Just Business
Quick name five men who are leaders of corporate America. Ok now name five women in similar positions. Now cross of Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart (and any other celebrities you put in as list fillers). That probably leaves you with the much maligned Carly Fiorina and if you keep up with business news Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, admit it you couldn't come up with five women.
The Wall Street Journal today released their annual report on the 50 Women to Watch in 2005. Topping the list is the aforementioned Meg Whitman, CEO's of Sara Lee, Avon, Xerox and Autodesk round out the top five of women running the show. Many more corporations have women waiting in the wings but we'll have to wait and see how many of them rise into a top spot. I've never been much of a feminist or had any career ambitions but as a women with a big fancy title in a company of nearly all women I've become more interested in the subject. According to the WSJ report while 50.3% of all managers and professionals are women, just 1.4% of Fortune 500 CEO's are women and 7.9% of Fortune 500 top earners are women. Even more interesting 90% of women are concentrated in staff jobs - marketing, HR, or other personnel related positions. However the women who reach the top levels rose through the ranks of operations side of business - mostly finance or technology. This is in line with a recent Catalyst survey which found that people believe women are less skilled at problem solving and influencing upward and women are more skilled at caring positions - rewarding, supporting and mentoring people. However when you look at men and women in leadership jobs they are actually hae very similar skill sets. As the old boys retire and more people who grew up seeing men and women are equals take over top job one would hope to see more women in prominent positions. I don't know what all this means and unfortunately you can't read the Wall Street Journal report without a subscription or a visit to your local library. But you can listen to the podcast, and it is worth a listen.
On a side note one of the interviewees for the WSJ report mentioned a book about the impact generation X&Y are having on the future of business "Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever" which might be worth a look.
The Wall Street Journal today released their annual report on the 50 Women to Watch in 2005. Topping the list is the aforementioned Meg Whitman, CEO's of Sara Lee, Avon, Xerox and Autodesk round out the top five of women running the show. Many more corporations have women waiting in the wings but we'll have to wait and see how many of them rise into a top spot. I've never been much of a feminist or had any career ambitions but as a women with a big fancy title in a company of nearly all women I've become more interested in the subject. According to the WSJ report while 50.3% of all managers and professionals are women, just 1.4% of Fortune 500 CEO's are women and 7.9% of Fortune 500 top earners are women. Even more interesting 90% of women are concentrated in staff jobs - marketing, HR, or other personnel related positions. However the women who reach the top levels rose through the ranks of operations side of business - mostly finance or technology. This is in line with a recent Catalyst survey which found that people believe women are less skilled at problem solving and influencing upward and women are more skilled at caring positions - rewarding, supporting and mentoring people. However when you look at men and women in leadership jobs they are actually hae very similar skill sets. As the old boys retire and more people who grew up seeing men and women are equals take over top job one would hope to see more women in prominent positions. I don't know what all this means and unfortunately you can't read the Wall Street Journal report without a subscription or a visit to your local library. But you can listen to the podcast, and it is worth a listen.
On a side note one of the interviewees for the WSJ report mentioned a book about the impact generation X&Y are having on the future of business "Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever" which might be worth a look.
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