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Men control board rooms
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October 18, 1996: 9:54 a.m. ET
Study shows glass ceiling has not disappeared; women still have difficulty climbing corporate ladder
From Correspondent Rhonda Schaffler
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Women climbing the corporate ladder still encounter difficulty reaching the top rung, according to a new study.
The Catalyst Group found that in 1995, men held 90 percent of the top positions in corporate America. It also showed men made up 98 percent of corporate America's top wage earners.
America's top business leaders recently got together to endorse President Clinton's re-election bid. The meeting looked like a gathering of the old boys network and the new study supports that image.
"Catalyst found that top leadership still eludes women. Women at the top is not the been there, done that issue that lots of people think it is," said Sheila Wellington, president of The Catalyst Group.
While women comprise 46 percent of the nation's work force, only 10 percent of them hold top positions such as chief executive officer, president or executive vice president.
Edwina Woodbury, chief financial officer of Avon Products, said many people still expect men to fill top positions within a company. (100K WAV) or (100K AIFF)
Despite the odds, there are some companies where women are shattering the class ceiling.
The study points out exceptions such as the Student Loan Marketing Association where 57 percent of the company's top executives are female - more than any other company.
Women comprise 40 percent of the officers of Corestates Financial Corp. and Pitney Bowes while 36 percent of the officers at H.F. Ahmanson and the Federal National Mortgage Association are women.
Women fare best in service-oriented sectors, but lag behind in manufacturing and on Wall Street.
Many women say they have simply given up on trying to break through the glass ceiling, opting instead for striking out on their own.
Women are the fastest growing group of small business owners. That statistic proves that many are apparently deciding they are better off taking charge of their own careers rather than leaving them in the hands of the men running America's Fortune 500 companies.
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The Catalyst Group
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