About this issue.

When we published our first report on the top African American women executives in the 21st anniversary issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE six years ago, it was an unprecedented barometer of the progress made by black women in corporate America despite continuing race and gender discrimination. Our reprise of that report in this, our 27th anniversary issue, marks both the continued advancement of many of the executives on our original list, as well as the emergence of new stars in the firmament of global industry. Certainly, the achievements of these women, and others like them in the pipeline of executive talent, are to be celebrated.

Yet even as we marvel at their brilliance and their persistence, their performance and their triumphs--not to mention their compensation packages--it is tempting to glamourize the careers of these executives, as if they are merely heroines in a fairy tale of corporate meritocracy. The tragic death of Dianna Green, a senior vice president at Pittsburgh's Duquesne Light, graphically illustrates that life for black women in corporate America is anything but a crystal stair.

BE Careers Editor Cassandra Hayes, who led a team of writers, reporters, editors and researchers during the past several months as they canvassed corporate America for its best and brightest, commends Green for overcoming barriers of both race and gender to become a top executive at a major utility company. "She helped to lead Duquesne Light through a difficult period of downsizing, cost-cutting and industry transition, while working hard to improve the workforce diversity of a company traditionally dominated by white males," Hayes says. "She also gave of her time and energy as a civic and community leader."

It is easy to underestimate just how much pressure top executives must endure to achieve--and maintain--career success. One year prior to Green's death, her mother and youngest brother died, and she was coping with her own declining health due to diabetes. In addition, her mentor, Wesley von Schack, also left the company. Finally, Green was asked to resign after Duquesne Light found she had falsely claimed on her resume that she had earned an M.B.A. On April 25, the day after Duquesne Light issued a statement to its 3,800 employees that Green would be leaving the company to "pursue other career interests," the 51-year-old executive committed suicide. The day that Duquesne Light announced the end of Green's tenure at the company was also the day that Hayes postmarked a letter informing Green that she was being considered for inclusion on the list featured in this issue.

Green's noteworthy career illustrates just how much can be achieved by black women, against tremendous odds, in corporate America. Her death is an important reminder that the path to the corporate suite is often dangerous and unforgiving. It is impossible to truly appreciate the achievements of the executives featured in this issue, without recognizing the tremendous amounts of courage, hard work and sacrifice exacted of those who would succeed at the highest levels of corporate America.

--The Editors