Catalyst releases 2006 Census of Women in fortune 500 corporate officer and board positions

Catalyst recently released its 2006 census of women corporate officers, top earners, and directors of the fortune 500, which reveals the persistent shortage of women in corporate leadership positions. From corporate officers to board directors, women are dramatically underrepresented at the highest levels of business, according to the study. The following is a summary of the study's findings.

Corporate officers and top earners. At the current rate of change, it could take women 47 years to reach parity with men as corporate officers of fortune 500 companies:

• Down. Catalyst's study found that women held just 15.6 percent of fortune 500 corporate officer positions, down from 16.4 percent in 2005.

• Down. The number of companies with three or more women corporate officers decreased.

• Stagnant. Women are still more than twice as likely to hold staff positions, whereas men hold roughly an equal percentage of line and staff positions. Line position experience is essential to advancement to the highest levels.

• Up. Women in top-paying positions rose to 6.7 percent from 6.4 percent in 2005 board directors: at the current rate of change, it could take women 73 years to reach parity with men in the boardrooms of fortune 500 companies.

• Stagnant. The study found that women held only 14.6 percent of all fortune 500 board seats compared to 14.7 percent in 2005.

• Down. Women of color held only 3.1 percent of director positions in 2006, down from 3.4 percent in 2005.

• Down. The number of companies with one or two women board directors decreased. In addition, more companies had no women board directors at all (of note: a greater number of companies had three or more women board directors).

• Up. The percentage of women who chair nominating/governance and compensation board committees increased to 14.7 percent and 10.0 percent in 2006 from 14.2 percent and 9.0 percent, respectively, (of note: the number of women who chair audit committees showed a two percentage-point decline, from 10.2 percent in 2005 to 8.2 percent in 2006).

Catalyst, a leading research and advisory organization working to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women at work, has monitored the progress of women in corporate leadership positions since 1995 and reports on trends in its annual census.

Additional data, including appendices, is available upon request.