The research analysed 966 graduates in Business Administration or in the double degree in Business Administration and Law from the University of Valencia who completed their studies between 2014 and 2017, drawn from an initial sample of 1,452 individuals. The analysis examined their personal branding strategies through publicly available LinkedIn profiles.

Among the main findings, the study shows that men with between six and nine years of professional experience are 2.1 times more likely than women to reach middle-management positions, and 2.7 times more likely to attain top-level management roles. The results also reveal a clear gender gap in personal branding strategies – favouring men – as they tend to be more active on LinkedIn.

“The first and most notable finding of this study is that being a man with at least six years of professional experience practically guaranteed avoiding low-level management positions. In contrast, many women with the same academic background and age (28–32 years) were more likely to remain in these positions”, explains Rosa M. Yagüe Perales, professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the UV and first author of the article.

“This finding suggests that the structural barriers women face on their path to senior management positions become evident shortly after entering the labour market, as women tend to remain in lower-level management roles for longer periods than men”, adds Pau Pérez Ledo, professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at the UV, researcher at the Interuniversity Institute for Local Development (IDL) and co-author of the study.

In addition, “the results reveal a direct relationship between personal branding and managerial success, indicating a possible correlation between an effective presence on professional social networks and access to top management positions. This suggests that executives with successful careers gain greater online visibility as a result of their achievements, rather than their virtual presence driving their professional success”, notes Isidre March Chordá, professor in the Juan José Renau Piqueras Department of Business Management.

“For this reason, women are more inclined towards careers in public administration and education, even if these sectors are not always their first professional choice, but rather a second option following disappointment with the limited promotion opportunities in the private sector”, continues Rosa M. Yagüe.

Methodology

Data for the analysis were collected between May and June 2023. All information on professional experience and career progression was obtained from secondary sources, mainly public LinkedIn profiles, which provided information on job position, sector and years of experience. Participants were classified into three professional levels: directors, area managers and administrative staff. A person was considered professionally successful if, at the time of the study, they held the highest position of chief executive officer, founder or department director in a private company not classified as a microenterprise.

Article reference: Yagüe-Perales RM, March-Chordà I, Pérez-Ledo P (2026;), «Revisiting the glass ceiling in early management careers». Management Decision, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-03-2025-0736