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Slowly but surely women are moving up the corporate ranks
By Annette Richmond
 By all accounts, our economy is going through a rough time. While the overall unemployment rate remained at 6 percent in December, the unemployment rate for adult women increased from 5 percent to 5.3 percent, according to the January report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Still, there is some good news for women. Even as the economy continues to stagnate, women in corporate America are moving up the ranks. Currently, women represent 15.7 percent of corporate officers in America's 500 largest companies up from 12.5 percent in 2000, and 8.7 percent in 1995, according to Catalyst's 2002 Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners study.
For the first time Catalyst reports women gaining ground in two new areas: chief financial officer and general counsel. In 2002, women comprise 7.1 percent of the 496 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) and 16.1 percent of the 453 General Counsels (GC) up from 5.6 percent of the CFO positions and 13.7 percent of the GC positions in 2000.
"In down economies women have been generally hit harder than their male counterparts in the workplace, but in the Catalyst Census, we find the numbers of women at the top are increasing, however slowly," said Sheila Wellington, president Catalyst, "2,140 out of 13,673 corporate officers are women. That's up from 1,622 out of 12,495 women in 2000.
Although, women are moving up, men still dominate the earnings race. Almost 95 percent (2,141) of the top earning corporate officers are men compared to only 5.2 percent (118) women top earners in the Fortune 500. This is a noticeable increase from 1996 when only 1.9 percent of the top corporate earners were women.
On the positive, more women are moving into prominent roles. According to Catalyst, women holding "clout titles" has increased from 7.3 percent in 2000 to 9.9 percent this year. Clout titles are defines as those positions that wield the most corporate influence and policy making power including: Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Vice Chairman, President, Chief Operating Officer, Senior Executive Vice President, and Executive Vice President.
Women of color also are moving up the ranks. The number of women of color corporate officers has grown from 1.3 percent in 1999 and 2000 to 1.6 percent in 2002. Of the 163 women of color corporate officers: 106 are African American; 30 are Asian-American/Pacific Islander; 25 are Hispanic; and 2 reported their race/ethnicity as "other"
"We are finally seeing some movement in women of color at the top, albeit slight, but the numbers are minuscule. Smart executives are investing today in mid-level women of color to ensure the best pool of talent for corporate leadership tomorrow," concludes Wellington. "They understand this will give them the competitive edge in the global market place."
Regional Changes Between 2000 and 2002
Finally, the 2002 Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners study also revealed some surprising regional differences. According to Catalyst the regional numbers on women corporate officers show:
- The Western region lags far behind the rest of the country with 13.4 percent vs. the national 15.7 percent
- The South is the region farthest ahead with 16.2 percent
- The Midwest comes in second with 16.1 percent
- The Northeast is a close third with 16.0 percent
The 2002 Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners study was sponsored by the AT& T Foundation and The Coca-Cola Company.
About Catalyst
Catalyst is a nonprofit research and advisory organization working to advance women in business and the professions, with offices in New York, California and Toronto. The leading source of information on women in business for the past for decades, Catalyst has the knowledge and tools that help employers and women maximize their potential. For more information visit the website http://www.catalystwomen.org
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