Women’s Success Rate in the Corporate World, Rising

The success rate for women in the corporate world is rising despite the recent economic downturn. There are now more women CEOs than ever before.

Major companies with female leaders include Pepsi, Xerox, RiteAid, Sunoco, Western Union, Archers Daniel Midland and Kraft Foods to name just a few. In addition to running the company, there are now more women in the board room than ever before. Almost every major corporation has more than one female board member.

As the success rate for women rises, the profile of women rises and so do the opportunities. Stock holders and boards are more likely to entrust the future of their companies to women than ever before. There are also more qualified women for these positions than ever before.

Thousands of Women Executives


There are now thousands of women executives with decades of experience. Not surprisingly corporations want to take advantage of this tremendous pool of talent. Women themselves are also more assertive and demanding and getting the leadership roles.

One reason why women leaders are in demand is that people believe women have more tenacity and emotional intelligence than men do. The Harvard Business Review found that most executives thought women had more emotional intelligence and tenacity than men did. These attributes were seen as strengths in a leader and vital to leadership.

The survey indicates that attitudes towards women leaders are changing. Women are now seen as having strengths that men do not have and of being as good or better than men. Another reason why women’s success rate is increasing is that companies increasingly recognize that having both men and women on the leadership team makes the company stronger. The attributes women have balance those of the men and give the company an edge in decision making.

As the stature of professional women rises in the workplace, the need for places where women can network and communicate will increase. That increases the demand for organizations such as the National Association of Professional Women or NAPW. Such organizations can give women the tools they need to take advantage of the increasing success rate.