The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

In California, Women Virtually Absent from Corporate Boardrooms

Approximately nine out of 10 top management and board positions at public companies based in California are held by men, according to a recent study from the University of California (UC) at Davis.

Utilizing information that companies were required to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission through May 15, 2009 – researchers found that only 10.6 percent of board seats and executive positions in California's 400 largest firms are held by women. Almost one third of those companies (118) have no women on their boards and no women in their executive offices.

"Our findings paint a disappointing picture of corporate gender equity in California, the world's eighth-largest economy," said Steven C. Currall, dean of the Graduate School of Management, which conducted the study.

While the UC Davis study finds a large deficit of women holding top positions, it does not provide a clear understanding of what is causing the disparity. Noting that women are now earning 40 percent of advanced business degrees, the researchers recommend looking at factors other than eligibility.

The full report lists all 400 companies by percentage of women directors and executive officers, as well as by alphabet and by county.