C200: Women's Overall Clout in the Business World Inched Forward in 2002, but Parity with Men Still More Than Two Decades Away.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2003

Results of C200 Business Leadership Index Show Modest 8% Gain in

2002 For Businesswomen Who Move Small Step Closer To

Parity With Male Counterparts

Seven Of Index's 10 Benchmarks Show Positive Movement, But Women

Actually Lost Ground in "Venture Capital Funding,"

"Company Size" and "Keynote Speakers"

The C200 Business Leadership Index, the first and only ongoing, comprehensive and quantifiable measure of women's clout in the business world, increased about 8% during 2002 to a score of 4.28 on a ten-point scale, with 10 equaling parity with men. At this pace, parity with men in terms of business clout is more than 20 years away. The results were published today in the 2003 C200 Business Leadership Index report.

Measured annually, the C200 Index tracks businesswomen's movement toward, or away from, parity with their male counterparts. The first index was published in 2002, and reported on full-year 2001 data. The C200 Index is made up of a weighted average of 10 distinct benchmarks of business-world influence: Women-owned businesses; F500 Board Seats; F500 Corporate Officers; Company Size; Venture Capital Funding; Line/Staff Ratio; Gender Wage Gap; MBA enrollment; Keynote Speakers; and Charity Fundraising Chairs.

Taken together, these benchmarks provide for the first time a trackable and statistically valid measure of women's overall business clout. The Index was developed, and is sponsored by, The Committee of 200 (C200), a national organization of leading businesswomen that focuses on fostering growth and increasing opportunities for women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.

Parity with Men Could Be More than 20 Years Away

"While this year's Index score shows businesswomen are still less than halfway toward parity with their male counterparts, the movement is in the right direction," said Connie Duckworth, Chair of The Committee of 200. "A year-over-year 8% up-tick is significant, especially with the lackluster economy. During 2002, women clearly made serious progress in key areas, such as corporate officer positions and board seats at Fortune 500 companies."

Added Judith R. Haberkorn, Retired President, Consumer Sales & Services, Verizon Communications: "But the major hurdle continues to be the slow pace of progress. If the current trend abides, businesswomen will still need a minimum of two more decades to reach equal footing on all fronts with their male counterparts. We must commit to finding ways to foster change that will ensure parity for our daughters, as opposed to our granddaughters or great-granddaughters."

Women Gaining Ground in "Responsibility" Roles at F500 Companies

During 2002, women made major strides toward parity, and increased their profiles and prestige levels, at Fortune 500 companies. In three areas in particular - corporate officer positions, board seats and line-to-staff ratio - women proved to be an increasingly important source of candidates for positions of responsibility. Importantly, progress in each of these three key areas directly influences progress in the others. For example, increased corporate officer representation is likely to result in more women ascending to board seats.

-- During 2002, the F500 Corporate Officer benchmark increased 21% to 3.36, up from 2.78 in the previous year (10 equals parity). If the current trend continues, women could have equal representation as officers in Fortune 500 companies by 2014.

-- During the same period, the F500 Board Seats benchmark rose 4% to 2.76 from 2.66 in the prior year. But if the current trend continues, women will need more than 60 years to reach parity in this area.

-- During 2002, the Line/Staff Ratio benchmark increased 5% to 5.90, up from 5.60 in the previous year. At this pace, parity could be reached by 2016.

Said Ms. Duckworth: "Women are clearly working harder than ever, and beginning to earn more responsibility as senior managers. But parity in the corporate world remains unobtainable. Corporations need to do more to get women into important line positions and onto Boards. And for their part, women must continue to take risks, showcase their skills and push the envelope to get the recognition and responsibility they deserve."

But Age-Old "Wage Gap" Still Haunts Women Executives

Even with significant gains in positions of responsibility at America's largest companies, women still have difficulty achieving "equal pay for equal work." In 2002, the gender wage gap closed slightly, suggesting that the rate at which this inequality is mending at a glacial pace.

-- In calendar year 2002, the Gender Wage Gap (narrowed slightly)

with the benchmark increasing only 2% to 7.74, up from 7.60 in

the previous year (10 equals parity). At this pace, pay

equality is still nearly 20 years off.

"Of all the benchmarks we measure, the Gender Wage Gap is currently closest to parity. Nonetheless, the pace of change is inexcusably slow. This issue has been arguably top-of-mind in corporate America for more than 30 years, yet full equality in pay is still nearly two decades away," said Agnieszka Winkler, Chairman, ValueStorm, Inc. "As senior women executives, we need to ask ourselves whether we've done enough to enact, and insist upon, the institutional changes that will relegate this age-old injustice to the dustbin of business history."

Even with Sour Economy, Women Entrepreneurs Eke Out Slight Gain; Enrollment at Top 20 B-Schools Also Up Slightly; Fundraising Chairs Up Substantially

While women made significant gains in the corporate arena, the march to parity for women business owners and entrepreneurs was hampered by lackluster economic conditions.

-- In 2002, the Women-Business Owners benchmark increased only

about 1% to 5.96, up from 5.88 in the previous year. If the

current trend continues, women will need more than 60 years to

reach parity.

Also, as the sour economy swelled applications to MBA programs, women actually made a slight increase toward parity in enrollment in top-20 MBA programs.

-- During 2002, the MBA Enrollment benchmark increased 3% to

6.77, up from 6.60 in the previous year. At this pace, parity

could be achieved by 2021.

The largest gain in any measurement was in Charity Fundraising Chairs. This measure, which tracks the nation's top 10 charities, is volatile because of its small sample size. Nonetheless, over the course of 2002, women clearly demonstrated increased clout in prestigious and high-profile fundraising roles.

But Ground Is Lost in Venture Capital, Company Size and Keynote Speakers

While the overall momentum of C200 Index over the last year has been positive, three areas of concern have emerged in which women actually lost ground in their pursuit of parity with men: Venture capital funding, the size of women-led businesses and keynote speaker participation. The economy likely had an impact on at least two of these measures; however, lost ground is always a major cause for concern and a launching point for further investigation.

-- Most distressing, the Venture Capital benchmark that tracks

the ability of companies with women CEOs to secure VC funding,

slipped to 0.82 from 1.10 in the previous year.

Added Ms. Winkler: "We realize that access to capital across the board has shriveled in recent years. However, this retrenchment is negatively impacting women-led businesses more than those led by men. More attention must be focused on the funding paradigm in order to determine how to improve women CEOs' access to this critical engine of growth, especially in a down economy."

-- Likewise, the Company Size benchmark (based on number of

employees) at women-led businesses shrank to 3.05 from 3.25 in

the previous year (with 10 being parity).

Added Ms. Winkler: "In addition to the funding shortfalls, the sour economy has disproportionately impacted women-led businesses' employee bases, which shrank more than (or grew more slowly than) men-led businesses. Again, here we see the linkages between measures: As women-led business got less access to funding, they may have been forced to cut-back on employees, or less able to fund new hires."

-- Women also lost ground in the Keynote Speakers benchmark,

which shrank to 2.62 from 3.88 in the previous year (with 10

being parity).

Like Charity Fundraising Chairs, this benchmark is volatile since it measures a small sample. "Nonetheless, conference organizers may be less inclined during a rough economy to take the risk of inviting a woman keynote speaker, who may be perceived as less of a draw than a well-known male 'business celebrity,'" said Ms. Winkler.

The C200 Index: Providing the Facts to Guide Strategy and Action

The results of this year's C200 Index make it clear that women business leaders continue to proceed slowly toward parity with their male counterparts in the major spheres of influence in the business world. The results drive home that there are major areas of concern, including VC funding. A core conclusion is that the overall glacial pace toward parity - in nearly all areas - is the major hurdle facing businesswomen today.

Concluded Ms. Duckworth: "The C200 Index is designed to help illuminate the way for further study and analysis. In the end, any step toward parity is positive, no matter how small. However, it is inexcusable that projected parity for almost half of America's workforce is still measured on decades. The onus is on all business leaders - men and women - to develop the strategies and action steps that will hasten equality for women in business."

Mission of C200

C200 is committed to fostering and increasing opportunities for women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. The organization reaches out to women running their own businesses and who run divisions of large corporations. C200 programs target the next generation of women business leaders, including young women and female students in leading business schools. The programs focus on outreach, education, research and mentoring, and they include conferences, scholarships, business forums, seminars and formal mentoring initiatives.

C200 was founded in 1982. Early members included Muriel Siebert, the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange; Lillian Vernon, the catalogue entrepreneur; the late Katherine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post; Sherry Lansing, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Picture Group, and Ellen Gordon, President and COO of Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.

The Committee of 200 is the organization of preeminent businesswomen that capitalizes on the success, power and influence of women in the global economy. The mission of The C200 is to exemplify and promote entrepreneurship and corporate leadership among women of this generation and the next. The membership of C200 is comprised of an exclusive group of women business leaders from all industries. Each C200 member has attained or exceeded a specific level of success tied to revenues and industry recognition. The C200 executive offices are located at 625 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611-3108. C200's website address is: http://www.c200.org.

For More Information:

To receive a copy of the report on the 2003 C200 Business Leadership Index, or to arrange a conversation with Connie K. Duckworth, or another C200 member, about this year's results, please contact Elizabeth Case at Sommerfield Communications, Inc. at [phone], or [e-mail]