This paper is directed at describing the informal promotion process utilized in large urban school districts and the effect of in-house selection on minority individuals and women. The sponsor-protege process (the informal promotion process of large urban school districts) and socialization (the psychological dimension of promotion) are discussed. Ethnography was the research methodology used. Results of the study generated information in three areas: (1) a descriptive model of the sponsor-protege process used in promotion; (2) an explanation of the socialization outcome, replication of the protege in the image of the sponsor; and (3) the postulation of hypotheses and corollaries which explain the exclusion of minorities and women from advancement into public school administrative roles. The report supports the premise that equal opportunity of promotion has been replaced with restrictive access to opportunity favoring white males. The proposition was set forth that institutional practices exclude culturally different people from professional advancement, thus rejecting the popularly held misbelief that women and minorities are inadequate in number, ability, and aspiration when seeking promotion. Tables of data and references are included in the report. (Author/MK)