The findings do not imply that women don't care about career advancement. It's just not first on their list.
Cynthia Marsh, President and CEO, Personnel Decisions International

A survey of 1500 employees from various industries by human resources consulting firm Personnel Decisions International (PDI) asked the question; Who is more driven by financial and career prospects in corporate America - women or men? According to PDI, the answer is men.

"The PDI Pulse on Leaders mines the results of nearly 1,500 questionnaires we've gathered from leaders across the country," explains said Cynthia Marsh, president and chief operating officer of PDI. "We surveyed employees from a cross section of industries at all levels of the leadership pipeline - from front-line leaders through C-level executives. We asked them to rank the personal importance of workplace attributes such as challenging work content, sense of accomplishment, compensation, creativity and advancement. According to the data, regardless of leadership level, males were almost 20 percent more likely than their female colleagues to place greater importance on 'financial and career prospects' - a term coupling the rankings they assigned to having advancement opportunities and the chance to earn high compensation."

The findings also show that women are nearly 20 percent more likely than men to place high importance on being recognized at work and gaining a reputation for expertise.

U.S. Census Bureau data indicate that women are surpassing men in educational attainment. They also are edging further into the business world than they once did. However, these demographic swings do not mean that attitudinal change has followed suit.

"The findings do not imply that women don't care about career advancement. It's just not first on their list," said Marsh. "What we find in our coaching practice at PDI is that women often believe that if they make significant contributions and develop deep expertise, raises and promotions will follow without having to ask. Organizations need to understand this tendency when analyzing their talent pool and making key decisions."

"We've just begun to look at the different findings that this rich data source may indicate," says Marsh. "For example, we think we'll be able to make statements about the relative value of attributes such as work-life balance, service to the community, recognition, and work style among others. We're very excited to see what this unique PDI data will reveal."