News For You - December 2000

We have developed this page to give our visitors the opportunity to see what's new, at a glance, in the business world and how it relates to our program. Take a moment to browse and see what's of interest to you!

Baldwin "Wins" the Gold

Sixteen years after Sandra Baldwin unanimously won the election to become president of U.S. Swim Team, Baldwin has become the first female president of the U.S. Olympic Committee. The 61-year-old former English professor, and now real estate executive, won a narrow vote over Paul George in balloting by the USOC’s board of directors for a four-year term in the top position.

"I didn’t know if this organization was ready for a woman, but they were more ready than swimming was," Baldwin said. "I think many felt the need to send a statement to the world. It was important for that statement to come from an organization that has been perceived as very, very conservative."

Baldwin’s victory was the latest big gain for women in the U.S. Olympic community.

(Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer Thursday, November 16, 2000)

Lack of Pension Leads to Tension

Diligent saving by middle-age women is beginning to narrow the pension gender gap, but women are still way behind men in saving for retirement, according to an analysis of consumer finance data. On average, women have saved 44 cents for every dollar that men have saved in defined-contribution pensions or individual retirement accounts.

Because women live longer, they need considerably more in retirement savings than men.

Women are still far more likely than men to end up impoverished in old age.

Vickie L. Bajtelsmit, co-author of this study, offers a few simple steps for women to follow. "It is important to invest long-term assets in stocks. Some women might be reluctant to do so, but it is riskier to invest too conservatively when a long time horizon is involved."

(Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday, December 10, 2000)
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Internet Revolution Breaks Barriers

In a nation where working women have been consigned to bowing to customers, wearing company uniforms, and serving tea, the Internet revolution is breaking down some very old barriers. Foreign-affiliated companies are at the forefront of this movement, but new Japanese-run companies also are giving responsible jobs to women.

"The Internet is changing the consciousness of women, because suddenly women are discovering they are not alone," says Cafeglobe.com co-founder Kikuko Yano. In the last two years, the entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley has begun taking hold among young Japanese, and enterprising women are finding places for themselves despite near-record unemployment and a weak Japanese economy.

Women’s economic clout will give them a more influential role in designing e-commerce strategies that will work for Japanese firms.

(Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer Friday, December 8, 2000)
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Working Single and Loving It

For the first time in more than a decade, single mothers are more likely than married mothers to be employed. Economists gave several reasons for the increase in work among single mothers.

Some of these reasons included a strong economy improving the quality of low-wage jobs, welfare recipients being required to seek out jobs according to new laws and an increased minimum wage with an earned income tax credit.

Wendell E. Primus, a liberal democrat no longer involved with government, said "the growth in the proportion of never-married mothers who are working is phenomenal. I find it astonishing."

The new numbers, from the Labor Department and the Census Bureau, have caught the attention of liberal and conservative politicians alike.

(Source: New York Times National Sunday, November 5, 2000)
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Highest Salary in Higher Learning

The president of the University of Pennsylvania, Judith Rodin, the first woman to run an Ivy League institution, had the highest annual salary and benefits of any college president in the country in 1998-99.

"It’s a splendid thing when there is a prestigious salary list and a woman is on top of it," said Sheila Wellington, president of Catalyst, a New York-based group that studies women in business. Catalyst estimates that women earn about 77 cents for every dollar men earn. Wellington went on to say, "Judith Rodin is an exceptional person, and it’s wonderful to see exceptional people achieving up to their potential and being recognized and rewarded for it."

Dr. Rodin tops a list of presidents with steadily climbing compensation packages. Experts in compensation and higher education attributed the swell in presidential salaries to the general health of the economy, which has sent many university endowments skyrocketing.

(Source: New York Times National Tuesday, November 7, 2000)
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Quick Stats

Monday, January 08, 2001

FACT SHEET

According to 2000 Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners of the Fortune 500:
12.5% of corporate officers in America’s 500 largest companies are women (1,622 out of 12,945), up from 11.9% in 1999.
Women represent 4.1% (93 out of 2,255) of top earners, up from 3.3% last year.
Women comprise 6.2% (154) of the 2,488 individuals holding the following clout titles: chairman, CEO, vice chairman, president, COO, SEVP, and EVP. This number has risen from 5.1% in 1999.

These figures represent a small but significant increase for women in the workforce. Politically speaking, progress has also been made with 13 women now in the U.S. Senate.
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