Women at the Top

Very cool stand-alone section in last week's Wall Street Journal --The Fifty Women to Watch 2007 Report.

Fortunately, I got the report before my nine-year-old daughter blacked out the front teeth and added curly mustaches on the women's 50 smiling faces.

Here's the good news:

* The women range in age from 32 to 61, across industries, countries and ethnicities.
* Some have been stay-at-home moms, some have stay-at-home husbands, some have no children -- a diverse set of successful juggling acts.
* Several started at McDonald's and as lowly "assistants" or entrepreneurs and made their way to the top through hard work and talent alone vs. educational or family connections.
* Women at the top are mentoring other women to be their successors.
* The Wall Street Journal, 2.7 million circulation, devotes a stand-alone report on women in business every year.

And now the bad stuff:

* Women still hold only 16.4 percent of Fortune 500 corporate office jobs (vice president or higher positions that require board approval)
* This number has increased only 0.7 percentage point since 2002, according to Catalyst.
* Women make up only one-sixth of corporate directors.
* Every day the majority of Wall Street Journal ink is devoted to men's accomplishments (and failures).

And finally, some pointers on how they got there:

"Women still have a tendency to see work as a beauty contest. We want to be well-liked. But a strong leader focuses on doing a good job and doesn't worry about pleasing everyone. You have got to be decisive and make things happen." -- Carol Realini, 53, founder of Obopay

"I don't care how old you are, you're always looking for someone when you need help, and there is always somebody that's been there before you. And you'd better pay it forward, meaning you reach back and you help someone else." -- Michele Coleman Mayes, SVP and chief legal officer, Allstate

"We all need to learn to have the courage to bring up issues that may be hard to bring up. When you look at where women have gotten in the workplace and the pay inequities that still exist in a lot of industries, I think we have to take the bull by the horns and ask about that very directly in our companies." -- Mary Sammons, chairman, president and CEO of Rite Aid

Do you work for a highly successful woman? Aspire to be one of them? Are one of them? What work/family advice helped you get to where you are today? Let us know the view from inside.

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  November 28, 2007; 7:00 AM ET  | Category:  Moms in the News
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