Female in-house lawyers smash through glass ceiling
By ALB
|
Monday, 9 August 2010
The notion of a glass ceiling, if it ever was true, may be behind us as women increasingly fill general counsel positions in some of the world’s largest companies. According to the 2010 MCCA (Minority Corporate Counsel Association) Women General Counsel Survey, 94 of the Fortune 500 companies have women as their general counsel – an increase of nine over the past 12 months.
Female GCs were most common in the retail, pharmaceutical/health and energy sector, with these sectors constituting 36 of the 94 (38.1%) overall headcount. The survey also showed more ethnic diversity among female GCs of the Fortune 500 companies; 12 out of the 94 this year were non-Caucasian, compared to the 3 of the 85 last year.
MCCA’s executive director Veta Richardson said the survey results show women general counsel have “weathered the economic storm” and are continuing their advance at major corporations.
|
Fortune 500 companies female general counsel
|
|
Year
|
Total number of women general counsel
|
Percentage of women general counsel (%)
|
|
2010
|
94
|
18.8
|
|
2009
|
85
|
17.0
|
|
2008
|
92
|
18.4
|
|
2007
|
90
|
18.0
|
|
2006
|
83
|
16.6
|
|
2005
|
76
|
15.2
|
|
Source: 2010 MCCA Women General Counsel Survey, Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Inc. (MCCA).
|
Related stories: