6th Annual Women on Boards Survey Released; Research by Forum of Executive Women Shows Local Companies Need Much More Diversity; 'Velocity of Change' Increasing Favorably.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Forum of Executive Women, the region's premier organization of influential women leaders, today released the research results from its sixth annual Women on Boards survey, a look at how the boards at the 100 largest publicly held companies in the Philadelphia region reflect gender diversity. Despite some minor progress, the landscape has changed little since last year, and Philadelphia-area companies have made virtually no progress over the past few years.

The executive summary of the research, now available online at www.foew.com, shows that despite the large pool of qualified female executives, most public companies stalled in their efforts to place women on local corporate boards in 2005.

"The numbers have not moved significantly from last year," said Kyra G. McGrath, President of The Forum of Executive Women, and Vice President for Strategic Projects and General Counsel for WHYY, Inc. "They have stayed flat or, in a few cases, gone in the wrong direction. On the positive side, we are encouraged that the 2005 data shows that two more nominating committee member chairs are women, and that the nearly 16 percent of available open board seats were filled with women last year - a big increase. Additionally, in the past several years, The Forum has partnered with a number of area companies to help them identify and place six qualified women on their boards."

Key findings from this year's study are:

--The percentage of women on the boards of the largest 100 publicly-held companies in this region is 9.8 percent, slightly up from 9.3 percent last year. This 9.8 percent represents 85 women of a total of 869 board seats.

--The percentage of women in top executive positions - the customary source for board appointments - decreased to 8.6 percent in 2005 from 10.2 percent in 2004 and 9.8 percent in 2003.

--The "velocity of change," comparing the rate of board openings to the rate of women filling those positions, shows that in 2005, of the 38 new board seats that became available, six seats (15.8 percent) were filled with women. This compares to 6.6 percent of the vacancies the previous year being filled with women.

--The key "pool" for board candidates are "C-level" positions such as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Information Officer. For 2005, the percentage of women in C-level positions is 4.3 percent, down from 9.6 percent the previous year, attributed primarily to changes in the top 100 companies and movement among executives.

--One bright spot is that of the boards with women represented, six nominating committees are now chaired by women - two more nominating committees than last year.

--For the second year in a row, the Women on Boards study documents the number of women among the top 5 earners in each of the largest companies. Of the 480 highest-earning positions, women represent 6.5 percent of the total, down from 7.3 percent in 2004.

"We need more corporations to recognize the value of proactively diversifying their boards," said James J. Maguire, Jr., President and CEO of Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corporation, which has three women board members. "Diversity has made our board better and more effective, and provided management with fresh perspectives on business issues facing our firm. In today's business climate, it is more important than ever before to ensure that you have the best corporate governance, and that means proactively seeking out board members who can add value in diversified ways."

The lack of support for women's leadership overall follows a nationwide pattern, as outlined in "Time for a Charge," a report issued earlier this year by The InterOrganization Network, (ION) of which The Forum of Executive Women is a founding member. Philadelphia is one of eight regions in which a significant number of public companies lack a woman on the board, joining the other regions surveyed -- Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, California, Michigan, Wisconsin and Chicago.

One study in The Economist reported that research from America, Britain and Scandinavia shows a strong correlation between shareholder return and a higher proportion of women executives. A decades-long study of Fortune 500 companies by the Glass Ceiling Research Center at Pepperdine University showed that the companies with the very best records for promoting women tended to be the most profitable. "Our country could take a lesson from Norway, which earlier this year mandated that 40 percent of its public companies' board members be female," said McGrath. "It's a lofty goal - and we have a long way to go."

With numbers remaining flat over the last few years, The Forum of Executive Women is focusing its efforts on several fronts to increase the number of women on corporate boards. The Forum offers direct support by providing names of qualified female candidates to companies seeking to add directors to their boards. The group also continues to work closely with search firms that advise corporations on board appointments.

To recognize those companies which have taken the leadership role in placing women on their boards, The Forum will honor several companies with its 2006 Corporate Star honor - this year's honorees are Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corporation; West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.; and Lincoln National Corporation.

Founded in 1977, The Forum of Executive Women, a network of 300 of the most influential women leaders in the region, fulfills its mission to advance women leaders by supporting women in leadership roles, promoting parity and serving as a resource for the corporate world, mentoring young women for future leadership, and providing a forum for the exchange of views, contacts and information.

Companies surveyed for Women on Boards 2006 included the Philadelphia Business Journal list of the largest publicly held companies headquartered in the region, ranked by revenue. The research was conducted by the Center for Social and Economic Research (CSER) at West Chester University, Pennsylvania.

The Forum of Executive Women continues to encourage companies to advance women and diversity on corporate boards. Action is needed for boards to include women who can add quality of governance and diversity of business thinking. For support in identifying talented women for corporate boards, or additional information, email [e-mail] or visit www.foew.com.

Please feel free to contact the following Forum sources for comment:

--Kyra G. McGrath, President, The Forum of Executive Women, phone [phone]; cell 610-804-4940.

--Autumn Bayles, head of The Forum's research committee, phone [phone].

--Sally Stetson and Patricia Wellenbach, co-chairs of The Forum's Executive Suites Committee, which produces the report each year: Sally's phone is 610-341-9020; Patricia's phone is 215-665-7014.