Quick Takes

Published: March 2010

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Women at the Top

• Fortune 500 executive officer positions held by women in 2009: 13.5%, or 697 out of 5,161.¹
• Fortune 500 corporate board seats held by women in 2009: 15.2%, the same as in 2008, up from 14.8% in 2007 and 14.6% in 2006.²
• Financial Post 500 corporate officer positions held by women in 2008: 16.9%, up from 15.1% in 2006, and 14.4% in 2004.³
• Financial Post 500 corporate boards seats held by women in 2009: 14.0%, up from 13.0% in 2007, 12.0% in 2005, 11.2% in 2003, and 9.8% in 2001.⁴

The Labor Force

• In 2009, women made up 46.7% of the labor force⁵ and 51.4% of managerial, professional and related positions.⁶
• In 2009, 59.2% of all women over 16 were in the labor force, compared to 72.0% of all men. ⁵
• Number of African-American women employed in management, professional, and related occupations: 2,796,000 (5.3% of all people employed in management, professional, and related occupations).⁷
• Number of Asian-American women employed in management, professional, and related occupations: 1,463,000 (2.8% of all people employed in management, professional, and related occupations).⁷
• Number of Latinas employed in management, professional, and related occupations: 1,971,000 (3.8% of all people employed in management, professional, and related occupations).⁷
• 55.1% of all mothers with children under 1 were in the labor force.⁸
• The labor force participation rate of parents with children under 18 in 2008 was 71.4% for mothers and 94.1% for fathers.⁹

Women in Law

• For the 2007-2008 academic year, women made up 46.9% of law school students¹⁰, but in 2009 were 32.4% of all lawyers¹¹, 45.7% of all associates¹², and 19.2% of all partners.¹²

Women and MBAs

• Women in the U.S. earned 36.3% of MBAs in 2008-2009.¹³
• Women in Canada earned 34.5% of MBA in 2008-2009.¹³

SOURCES

¹ Rachel Soares, Nancy M. Carter, and Jan Combopiano, 2009 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Executive Officers and Top Earners (2009).

² Rachel Soares, Nancy M. Carter, and Jan Combopiano, 2009 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors (2009).

³ Laura Jenner and Rhonda Ferguson, 2008 Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners of the FP500 (March 2009).

⁴ Laura Jenner, Liz Mulligan-Ferry, and Rachel Soares, 2009 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Board Directors (March 2010).

⁵ Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, "Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by age, sex, and race" (2010). 

⁶ Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, "Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity" (2010). 

⁷ Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished tabulations from the 2009 Current Population Survey," Employed and experienced unemployed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, Annual Average 2009" (2010).

⁸ Current Population Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Characteristics of Families, "Table 6: Employment status of mothers with own children under 3 years old by single year of age of youngest child and marital status, 2007-2008 annual averages" (2009). 

⁹ Current Population Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Characteristics of Families, "Table 5: Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18, 2007-2008 annual averages" (2009). 

¹⁰ American Bar Association, "First Year and Total J.D. Enrollment by Gender 1947-2008" (2009). 

¹¹ Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, "Table 11: Employed and experienced unemployed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, annual averages, 2009," (2010). 

¹² The National Association for Law Placement, "Law Firm Diversity Demographics Show Little Change, Despite Economic Downturn" (October 21, 2009). 

¹³ The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, unpublished data (2010).

UPDATED March 10, 2010