In Bias Interrupted, the University of California’s Joan Williams outlines various biases that can result in people in the “out group” in their organization struggling to progress:

• The prove-it-again bias – While dominant groups (usually white men) are often given the benefit of the doubt, Williams highlights how less privileged groups usually need to prove themselves over and over again in order to progress in their careers. This also means that failure is punished far more heavily for some groups than for others, which can promote a culture of recklessness among those in the in-group.
• The tightrope bias – She also suggests that there are various behaviors, such as assertiveness, that can serve dominant groups very well, but when exhibited by less dominant groups can actually work against them. For instance, research from Northwestern University shows that people generally perceive risk-taking as positive in white people, but negative in Black people. Walking this behavioral tightrope can be extremely challenging and mentally exhausting.
• The tug-of-war bias – When biases exist in favor of a particular group, it presents a challenge for those in the out-group. Should they do their best to ingratiate themselves with members of the in-group and exhibit the behaviors and norms of that group, or should they instead spend what political capital they have to stand up for their out-group? Managing this dilemma can be extremely challenging for those outside of the core in-group of an organization or team.

Some of these biases are aptly illustrated in a recent study from McGill, which looks at how the media cover women who manage to break through the glass ceiling and scale the heights of their organization.

After examining millions of media references across a wide range of domains, such as business, politics, and sport, the research shows that as one scales the levels of fame, you are far more likely to receive harsh coverage if you’re a woman than if you’re a man.

It’s something the researchers refer to as a “paper cut”, in reference to the challenge of breaking through the glass ceiling, and it results from the violation of social expectations and gender hierarchies about what is typical or normal feminine behavior.

“As women become more successful and famous, their media coverage becomes increasingly more negative, while for men the coverage sentiment remains stable, regardless of their level of fame,” the researchers conclude. “As women’s fame increases, rather than celebrating their achievements with favorable coverage, media scrutinize them more closely, ready to find blemishes and faults in their performance.”