The underrepresentation of women in the most senior ranks of publishing and information industry companies has always troubled me. In an industry where women constitute the majority in the middle-management ranks, why do so few get appointed to the CEO position?
Two newsworthy events occurred this week that merit commentary for all industries, but I'll tie it into the Content and Publishing segments. First,
Catalyst, the leading research and advisory organization working to advance women in business, released a
study that provides evidence that "companies with the highest percentage of women among their top officers had a return on equity 35.1% higher than those with the fewest high-level women."
E-CommerceTimes reported on the study and commented that although the results are emphatic in most segments, "For industrials and information-technology companies, the results were inconclusive." Based on the time-period studied, 1996-2000, basically the dot.com boom years, it would be difficult to make any sensible measurements of IT and content-related segments relative to any other group, given the wild fluctuations.
The other news that I read in the Boston Globe was the
obituary of Margaret Hennig, co-author with Anne Jardim of "The Managerial Woman" and co-founder with Jardim of the first MBA program designed for women, the
Simmons Graduate School of Management, in 1974. Hennig spoke during orientation week my freshman year at Simmons College in 1973. Her words left a lasting impression on me and my classmates as she implored us to believe in ourselves as capable leaders.
Late last year, I learned that Wolters-Kluwer had appointed
Nancy McKinstry as Chairman of its Executive Board in March 2003. Another notable female publishing CEO is
Marjorie Scardino of Pearson. I've met both of these women just once, but I can unequivocally say that their intelligence, confidence, and focus on organizing and managing to achieve exceptional results is apparent from the moment you meet them. Through leaders like McKinstry and Scardino, Margaret Hennig's legacy will live on.
