US Fed News, March 12, 2008, Wednesday

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US Fed News

March 12, 2008, Wednesday 12:00 AM EST

HEADLINE: NUMBER OF WOMEN EXECUTIVES IN NEW YORK'S TOP 100 COMPANIES IS STILL FALLING SHORT

BYLINE: US Fed News

DATELINE: ITHACA, N.Y.

BODY:

Cornell University issued the following news release:

The Women's Executive Circle of New York (WECNY), in partnership with The Institute for Women and Work in the School of Industrial Labor Relations (ILR) at Cornell University, has published the first in a series of annual reports on women leaders in New York state. The "2007 New York Census - The State of Women Business Leaders in New York State" reveals the leadership roles women play in top decision-making positions at the top 100 revenue-producing companies headquartered in New York for the 2006 fiscal year.

Overall the findings show that, although progress has been made, there remain opportunities for the inclusion of women executive leadership positions in these high-profile companies. Examples of the still marked gender-gap include the facts that more than half of the sample group of companies do not have any women executive officers at all, and that women hold a mere 15.6 percent of the 1,129 board seats.

The report drew from Crain's New York Business list of the top 100 revenue-producing public companies in New York state ranked by percentage of women directors and executive officers. It determined "leadership" based on the number of women who serve on corporate boards and the number of women who hold positions as top executives.

"It is well known that diversity is not only good for business in today's global environment," said Francine Moccio, director of The Institute for Women and Work, "but essential for companies to maintain their profitability. Gender diversification at the upper echelons of business management and corporate governance is vital for New York state companies to widen their pool of diverse skills, talent and experience by having more women in leadership positions."

The Institute for Women and Work at Cornell is an applied research and educational think tank and resource center that provides a forum for examining and evaluating the forces that affect women and work.

The partnership between the institute and the WECNY, which is the brainchild of Michele Williams, assistant professor in ILR's organizational behavior department and member of the institute's Faculty Advisory Council, is committed to advancing a paradigmatic shift in corporate and institutional values among business leaders and top decision makers in New York State. It was founded by a group of women who identified the need for an organization focused on advancing women and bridging the gap between women and men in business leadership in the state.

The report was additionally sponsored by Citi Smith Barney, the global private wealth management unit of Citi; KPMG LLP, a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services; and Seyfarth Shaw LLP, that provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation and business services.

For the complete "2007 New York Census" results, visit: www.ilr.cornell.edu/iww or http://www.wecny.com" to download the full report.

Contact: Nicola Pytell, 607/254-6236, 607/351-3548, nwp2@cornell.edu

LOAD-DATE: March 13, 2008