A call to action in a New Era of corporate governance.

January 2004

Key Findings

From the 2003 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors

* Women hold 13.6 percent of all board seats in the F500 in 2003, an increase from 12.4 percent in 2001 and 9.6 percent in 1995 when Catalyst first began tracking women on boards in the F500. (1)

* 54 companies have no women board directors, compared to 66 companies in 2001 and 96 in 1995. Another 208 companies have just one woman director.

* 54 companies have 25 percent or more women directors, up from 30 companies in 2001 and 11 in 1995.

* Women of color hold 3.0 percent of board seats at the 415 companies for which we have data, compared to 2.5 percent of board seats held at 341 companies in 1999.

* The top 100 companies in the Fortune ranking have at least one woman director. These companies also have the highest average number of women directors per company, at 2.0, as well as the highest percentage of women directors, at 16.0 percent.

A Call to Action

Demonstrating the slow but steady pace of change for women in the corporate boardroom, the 2003 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors--sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company--serves as a call to action for companies to make change in the new era of corporate governance. At 13.6 percent, women's representation on Fortune 500 boards does not adequately reflect their influence and impact on the U.S. economy as wage earners, managers, professionals, consumers, investors, and business owners. In order to ensure that they do not overlook the important and untapped resource of women board directors, corporate boards need to demand slates that reflect specific business competencies and a diverse pool of candidates.

The business case for board diversity is strengthened as changes in board regulations in connection with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are implemented. "Board independence and board diversity go hand in hand," explains Catalyst President Ilene H. Lang. "The profile of the ideal board director is changing, and nominating committees will have to search farther afield for qualified candidates. We see these changes as good omens for higher numbers of women in future Catalyst censuses."

The CEO Perspective

Excerpted from the 2003 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors

"At The Coca-Cola Company, women have played an essential role in our leadership since 1934, when Lettie Pate Evans became the first woman to join our Board of Directors. Today, our definition of diversity is as expansive and inclusive as the world's most famous brand, Coca-Cola. And we're committed to making diversity as real in our workplace as it is in the markets where we do business."

Douglas N. Daft, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company

"We've had women on the board as long as I've served with the company.... As time has gone on, I think we've increasingly appreciated that it's more than a woman or two.... It's having women represented in numbers that increasingly approximate their presence in the workforce and their presence in the consuming public."

Stephen Sanger, Chairman and CEO, General Mills

"It was not a question of lowering our sights. I'd never encourage someone to do that.... CEOs of major companies are so busy that they have very little time for boards. I'd rather have an executive vice president or a senior vice president who really knows something from another industry or another geography, as opposed to a chief executive officer."

Charles O. Holliday, Jr., Chairman E.I. du Pont de Nemours

Despite the slow pace of change, there have been some bright spots of noticeable progress:

* In 1995, 96 companies had no women on their boards, and today that number has decreased to 54.

* In 2003, 54 companies have 25 percent or more women directors, up from 30 companies in 2001 and 11 companies in 1995.

(1) When Catalyst first began counting women on boards in 1993, Fortune listed the top Industrial and Service 500 companies. Fortune consolidated these lists into the Fortune 500 in 1995, which Catalyst thereafter used as its benchmark. As a result, Catalyst has comparable data to the 2003 census on the status of women on boards since 1995.

With this issue of Perspective Catalyst thanks

The Coca-Cola Company