The UC Davis Graduate School of Management in partnership with Watermark publishes the annual “UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders: A Census of Women Directors and Executive Officers.”

Our sixth annual study details the presence of women at the very top of the 400 largest publicly held corporations headquartered in the state. Our findings paint a disappointing picture of female representation on the boards and in the executive suites of these high-profile companies.

It’s clear that women continue to be an untapped resource. The same innovative thinking that drives the world’s eighth largest economy is not propelling women into top leadership positions at the largest public companies in the Golden State.

Key Findings of 2010 Study (published Dec. 2, 2010)

• Overall, women hold just 9.5% of board seats and highest-paid executive positions—in line with previous years in which we measured a broader category of corporate executives.
• More than one third, 141 (35.3%) of the 400 largest public companies in California have no women among their directors and highest-paid executives.
• Not a single company has an all-female board and management team.
• Sixteen (4.0%) of the 400 companies have a woman serving as CEO, up slightly from 15 CEOs in 2009, and showing some progress since 2006 (11 females CEOs)

Web Video

• UCTV coverage of Professor and Associate Dean Michael Maher and Ph.D. candidate Amanda Kimball presenting findings from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s 2010 UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders, followed by UC Davis faculty sharing their perspectives.
  View Video.
• Dean Steven C. Currall emphasizes the importance of the diversity of ideas and leadership in corporate America and how the Graduate School of Management’s academic environment supports and creates opportunities for female MBA students.
  View Video (1)
  View Video (2)

Media Advisories and Releases

• UC Davis News Release: California’s glass ceiling may take a century to crack, UC Davis study says (Dec. 7, 2011)
• ION Report Makes Case for Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards (March 7, 2011)
• Media Advisory and Press Contacts (Dec. 2, 2010)
• UC Davis News Release: Study Finds Women Scarce at the Top of Corporate California (Dec. 2, 2010)
• Watermark Announces Innovative New Program to Shift This Status Quo (Dec. 2, 2010)

Major Press Coverage and Blog Posts about 2010 Census

• Few Women in Executive Ranks in California, UC Davis Survey Finds (Los Angeles Times, Dec. 2, 2010)
• California Women Hold Less than 10% of Top Jobs (Sacramento Business Journal, Dec. 2, 2010)
• Glass Ceiling Still Sturdy, says UC Study (San Francisco Business Times, Dec. 2, 2010)
• Study Shows Gender Glass Ceiling Prevails – KQED Radio (KQED - California Money Report, Dec. 2, 2010)
• Orange County Companies Have Fewest Women Leaders (Orange County Register, Dec. 2, 2010)
• Study Finds Men Still Hold Far More Top Business Jobs Than Women (Capitol Public Radio, Dec. 2, 2010)
• Progressive or Regressive? The Hard Facts about Women Business Leaders (Watermark, Dec. 2, 2010)
• California’s Biggest Firms have few Female Executives, Study Finds (Los Angeles Times, Dec. 3, 2010)
• Opinion: Lack of Women in Top Silicon Valley Positions is a Disgrace (By Dean Steven C. Currall, San Jose Mercury News, Dec. 3, 2010)
• Ways to Go (San Francisco Chronicle, Dec 3, 2010)
• Glass Ceiling Remains Hard to Crack in State’s Largest Firms, UCD Reports (Sacramento Bee, Dec 3, 2010)
• Glass ceiling intact in California (International Business Times, Dec 6, 2010)

UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders: Census Archives

• View 2009 Study and Press Coverage
• View 2008 Study and Press Coverage
• View 2007 Study and Press Coverage
• View 2006 Study and Press Coverage
• View 2005 Study and Press Coverage

Partnering with the InterOrganization Network

The UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s partner on the annual census, Watermark, is a member of ION, the InterOrganization Network. Formed in 2004, ION advocates for the advancement of women to positions of power in the business world, especially to boards of directors and executive suites. Today, ION has 14 regional members nationwide, representing more than 10,000 women in business across a wide range of industries.

• ION report press release; March 22, 2010
• Guys Who Get It: 11 Business Leaders Who Understand the Value of Diversity at the Top
• Download ION’s 2010 report

Fourteen ION members:

• The Board Connection (Texas)
• The Board of Directors Network in Atlanta
• The Boston Club
• The Chicago Network
• The Forum for Executive Women in Philadelphia
• Inforum Center for Leadership in Detroit
• Women Executive Leadership in Fort Lauderdale
• Milwaukee Women inc
• CABLE in Tennessee
• The Central Exchange in Kansas City
• Financial Women’s Association of New York
• Network 2000 in Baltimore
• Watermark in San Francisco / UC Davis
• Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable in Minneapolis

Resources and Related Links

• Watermark - Watermark is a community of exceptional women leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area seeking to grow their personal impact in their professions and in society. We provide inspiring events, pioneering programs, and foster purposeful, meaningful, and lasting connections among a diverse network of respected peers. At Watermark we are privileged to work alongside exceptional women who have achieved the highest echelons of professional success.
• Professional BusinessWomen of California – A nno-profit organization designed to meet the leadership, skill and networking needs of California women throughout their careers and across industries.
• State of California Commission on the Status of Women – Established in 1965, the only state agency specifically dedicated to protecting the interests of California women. The commission works to ensure that women have equal rights and opportunity and that enacted legislation does not discriminate against women or otherwise undermine their status or their opportunities.
• Catalyst – A national research and advisory organization working with businesses and the professions to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women at work.