March is Women’s History Month. Let’s face it, the business world has been dominated by men for too long. Episodes of Mad Men come to mind, where just 50 years ago the majority of women served as assistants or secretaries. Sure, we’ve made progress, but has it been fast enough?
 |
There are no more excuses for leaving women out of the inner circles of power. Qualified women are everywhere. Women are ready for leadership; they just need to be identified and asked. —Madeleine M. Kunin
Did you know that 51 of the CEOs on Fortune’s most recent list of the top 1,000 companies are women? At just over 5 percent, that number seems incredibly low, and it is. But progress is being made. Consider for a moment that in 1998, just 17 years ago, there were only two female CEOs who headed up a company on the list.
Today, some of America’s best-known companies and brands are led by female CEOs, including PepsiCo, Xerox, Campbell Soup, Williams-Sonoma, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Cracker Barrel, and Avon. Another female-led company on the Fortune 1,000 list is General Motors, the seventh largest company in the world. It’s noteworthy that a woman has climbed to the top of the auto industry, which for so long has been a particularly male-dominated business.
Many women have taken a different path. Instead of trying to claw their way to the top, they start their own businesses. Think of Debbi Fields of Mrs. Fields Cookies or Oprah Winfrey and the media conglomerate she has built. And the woman as entrepreneur isn’t a new phenomenon.
HR budget cuts? Let us help. HR.BLR.com is your one-stop solution for all your HR compliance and training needs. Take a no-cost, no-obligation trial and get a complimentary copy of our special report Critical HR Recordkeeping—From Hiring to Termination. It’s yours—no matter what you decide.
In 1963, Mary Kay Ash, according to her company’s website, “decided to write a book to help women survive in the male-dominated business world.” While making her lists of what she’d seen done both right and wrong during her time in business, she stumbled on a plan for a company that would provide women an opportunity to achieve success in the business world. Today, more than 3 million women are part of the Mary Kay organization.
The definition of a successful person is simply an ordinary person with extraordinary determination. You cannot keep a determined person from success. If you place stumbling blocks in her way, she will take them for stepping-stones and will use them to climb to new heights. The one who succeeds has a goal, a dream, and makes her plans and follows them. —Mary Kay Ash
Women have proven that they can lead and succeed when given the opportunity. They just haven’t been provided with enough opportunities. And while we are seeing more women in top jobs across the country, it just hasn’t happened as fast as it should have.
March is Women’s History Month, and looking back, there are countless contributions women have made in business. When there weren’t opportunities, they went out and made their own. And when they have been given opportunities, they have proven they can be successful. Let’s just hope the trend of more women in leadership positions in business continues. It’s good for everyone.
“Fewer large companies are run by women than by men named John, a sure indicator that the glass ceiling remains firmly in place in corporate America…”
But wait, there’s more…
“A recent Ernst & Young report, which computed analogous numbers for board directors. That report yielded an index score of 1.03 for directors, meaning that for every one woman, there were 1.03 Jameses, Roberts, Johns and Williams — combined — serving on the boards of S.&P. 1500 companies.
Even as this ratio falls short of the score among chief executives, it remains astonishingly high. It also understates the impermeability of the glass ceiling. After all, most companies understand that an all-male board looks bad, and so most of them appoint at least one woman, although only a minority bother to appoint more than one. Far fewer of these large firms — currently one in 25 — are run by a woman serving as C.E.O.”
And here’s the worst part…
Women make $.77 for every dollar men earn. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. announced in October, 2014 that it was replacing former CEO Rory Read with Lisa Su, making her the first woman to run a major computer chip company. But she’s going to make less this year than her male predecessor. Her annual salary will be $850,000, Bloomberg reports, compared to the $1 million paid to Read each year he held the position, plus an annual equity award and cash performance bonus. Read will also get a lump sum payment of $5 million this year as part of his separation agreement and be eligible for a cash bonus as he remains with the company in an advisory role.
Woman have barely scratched the surface of the glass ceiling. Your article barely scratched the surface of addressing or even outlining the problem. Condescension, pure and simple. It appears you’ve published an article on March 27th because “March is Women’s History” just for the sake of not ignoring the topic completely. Stop pandering. Its insulting.