ass ceiling. Women have an invisible barrier that attempts to prevent them from rising to an executive level. Even more sadly, a good number of the executive women are only there because they started the company, and many more because it is a woman owned company. There is still a “good old boy” attitude that prevails at the higher levels of business. It is an attitude that is wide spread among corporate America, which is that white guys are the best candidates for high level jobs. There are many intelligent women who are overlooked, underpaid, and pushed aside for white men with less credentials. Women get underpaid even at the executive level, a May 1987 report by Nation's Business showed that "women at the vice presidential levels and above earn 42 percent less than their male peers." That is a huge difference in pay. An example could be that if a female made $300,000 a year, a male counterpart doing exactly the same job would make about $450,000. Women on Corporate BoardsCorporate boards are sadly similar in their numbers. Only 4.5 percent of the Fortune 500 industrial directorships are held by women. On Fortune Service 500 companies, only 5.6 percent of corporate directors are women. Women are making more progress in this arena then in the executive officer arena however. Although very few companies have women as a board director, a 1991 study by the Glass Ceiling Commission shows that 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies had women on their board. Women Owned CompaniesMany women are starting their own companies. These aren’t baby companies either. Large economy shaking companies such are E-bay are founded by women. This is one of the biggest factors in changing the way women are perceived in the workforce. On average, women owned companies hire a much more proportionate number of women and minorities than do their male counterparts (see figure 1). While women tend to hire half males and half femal...
