Catalyst, the trusted name in research on women at work, released a new report last week updating the progress of women in Board rooms and executive suites. Bottom line, there is little progress. The findings: women still lag men in compensation, career advancement and places at the executive and Board tables.
Women represent 3% of Fortune 500 CEO’s, 15% of directors at those companies, and less than 14% of corporate executives at top publicly-traded companies. The Catalyst study, titled ‘Pipelines Broken Promise’, finds that, while for years executives have looked to the pipeline of up-and-coming women in organizations to provide future women leaders, in fact, that pipeline is failing. Anticipated advancement of women is not happening. (For complete research go to www.catalyst.org/publication/372/pipelines-broken-promise)
What the research does not address is the impact of so few women at the top of organizations. Newsweek,on its April 12, 2010 cover, asks ‘What Would Mary Do? How Women Can Save the Catholic Church from Its Sins’ , i.e., what would the feminine perspective of humanity bring to tough decisions made by mostly-male groups? Like the Catholic Church in its latest crisis. Like world leaders. Like Wall Street financiers. (See www.newsweek.com/id/235890)
What do you see in your organization and industry? What impact would more women in strategic decision-making seats have? What are your ideas to address this trend?