Catalyst conducted in-depth, individual telephone interviews with 20 executive women and 20 CEOs. The women in this unique and influential segment of working women often are the first and only women at their levels or in their functions. Besides these two factors, no more than one-third of chief executives single out any other factor that might account for women's lack of advancement.
Women are a significant consumer base with increasing buying power.
Affirmative Action Forty-four percent of executive women surveyed believe that affirmative action or equal employment policies did not affect their own work lives or opportunities. Work and Family Women executives employ a number of strategies in their quest to balance career and personal life. A supportive husband was also cited by some women as essential to their ability to balance personal and professional commitments. Predictions for the Year 2000 Both women executives and CEOs are positive about the progress of women in management. Strategies Company-initiated strategies to level the playing field for women played a lesser role in the success of today's female executives, largely because most of these women rose through corporate ranks before corporations had initiated policies and practices to address gender diversity in management.