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"Even a casual glance at the news over the past twelve months suggests that women are making big strides &amp;#8212; better educated than ever, stepping into high-profile CEO slots at companies like IBM \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIBM\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t and Yahoo \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tyhoo\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t, and, according to one much-publicized study, outnumbering men as the primary breadwinners in their households. Even so, in major U.S. companies, the percentage of women at or near the top has\u00A0flat-lined.\nThat\u2019s according to two new surveys of Fortune 500 companies by nonprofit research group Catalyst. On the plus side, notes Catalyst chief Ilene Lang, men-only Senate hearings and other highly visible events in 2012 meant that \u201Cso many people started asking, \u2018Where are the women?&amp;#8217; In an increasingly diverse society, people are getting less comfortable with seeing these groups of the powerful who are all white males.\u201D\nIt may take a while for that discomfort to translate into change. For now, Catalyst\u2019s research shows, women\u2019s share of corporate board seats, at 16.6%, hasn\u2019t grown at all since 2004. The percentage of female executive officers at Fortune 500 companies is even smaller &amp;#8212; 14.3% &amp;#8212; and has remained flat for three straight years.\nMORE:\u00A0The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business\nWhy is that? When it comes to senior executive jobs, a third Catalyst project provides some clues. Entitled Good Intentions, Imperfect Execution? Women Get Fewer of the Hot Jobs Needed to Advance, the report is part of a series that examines the careers of 4,000 high-potential MBAs of both sexes and compares men\u2019s advancement with the career trajectories of their female counterparts.\nThat subtitle is a mouthful. It turns out that men more often get the kind of \u201Chigh-profile assignments, mission-critical roles, and international experiences\u201D that typically lead to the C-suite and above. One time-tested path to those hot jobs is finding a sponsor, an influential higher-up who paves the way.\nAnother approach that may work: Jump to a different company. \u201CBeing visible and making your accomplishments known is essential to getting the kinds of experience that can move you up into senior management, but some corporate cultures penalize women for that,\u201D Lang observes. \u201CIt\u2019s seen as \u2018not ladylike\u2019 or \u2018too pushy.&amp;#8217; So, to get the right opportunities, you have to be in the right culture. Find a division, or a company, where there are already some senior women, and where you\u2019ll be allowed to flourish.\u201D\nAs for corporate board seats, Lang pooh-poohs the widespread notion that there just aren\u2019t enough qualified female candidates. \u201CThe \u2018supply problem\u2019 is a myth,\u201D she says. \u201CBut there are more qualified people than there are openings on boards, so it\u2019s very competitive. You need a champion, someone who is already \u2018in the club\u2019 and will vouch for you.\u201D\nTo connect board-ready female executives with companies looking for directors, Catalyst last month launched a service called Corporate Board Resource, a clearinghouse where CEOs of Catalyst member companies &amp;#8212; the gatekeepers of \u201Cthe club\u201D &amp;#8212; endorse women whose experience qualifies them for board seats. \u201CHaving the imprimatur of a CEO is tremendously powerful,\u201D Lang says. \u201CIt gets you noticed in places where you otherwise wouldn\u2019t be.\u201D\nMORE:\u00A0Why the U.S. lags Europe (and others) on board diversity\nAnother talent pool where board recruiting committees might cast a line: The Committee of 200, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that now numbers more than 400 high-powered women in 100 different industries worldwide. Jan Babiak, a former Ernst &amp;#38; Young executive, is a Committee of 200 member who sits on three corporate boards.\n\u201CYou have to treat [pursuing a board seat] like a job hunt, only with a revised resume that reflects what boards are looking for,\u201D Babiak advises. \u201CReach out to your network and let people know you\u2019re looking.\u201D\nBabiak has given referrals to other women, which helped seven of them land directorships in the past year. \u201CWomen have to support each other,\u201D she says. \u201COther women helped me tremendously in getting my board seats, so now I\u2019m paying it forward.\u201D That kind of networking, which men have been doing forever, could be what finally budges the number of female directors off its current plateau."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://fortune.com/2013/01/17/why-are-there-still-so-few-women-in-top-leadership-jobs/?iid=SF_F_River/>