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May 19, 2003 13:23 ET
Women Still A Long Way
from
Achieving Parity In the
Workplace With Male
Counterparts
NEW YORK, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Women still have a long way
to go before achieving parity with their male counterparts in the
workplace, according to a new report released by The Conference Board.
The Executive Action Report is based on the views of a diverse group of
business executives and organizations participating at The Conference
Board's 2003 Women's Leadership Conference in New York.
TOP
Despite progress in recent years, significant gender gaps persist, the
report reveals. Only 15.7 percent of the directors in Fortune 500
companies are women, according to Catalyst. In Europe, women hold only 3
to 4 percent of all senior executive jobs.
"Women executives suffer from inequities in a variety of areas, ranging
from wages to representation on boards and corporate officer ranks, to
attitudes about networking and job opportunities," says Deborah
Anderson, author of the report. "Leaders and companies attempting to
bridge the gender gap point to several barriers standing in the way of
achieving parity, including work-life balance challenges, a lack of
awareness among senior executives, and inadequate networking, mentoring
and visibility opportunities."
The report cites this year's Business Leadership Index of The Committee
of 200 (C200), which measures women's clout in business and concludes
that "women business leaders continue to show slow, but steady and
determined progress toward parity with men in major spheres of influence
within the business world."
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"But we are still less than halfway to parity," the C200 says. "Women
entered the workforce in droves in the 1970s, and after 30 years of
significant participation in the American business arena, we still have
a long way to go ... If the current trends were to continue,
businesswomen would still need a minimum of two more decades to reach an
equal footing on all fronts with their male counterparts."
"The fact that there's still a gender-wage gap is inexcusable and really
a black eye for corporate America," says Connie K. Duckworth, chair of
C200. "In my mind, there's no reason to have pay inequity."
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"We still have significant challenges," says Sally Helgesen, an author
and expert on the role of women leaders in the knowledge economy. "In
the 1990s it seemed that women would have increasingly larger roles in
their organizations but women's progress is not as rampant as had been
predicted."
Research by WFD Consulting cited in the report shows that many women
have been stifled at work because they must juggle family
responsibilities to a far greater extent than men. Working women are
almost twice as likely to have spouses who work full-time, while men are
far more likely to have spouses who work only part-time or do not hold
down jobs outside the home.
The report offers solutions for putting women on an equal footing,
ranging from more aggressive awareness campaigns and stronger mentoring
and networking programs to a genuine endorsement of work-life balance,
gender-neutral processes, and accountability for achieving specific,
measurable objectives. TOP
Other research covered in the report was conducted by Christenson
Hutchison McDowell (CHM) Partners International LLC, Right Management
Consultants, the Women's Global Business Alliance and DiversityInc.com.
Sources included in the report represent a variety of other corporations
and consulting organizations, including BMO Financial Group; Cambridge
Hill Partners, Inc.; the Center for Creative Leadership; Eisai, Inc.;
Engelhard Corporation; Ernst & Young LLC; Fine Line Consulting, Inc.;
The Johnsson Group, Inc.; Pope and Associates, Inc.; Spherion
Corporation; and Steuben Glass.
The Conference Board will be offering several other conferences this
year on diversity and leadership issues, including The 2003 Annual
Diversity Conference ("Diversity Leadership: Enhancing Business
Performance by Building upon Diverse Talent") May 19 through 21 in New
York and June 9 through 11 in Chicago, "Achieving High Performance
Organisations through Strategic Leadership" Conference in London May 21
and 22 and "Women in Leadership: A European Business Imperative" in
Geneva June 17 and 18. For more information, visit The Conference
Board's website at
www.conference-board.org.
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The Conference Board creates and disseminates knowledge
about management and the marketplace to help businesses strengthen their
performance and better serve society. Working as a global, independent
membership organization in the public interest, The Conference Board
conducts research, convenes conferences, makes forecasts, assesses
trends, publishes information and analysis, and brings executives
together to learn from one another.
Source: Bridging the Gaps ... Putting Women on an Equal Footing
The Conference Board, Executive Action Report No. 53
Source: The Conference Board To
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