A recent piece in PR NEWS focused on how important it is for
marketers to pay particular attention to women when crafting their
media messages, what with women influencing 85% of all consumer
decisions ("Targeting the 'COO' of the Household," Feb. 23, 2004).
But for corporate America, it's a different story when it comes to
promoting women. According to the third annual report by the
Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania,
released last week, women comprise 15% of executive leaders and 12%
of board members in top communication companies - numbers virtually
unchanged from a year ago. "Companies that have fewer women in top
positions also tend to have less women-friendly human resources
policies," says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg
Public Policy Center. "That creates a self-generating cycle, making
it less likely that women will be able to move their way up." The
study on female executives in 25 telecom, 18 publishing and
printing, 11 entertainment and 3 advertising companies also found
that:
- Seven out of the 57 companies (12%) surveyed had no women in
executive positions; for boards, the range was from 31% to
zero - No company contained boards or executive teams that had a
majority of women - Publishing companies (18%) edged out telecommunications (16%)
and entertainment firms (12%) for the greatest average percent of
women in executive positions