Working toward more diverse leadership.

• Author: Hollein, Marie N.
• Position: FROM THE PRESIDENT - Statistical data

Over the years, leaders in the business community have spoken frequently about making its executive and governance ranks more diverse and opening up new opportunities at the partner, board and C-suite level. Though there have been periodic signs of positive change, there is still a long way to go.

In its most recent annual study of women in executive positions, Catalyst found that little progress has been made in the percentage of women holding high-ranking executive and governance positions. Here's a quick sample of the group's findings, according to a December 2011 report: Only 16.1 percent of seats on corporate boards of directors are held by women; only 14.1 percent of executive officers were women. In each category, there has been only negligible growth each year since the mid-1990s.

Of additional note is the fact that, of the Fortune 500, 136 companies had not a single woman in their executive ranks, Catalyst reported. In addition, 149 had only one woman on the board of directors. That seems a startling lack of growth in the number of qualified women being given adequate opportunities to lead. Growth has flattened for women on boards and in senior management.

It's not just that these findings are dispiriting. In conversations with executives of companies across the spectrum, the average seems to stand generally at women holding perhaps 13 or 14 percent of executive positions. Women business leaders, it appears, are still finding obstacles to advancement at the highest levels.

These unsatisfying numbers bring back memories of my days in senior management at one of the country's leading professional services firms. I recall attending a meeting of 32 senior executives and, as the meeting broke up, a colleague noted, "Do you realize you were the only woman in the room?"

Taking Action

Achieving diversity is more than expanding opportunities for women, and we'll be addressing other relevant issues in greater depth in the future. For FEI, rectifying any inequities, as much as we're able to do so, is a high priority. We've initiated a number of diversity efforts at chapters throughout the country--Chicago, Boston, Dallas and Detroit, to name...