You have been repeatedly turned down for promotions despite consistent stellar reviews, excellent bonuses, impressive pay raises and an array of other kinds of formal recognition for a job well done. As a member of a minority, you are beginning to wonder if these rejections are because of your gender, race, sexual orientation or age. If so, what can you do about it?

Before generating any hypotheses about your boss' intentions, you should consider what other factors might be hampering your efforts to be promoted. Your boss may have reasons that have nothing to do with your minority status. For example, your she may be more dependent on you than you fully appreciate. She may, for her own reasons, be afraid to lose you. Alternatively, there may be other reasons why you are being turned down for promotions. It is important that you try to learn more about why you have been turned down so that you can take effective steps to rectify the situation.

Consider sitting down with your boss in a quiet and non-threatening way. Tell her that you have appreciated her support over the years and that you would like her advice and guidance. Start by identifying those things that you have valued about your bosses recognition of your good work. Say something like, "I have appreciated your support over the years. I have always felt recognized and respected for my work. I've appreciated the pay raises and the bonuses."

Next, candidly describe your situation to her. For example, you might say, "I have applied for five internal promotions and I have received five rejections. This has been very difficult. My goal is to grow within the company. I would like to be promoted. I would like to try to better understand what I might do to be successful in any subsequent applications. What do I need to change?"

If these have been her decisions, ask her to help you to develop a plan aimed at making you more successful in your future applications. Ask her where she feels your deficits lie. If decisions have been made by others, ask her to help you to learn more about them.

Make sure to help her to be as specific as possible. To do this I recommend that you use two techniques, both described in wonderful detail by author Manual Smith in "When I Say, No, I Feel Guilty." The first technique is to ask her to elaborate. For example, if she says that you have problems with your communication skills, say, " I am not sure that I know what you mean by problems in my communications skills, can you tell me more about it?"

When she gives you some examples, summarize them and repeat them back to her; this will show her that you are listening and trying to understand.

The second technique is to agree with her while asking for more information. For example, she says you have lousy communication skills. You can say, "Yes, sometimes I feel like I am not a very good communicator, can you tell me more about it? In what ways do you feel that I am unclear or ineffective?" Keep drawing her out. Your task is to get as clear a picture as possible of just how she sees you.

Allow her to give you complete feedback. Let her criticize things that may be related to your "differences." The key here is not to disagree or to become adversarial, but rather to listen and to encourage her to be completely candid. With this information, you can more effectively chart your course.