PRESS RELEASES

Published on PR Newswire January 21st, 2021 — More diverse leadership in 2020

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — As we reflect on the challenges we faced and opportunities 2021 brings, the Women Business Collaborative (WBC) and Equilar share good news from the private sector:  the number of women and diverse women appointed to board of public companies continues to increase.  In December 2020, public companies appointed 107 women to Boards of public companies as compared to 175 men.  Women comprised 37.8% of overall board appointments.  This reflects an upward trend in the 4th quarter of 2020 with women comprising on average 41% of appointees.

The appointments of women of color continues to rise. In December, 28 of the women appointed identified as women of color with women identifying as African American leading the way with 13 seats.  Nine of these African American women are first time board members – the pool of women holding board seats of public companies is growing. This is exactly what the WBC and its partners and champions are calling for – parity in leadership positions on all boards.

Edie Fraser, CEO of the WBC, said, "The latest data reflects that more companies are adding women, and the private sector is taking major steps towards true representation coupled with calls from groups such as Nasdaq to include at least one board member of diversity."

This upward trend demonstrates the attention the private sector is paying to calls for diverse leadership on boards. The call is for boards of public companies to look more like the composition of the population, communities, customers and public.

During 2020 the trend toward parity was positive.  Women gained a net of 1,055 seats on board of public companies and replaced 115 seats previously held by men. Overall, women gained 2.3% points of seats going from constituting 19.2% of board seats at the end of 2019 to 12.5% of board seats at the end of 2020.

Directors identifying as people of color comprised 12.5% of all the appointments in 2020. As this information is self-reported, it is important to note that the percentage of people of color appointed to public boards could be higher.

The overall trends across companies shows an increase in both the number of women and people of color appointed to boards of public companies. Equilar and WBC are tracking and analyzing the appointment of directors in terms of numbers, diversity and profile; but also, the companies and industries in which female board members are present and how many of the overall board seats are held by women. The time is now for women to sit across all companies, boards, and sectors.  Please, join us in celebrating, tracking, analyzing, and promoting women on boards of public companies.

ABOUT WBC
The Women Business Collaborative (WBC) is an unprecedented alliance and a business women's movement focused on equal positions, pay and power for all business women.   https://www.wbcollaborative.org/

SOURCE Women Business Collaborative

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https://www.wbcollaborative.org

Published for PR Newswire January 2021 — UPS, Clorox, Citigroup, CVS, and Dick's Sporting Goods named women CEOs pushing women into 7.8 percent of top corporate leadership. Additionally, women of color joined boards at record levels ensuring gains are widely shared.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — While the challenges of 2020 have led some women to leave the workforce due to the pandemic, others are rising to top levels of business, according to a new report. Women made gains in leadership roles in all sectors but private industry truly stepped up in the last year. This was more than simply platitudes and commitment statements but included accelerating the pace of appointments of women to the highest levels, showing results and being more flexible with its workforce during the pandemic.

"2020 might have been a difficult year, but this demonstrates that the time is now for women to move from C-Suite to CEOs and boards and all sectors," says Edie Fraser, CEO of the Women's Business Collaborative (WBC) which presented the report. "We expect accelerated progress in 2021. Expect accountability! Expect more good news."

Number of Women CEOs has risen from 6% 2019 to a projected 8.2% by Feb. 2021: WBC with C200 and Catalyst published the Women CEOs in America Report and website, the first report tracking women CEOs across public and private companies. In December 2019, Women held 30 (6.0%) of CEO positions in S&P 500 companies. At the start of 2020, women comprised 6.7% of CEO positions, and at the close of 2020, women, hold 7.8% of CEO positions. The numbers are rising with UPS, Clorox, Citigroup, CVS, and Dick's Sporting Goods naming women CEOs. We expect women CEOs to constitute 8.2% of CEOs by February 2021 and 15% of Fortune 500 and S&P roles by 2025 with 10% of those being women of color.

Women of Color and Women Overall are Taking Seats on Boards of public Companies: WBC and Equilar joined forces to publish a monthly report, Women Joining Public Boards – the first report listing and tracking women named to public company boards. In the last three months, an average of 40% of appointments are women with one-third of those identifying as women of color. In November 2020 of the 113 women appointed to public boards, 44 identified as women of color. This is historic given that in January 2020, no women were appointed to boards of public companies in the Russell 3000 index.

NASDAQ put forth its commitment requiring its 3,000+ companies listed to improve boardroom diversity by appointing at least one woman and at least one minority or LGBTQ+ person. WBC and members of its Women in the Boardroom Initiative (a total of 11 partner organizations) voice support for NASDAQ's commitment.  WBC calls for women to hold 30% of Fortune 500, S&P and Russell 3000 seats by 2025 and 10% of those women be women of color.

"As vaccines are dispensed, food insecurity and economic pressures becomes acute, racial inequities and injustice laid bare and the Black Lives Matter movement recognized, this is truly good news of the accelerated results for women's leadership in the private sector, particularly for women of color," concluded WBC COO Gwen Young.

SOURCE Women Business Collaborative

Related Links

https://www.wbcollaborative.org

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — WBC announced the appointment of Rebecca (Becky) Shambaugh to its Board of Directors, effective October 2020. She has been an active member of the Advisory Council, acts as the Co-Chair for the popular CEO Roundtable series and helps steer the Board's Corporate Development Committee.

Edie Fraser, the CEO of WBC, says: "The WBC is thrilled to have Becky as a member of our Board and Advisory Council as her deep expertise and decades of experience as a notable thought leader in the advancement of women leaders will help us drive progress for women in business everywhere."

Becky Shambaugh is an internationally recognized leadership expert, author, and keynote speaker on 21st Century Leadership. She is President of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, a consultancy firm that serves a global, F 500 client base, known for its results-focused solutions for creating inclusive work cultures that propel equity for all. Becky is the founder of Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL), one of the first executive leadership development programs in the country. She has been showcased on CNBC, TED Talks, NPR, and ABC and featured in the Harvard Business Review, the New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Time and Fortune magazines. She is author of the bestselling books, "It's Not A Glass Ceiling, It's A Sticky Floor" and "Make Room for Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model to Achieve Extraordinary Results," both published by McGraw-Hill.

Becky partners with clients such as: Capital One, Cisco, IBM, J&J, Leidos, Marriott, Mastercard, and Microsoft. She is a member of the National Press Club and Economic Club of Washington, D.C. and is an award recipient for Smart CEO Brava! and Women Who Mean Business.

The Women Business Collaborative (WBC), an alliance of 43+ women business organizations and many business and individual collaborating together to achieve equal position, pay and power for all business women. #WBCFasterTogether

SOURCE Women Business Collaborative

LINK: https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2020/11/record-number-of-women-join-public-company-boards.html?page=all A record number of women joined the boards of directors of public companies in October with healthcare and tech companies leading the way, according to the Women Business

The Women Business Collaborative, C200 and Catalyst realeased today the Women CEOs in America Report: Changing the Face of Business Leadership. This first of its kind report report shares both the data and the profiles of model women CEOs, as well as providing economic perspectives and analysis of how to address the scarcity of diversity within the pipeline.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — C200, Catalyst and Women Business Collaborative (WBC) released the 2020 Women CEOs in America Report: Changing the Face of Business Leadership. This first of its kind report tells a comprehensive story of women CEO leadership today in not only Fortune 500, S&P 500, and Russell 3000 companies, but in private companies including media and finance. This report shares both the data and the profiles of model women CEOs, as well as providing economic perspectives and analysis of how to address the scarcity of diversity within the pipeline. The report profiles women CEOs and analyzes the pipeline across the public and private sectors, and with its companion monitoring tool offers critical insights to understanding women's leadership in corporate America.

Today, 7.8% or 39 of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and less than 1% identify as a person of color. Thus, each appointment of a woman CEO is critical. In February 2021, the number will increase to 40 women CEOs in the Fortune 500, or 8%, when Jane Fraser assumes control at Citi. C200, Catalyst and WBC are hopeful more women will be appointed CEO within the next six months. The time to elevate women CEOs and increase efforts to develop a rich and diverse pipeline is now. "We ask corporate America to work with us to accelerate the progress towards our goals, including ensuring that by 2025 women are 15% of Fortune 500 CEOs and at least 10% of those CEOs are women of color," says Edie Fraser, CEO of Women Business Collaborative.

ABOUT C200
C200 is a not-for-profit membership organization with an educational and charitable mission whose members include the world's most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. The purpose of C200 is to encourage and facilitate the sharing of members' expertise, experience, networks, and leadership to educate, inspire, support, and advance women in business.

ABOUT CATALYST
Catalyst is a global nonprofit working with some of the world's most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women. Founded in 1962, Catalyst drives change with pioneering research, practical tools, and proven solutions to accelerate and advance women into leadership—because progress for women is progress for everyone.

ABOUT WBC
Women Business Collaborative is an alliance of business women's organizations working together to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women in business. We are a social movement consisting of millions of diverse, professional women and men, business organizations, public and private companies and the media leveraging the power of collaboration to accelerate change.

The complete 2020 Women CEOs in America Report: Changing the Face of Business Leadership is available Here.

Read the orginal release here.

Women Business Collaborative Summit Showcases Collaboration in Accelerating Leadership

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Women Business Collaborative (WBC), the only collaborative and fastest-growing movement of women's business organizations, corporate partners, C-Suite leaders, entrepreneurs, capital leaders and associations is hosting its digital Annual Summit – Weaving a Movement, October 1st and 2nd.  WBC works to achieve Equal Position, Pay and Power for all business women. At the Summit, WBC will hear from industry trailblazers, salute its Board, 41+ partner organizations and their work accelerating WBC's Nine Action Initiatives, and recognize CEOs from companies promoting women's leadership.  Additionally, WBC, in collaboration with its partners Catalyst and C200, will release the first Women CEOs In America report.

"We are so incredibly grateful for the passionate support to move collectively and faster together for the advancement of business women and our commitment to women of color is of major importance. We have seen drastic uptakes in women represented on Boards in 2020, and we continue to see important promotions in the C-Suite with women CEOs; we must stand bold and steadfast," said Edie Fraser, CEO of WBC. " We are grateful to our sponsors and partner organizations – for their leadership and continued commitment to our values. We have much to do together and much to celebrate."

WBC will recognize four business leaders with the 2020 WBC CEO Leadership Award for Gender and Diversity Excellence. The awardees – Bruce Broussard, Humana; Ann Cairns, Mastercard; Dave Ricks, Eli Lilly and Company; Arne Sorenson, Marriott International – will be honored for their work driving gender and diversity in leadership. Joaquin Duato, Vice Chair of Johnson & Johnson, will speak about Executive Commitment to Gender and Diversity.

WBC's will host three Trailblazer award recipients with keynotes by Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Bonnie St. John, Former Paralympic Skier, Author and Public Speaker; and Judith M. von Seldeneck, Founder and Chair of Diversified Search and founding sponsor of WBC. 

Our movement and network, spearheaded by our Board, organization partners, and growing network of over 100 Advisory and 107 Leadership Council members, reaches tens of thousands of business leaders across the United States and globally. WBCs commitment to diversity is reflected in our Councils and Board of Directors which include more than 32 percent people of color.  

The WBC Annual Summit is sponsored and supported by twelve organizations: Diversified Search, Bank of America, Capital One, CoreCivic, DevMar, Genuent, Humana, Inoventures, Republic Bank, Sodexo, Tata Consultancy Services and Zendesk. 

Read the original release here.

Women Business Collaborative Recognizes Four Corporate Executives for Leadership in Gender Diversity. 
Awardees include leaders from Eli Lilly and Company, Humana, Marriott International and Mastercard 
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Women Business Collaborative (WBC) recognizes heads of Eli Lilly and Company, Humana, Marriott International and Mastercard with their 2020 WBC CEO Leadership Award for Gender and Diversity Excellence.

The 2020 awardees are:

• Bruce Broussard, President and CEO, Humana
• Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair, Mastercard
• Dave Ricks, Chair and CEO, Eli Lilly and Company
• Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International

"These four represent top leaders taking swift and transparent actions to build equity in business. We are excited to celebrate their commitments to creating more equitable and inclusive workplaces and driving progress," said Edie Fraser, Founder and CEO of WBC. "The work we’re doing requires everyone in the business community to do their part, and we are so proud to honor those who are leading the way."

WBC is an alliance of women business organizations and professional men and women working to achieve equal position, pay and power for All Business Women.

The 2020 WBC CEO Leadership Awards for Gender and Diversity Excellence were selected using input from WBC members and partners as well as data available from Gender Fair, the first and largest consumer platform that rates companies on their gender and diversity practices, including Leadership, Employee Policies, Advertising and Communications, and Social Responsibility. Awardees were chosen for their long public history of prioritizing gender equality, diversity, equity and inclusion as well as data available on recruiting diverse talent, community impact and CEO leadership.

"It was important for us to not only focus on CEOs that championed gender and inclusivity, but those who had established crystal clear targets and processes for reaching a diverse workplace, and who were willing to share results," explained Robert Reiss, who along with Rebecca Shambaugh are co-chairs of the WBC CEO Roundtable. 

The awardees will be recognized for their contributions during day two of the WBC Summit, October 2, 2020. 

Read the original release here.

The Women Business Collaborative today announced the creation of the WBC Staffing Leadership Council to accelerate diversity, equity and inclusion in the staffing industry. The council was created in collaboration with the American Staffing Association, Staffing Industry Analysts and the TechServe Alliance.

“The staffing industry needs data to identify gaps among women of all backgrounds at all levels in the industry,” said Teresa Creech, council co-chair and CEO TalentWave. “With the caliber of organizations involved in the council, we have an opportunity to make a significant impact and pave the way for the next generation of industry leaders.”

Ursula Williams of SIA is serving as a council member.

“I’m particularly pleased that SIA is taking a leadership role in this effort, which is committed to the acceleration of equitable and inclusive workplace environments in the staffing industry,” SIA President Barry Asin said. “A special thank you to Ursula Williams, our COO, who has been one of the founding council members and the driving force behind SIA’s involvement in this initiative.”

Edie Fraser, CEO of the Women Business Council, said now is the right time to concentrate on opportunities for the advancement of women of color.

“WBC is honored to collaborate with these thought leaders to redouble our efforts in support of our mission to accelerate the advancement of all women in business,” Fraser said. “Representation by the three top industry associations and advisors alongside a remarkable bench of staffing leaders, is a testament to the industry’s commitment to create a more just and equitable workplace.”

Council co-chairs are Creech; Dana Look-Arimoto, SettleSmarter; and Kip Wright, Genuent.

Council members are Susan Donohoe, TechServe Alliance; Eric Gregg, ClearlyRated; Gene Holtzman, Mitchell Martin Inc.; JJ Hurley, GDH Consulting; Ashish Kaushal, HireTalent; Leo Sheridan, Advanced Group, and chairman, American Staffing Association; Laquita Stribling, Randstad; Mara Swan, board member, Manpower; Leslie Vickrey, ClearEdge Marketing; SIA’s Williams.

To address issues of gender parity and equity among all women the WBC Staffing Leadership Council has outlined the following objectives:

• Educate – Gather data, establish benchmarks and build metrics for progress
• Elevate – Build broad industry awareness and leverage work through the pillars of the WBC
• Activate – Identify opportunities to make a difference and track results across the staffing industry

The council will begin by conducting an industry-wide survey to understand the social identities among women in staffing and staffing leadership. The analyzed results will provide insight to develop recommendations for improving the representation of gender and race in leadership roles across the industry.

To participate in the survey, go here. For questions about the council or survey, please contact Ava Panetto at avap@wbcollaborative.org.

Read the original release here.