Today, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) announced its annual list of Top 50 Companies and 10 Nonprofits for Executive Women. According to NAFE, this list recognizes “…companies whose policies and practices encourage women’s advancement and whose representation of women at the highest levels of leadership demonstrates that commitment.”
Fourteen percent of these companies have women CEOs – one of the largest percentages to date.
This all looks like progress, until you compare that percentage to Fortune 500 companies: less than 3 percent of Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs. Plus, nearly three quarters of NAFE’s top companies have three or more women on their board of directors, compared to fewer than one quarter of the Fortune 500.
That’s a pretty substantial gap. So what does it mean? It means that “female-oriented policies” like executive coaching and leadership training for female employees and programs to identify and resolve wage gap grievances (two of the criteria NAFE uses to rank the top companies) really do make a difference. These aren’t in place just to avoid sexual discrimination complaints; they exist because women are still underrepresented in business leadership roles, and to change that, companies need to make concrete efforts.
It’s also evidence that we are well on our way to turning male-dominated fields (like business) into the equal territory that they should be. On the one hand, this is a good opportunity for us to step back and look at the progress we’ve made in a relatively short amount of time. In 2008, women still earned 77 cents on the male dollar. In the second half of 2010, that figure was up to nearly 83.
But it also means that we have a long way to go. Fourteen percent doesn’t really imply a shattered glass ceiling. And what about that measly 3 percent? Most of us grew up being told that we could be whatever we wanted to be, whether that was president, CEO, mother, or all three. Women’s equality isn’t at the forefront of social justice issues anymore, but that doesn’t mean that the fight is over.
What do you think about this announcement? Is this a reason to celebrate or a reason to further scrutinize Fortune 500 companies who don’t have enough policies in place to specifically support women? What should top companies be doing to support businesswomen? Let us know in the comments!
For more information (and to view the full list) visit: www.nafe.com