana Barbulescu and Joanna Zapior, Managing Director in the capital markets arm of a Top 5 bank in Toronto.

Related content on Human Resources

black man happy in front of glass buildings
Economics

To Attract and Retain Top Talent, Firms Sell Themselves as Springboards to a Great Career

By Raphaël Levy

woman walking on a double path_thumbnail
Human Resources

Specialize or Generalize: What Makes Jobseekers Choose One Career Strategy Over Another?

By Roxana Barbulescu

mosaic of images_thumbnail
Human Resources

How to Handle People’s Data Ethically

By Michael Segalla, Dominique Rouziès

Human Resources

How Much Control Do You Really Have Over Your Career?

By Roxana Barbulescu

burnout_thumbnail
Human Resources

When Does Pressure to Do Extra Work Drain Staff and Threaten Home Life?

By Ekaterina Netchaeva