Resources

2012

This report, the fifth in our Women Matter Series,  presents the results of our research into the gender diversity practices of 235 European companies.

2012

March 27, 2012 article found women willing to take more risks

2011

Despite an undeniable body of evidence that companies with higher percentages of women in their leadership perform better financially, the upper echelons of corporate Australia remain a largely male domain. Frustrated that business will not put its own house in order, the ASX Corporate Governance Council has recently introduced new recommendations for Australian listed entities to set measurable objectives for, and report on, gender diversity. This report examines the strategic advantages of an enterprise-wide diversity agenda, the reasons behind Australia’s failure to promote female leaders and the changes business must make — not just to comply with the new recommendations, but to leverage female talent to create a competitive advantage.

2012

2012

2011

Women are cracking boardroom glass ceilings all over Europe, spurred on by new quota requirements in many countries to put women at the top, according to the latest Corporate Women Directors International study of women directors in Fortune Global 200 companies, the biggest in the world.

2012

We urge businesses – business leaders – to make
it a priority to develop the talents and advance the careers of female staff who have been identified
as potential leaders . This means providing such women with the experiences and background needed to rise to the top, advocating their promotion to higher levels of responsibility, and showing visible results of these efforts . Our goal
is to see more women elected to corporate boards . The strongest business case for this goal and recommendation is that successful businesses of the future will be those that attract, retain, and grow talent – which requires that more women have the opportunity to succeed at all levels of the company, including the board . If American companies fail to meet the career requirements of high-performing women, they will fall behind global competitors that do .

2012

2013

As Calvert examines diversity in corporate culture, it is critical that companies embed diversity throughout their operations and reflect national trends toward bolstering the status of women, minorities, and the LGBT community in the workplace.

2013

This is Deloitte’s third such report in just over two years is a measure of the deep and abiding interest in the subject of board diversity from regulators, policymakers, boardrooms, and the public at large.

2013

Report explores the global shift in the number of women at the top of the business world and examines ways to make this growth permanent and parity possible.

2012

The Ninth Annual Status Report of Women Directors and Executive Officers of Public Companies in 16 Regions of the United States

2008

A surprising number of highly-educated MBAs are dropping out of the labor force. Associate Professor Catherine Wolfram, a member of the Haas Economic Analysis and Policy Group found MBAs are more likely than MDs and JDs to be stay-at-home mothers. Wolfram hypothesizes that JDs and MDs have more flexible career paths than MBAs. Wolfram's study is titled "Opt-Out Patterns Across Careers: Labor Force Participation Rates Among Highly Educated Mothers"

2009

Workplace diversity is among the most important predictors of a business' sales revenue, customer numbers and profitability. In one of only a few studies to empirically examine the implications of organizational diversity, sociologist Cedric Herring found that a workforce comprised of employees of both genders and varying racial backgrounds resulted in positive business outcomes

2009

A new study by Hedge Fund Research found that, from January 2000 through May 31, 2009, hedge funds run by women delivered nearly double the investment performance of those managed by men. Female managers produced average annual returns of 9%, versus 5.82% for men and, in 2008, when financial markets were cratering, funds run by women were down 9.6%, compared with a 19% decline for men.

2009

The study findings supported the view that before individuals will support efforts to right an inequality they must first recognize that the inequality exists. Men who were more aware of gender bias were more likely to say that it was important to them to achieve gender equality. Other findings revealed three key factors that predicted men’s awareness of gender bias: 1) defiance of certain masculine norms, 2) the presence or absence of women mentors, and 3) a sense of fair play. Of those three factors, having a strong sense of fair play, defined as a strong commitment to the ideals of fairness, was what also best differentiated men who actively championed gender equality from those who were not similarly engaged. Lastly, interview findings revealed three key barriers that could undermine men’s support for initiatives to end gender bias: apathy, fear, and ignorance about gender issues.

2006

The 2005 Census shows that, in the last three years, growth in the percentage of corporate officer positions held by women slowed to a ten year low. In 2005, women held 16.4 percent of corporate officer positions, only 0.7 percentage points more than they did in 2002. Furthermore, the percentage of corporate officer positions held by women of color stagnated at 1.7 percent. In addition, only 6.4 percent of corporate officer top earners were women. A deeper look into corporate officer status shows that while women were almost two and one-half times as likely to hold staff positions as they were to hold line positions, men were only slightly more likely to hold staff positions than line positions. Women also held 9.4 percent of the highest executive titles, up from 7.9 percent in 2002. Eight companies in the Fortune 500 were led by a woman CEO, compared with six in 2002.

2007

For the first time, Catalyst presents its hallmark Census of women corporate officers and top earners as a web-only feature and in a new graphic format. This document details the percentage of corporate officer positions held by women, the percentage of top earner jobs held by women, the percentage of women and men corporate officers in line and staff positions, and the number of companies with zero, one, two, and three or more women officers. The appendices list the companies by industry, and the average number and percentage or women directors by industry, geographic region, and Fortune 500 rank.

2009

The 2009 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Executive Officers and Top Earners details women’s representation in senior leadership positions at the largest companies in the United States. For the first time, Catalyst focused on Executive Officers, a segment of the Corporate Officer population as defined in previous Catalyst Census reports. This population change precludes data comparisons to previous annual Corporate Officer Catalyst Census reports. (Fact Sheet)

2010

Fact Sheet

1999

This report, the third in Catalyst’s multi-phase study on opportunities and barriers for women of color in management, focuses on the first-hand experiences of women who identify themselves as African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American. The report assesses the current environment and describes corporate initiatives that reduce turnover and enhance mobility.

2001

This report compares the work-related experiences, perceptions, and attitudes of women and men working in pipeline- and senior-level positions in the financial services industry. While this industry is one marked by low representation of women at senior levels and rumored to be replete with difficulties for women’s advancement, it also is seen as a meritocracy in which hard work is the key to success. Although the majority of both men and women in financial services are satisfied with their current positions and employers, women report the existence of subtle discriminatory practices.

2009

Series of tables reporting Global numbers on women in management.

2004

Catalyst used two measures to examine financial performance: Return on Equity (ROE) and Total Return to Shareholders (TRS).4 Upon examining 353 Fortune 500 companies,5 Catalyst found that there is a connection between gender diversity and financial performance. In addition, we confirmed that this connection between gender diversity and financial performance is evident for the overall sample of 353 companies and for the majority of industries for which we have enough data to study.

2010

Fact Graphic