No room on the bench

I've applied for a management role several times, and every time I've lost the role to someone that my colleagues say "was on that hiring manager's bench". Everyone on the bench also happens to be white men with less performance, lower achievements on company metrics, and less education credentials than I have, but somehow, on the short list for this Associate Director to promote. I understand the attributes I listed are not all absolutes for promotion criteria, but how does one get on the proverbial bench, and be given a shot to get in the game? I don't want to jump to conclusions about bias, but I am a hispanic woman with a MBA and openly identify as part of the LGBTQ community, and this bench doesn't seem to have anything to do with performance... I want a fair shot, but I feel like I'm missing some secret about how to be considered to get on the bench and then into the game. And I'm wondering if someone like me will ever have that chance. Any thoughts on this?