Survey Finds Women Holding More 'Corporate Clout' Titles
Released today, the results of a biannual survey conducted by New York-based women's advocacy group Catalyst show that in the past two years the number of women holding the “corporate clout” positions of chief executive, chairman, vice chairman, president, chief operating officer, senior executive vice president and executive vice president at Fortune 500 companies has increased by 3.2 percent. This increase bucks a historical trend of female officers being the first to go in economic downturns, and represents a growing recognition in the business world that attracting and retaining talented female leaders is key to maintaining top talent and company competitiveness according to Catalyst President Sheila Wellington. 15.7 percent of top corporate officers at Fortune 500 companies are now women, up from 12.5 percent in 2000---a gain including an increase in the number of female CEO's of Fortune 500's from two to six in that time period.
See "Survey Finds Women Holding More 'Corporate Clout' Titles", REBECCA GOMEZ, Los Angeles Times, November 18, 2002