C A LIF ORN I A’ S T O P 2 5 The Corporate Leaders of Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Executive Suite
In our study of the largest 400 public companies in California, the Top 25 companies with the highest percentage of
women leaders warrant special attention. Because of ties in the rankings, this list includes 34 companies—our longest Top 25 list in nine years—which provides some evidence that companies are moving toward greater gender diversity on their leadership teams. At each of these 34 companies, women hold 25% or more of the board seats and highest-paid executive positions. As a group, these companies average 31% of their top leadership positions filled by women, compared to 10.9% among the 400 companies in our study. These 34 companies, on average, also generate three times the revenue, report almost one and one-half times the income, and maintain a workforce three times as large as the average company in our study. Indeed, some of the largest California companies, such as McKesson Corp., are on this list. The Top 25 companies cover a wide range of industries. This list has companies from nine of the 10 industries represented in our study, including financial services (Wells Fargo & Co.); energy, materials & industrials (Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc.); consumer goods (Walt Disney Co.); technology hardware (Hewlett-Packard Co.); and technology software (Yahoo! Inc.). Two companies are tied for the top spot with 54.5%, a slight majority, of their top leadership positions held by women. This is the first time in our study’s nine-year history that the top company has more positions filled by women than men. Both companies—organic food company Annie’s Inc. and clothing retailer Wet Seal Inc.—have a male CEO. Annie’s Inc. is making its debut in our study this year. Highlights • SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. jumped into the Top 25 after having no women leaders in our study last year. SciClone made this turnaround by adding three women among its five highest-paid executives this year. • Two of the Top 25 companies, SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Williams-Sonoma Inc., have a majority of highest-paid executive positions, three of five, held by women. •
Two companies, Medivation Inc. and Wet Seal Inc., each added three women to their board of directors in the past year.
2013 UC Davis Census
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