Twenty percent of all women corporate officers are in line positions, compared to 41 percent of men. Corporate leaders should take steps to ensure their leadership pipelines include women. We hope that shining a light on the numbers will result in improvement. Companies with two or more women top earners include H.F. Ahmanson, Avon Products, Inc., Estee Lauder, Med Partners, Nordstrom, Student Loan Marketing Association, Washington Mutual. The 1997 Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners lists the number and titles of women corporate officers and top earners of each of the Fortune 500 companies and cross-references the companies by industry and geographic region.
Catalyst is the research and advisory organization that works with business for women's advancement.
In 1993, Catalyst published its first Census of Women Board Directors of the Fortune 500 to measure women's progress in corporate governance arenas and, in 1996, launched the Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners, which provides an accurate count of the number of women in the most senior and highly compensated management positions in corporate America. Sara Lee Corporation has sponsored both censuses since their inception.