If you're a woman looking for a promotion and you're funny, studies show that you should stop cracking those jokes at work

According to a study conducted by the University of Arizona in the U.S., women who display wit at the workplace have less chances of promotion that men.  

The researchers of the study that had a little over 300 participants, in Journal of Applied Psychology that “humorous males are ascribed higher status compared with nonhumorous males, while humorous females are ascribed lower status compared with nonhumorous females”. 

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The study featured videos of two managers, both named Sam. Half of the participants watched a version of the tape with a woman “Sam,” and half watched the video with a man “Sam.” While the man Sam was a big hit with everyone, the woman Sam’s routine went over far more poorly.

According to the study quoted in The Cut, woman Sam was thought to have fewer leadership skills, perceived to be less effective and more disruptive; while, male Sam’s overall presence was considered to be improved by his ability to make a joke.

Apart from this new found bias, women have been proven to have less chances of promotion in any case.

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Research by McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.org from 2015 showed that women were 15% less likely to get promoted than men, even when they show similar interest in getting a promotion.

As reported in Business Insider, this research also showed that black and other groups of women of colour were 43% more interested in becoming a top executive than white women and 16% more interested than white men.

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According Bain & Company’s research, 31% of South African companies have no female representation in senior leadership roles.

Its research also shows that people recognise this disparity with about 30% of women are less likely to believe they have equal opportunities to advance on the same timeline as men, 46%  of men are likely believe they are in equal promotion timelines.

Sadly, in addition to discrimination for promotions, women have also continuously raised issues of discrimination of unequal pay as well as sexual harassment in the workplace. 

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