• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Voices at the table A status report on women leaders of Philadelphia-area corporations, universities and healthcare systems Women on Boards Report 2014 The Forum of Executive Women Philadelphia, PA The Forum of Executive Women 2014–2015 Board of Directors Officers Nila G. Betof, Ph.D. President Suzanne S. Mayes, Esq. Vice President Margaret A. McCausland, Esq. Secretary Gloria V. Rabinowitz Treasurer At-Large Directors and Committee Chairs Denise McGregor Armbrister Lisa B. Binder Deana A. Calvelli, AIF, CEBS Lisa Detwiler, Esq. Penny Conly Ellison, Esq. Jane H. Firth Paulette A. Gabriel Katherine Hatton, Esq. Theresa E. Loscalzo, Esq. Gina M. Merritt-Epps, Esq. Robin Neifield Toni Pergolin, CPA Pamela DeGraff Porter Penny Stoker Voices at the table: a status report on women Carole L. Weintraub, CPC Kathleen D. Wilkinson, Esq. leaders of Philadelphia-area corporations, Immediate Past President universities and healthcare systems Autumn Bayles Women on Boards 2014 offers in-depth statistics on the number of high-level women leaders at Philadelphia-area organizations. In addition to providing its annual analysis of women top executives and board members at the region’s largest 100 public companies, the report for the first time examines the leadership composition of many of the region’s non-profit universities and healthcare systems. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for Readers of this report by The Forum of Executive Women can compare num- consultation with professional advisors. bers across sectors, as well as see how women fare in reaching the leadership PwC United States helps organizations and ranks at individual organizations. Readers also will learn which entities include individuals create the value they’re looking for. We’re a member of the PwC network of firms in women among their “top earners.” 157 countries with more than 184,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in There are faces behind all statistics, and Women on Boards 2014 features inter- assurance, tax and advisory services. Tell views with five women leaders who are making a mark in the Philadelphia us what matters to you and find out more by visiting us at www.pwc.com/US region. They share why it is critical for both the corporate and non-profit PwC refers to the United States member firm, communities to have a diversity of voices involved in decision-making. In that and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. spirit, this year’s report is aptly named Voices at the table. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. What’s inside Giving women executives a voice 2 PwC’s perspective A message from the president 3 Voices at the table 4 Executive summary Five women having an impact in the 8 Philadelphia region Interviews Women directors and executive officers 14 Board seats, executives and top earners 18 Project methodology and acknowledgments 23 About The Forum of Executive Women Specific Forum programs range from formal sympo- Founded in 1977, The Forum of Executive Women is a siums, CEO Roundtables and a Public Sector Leadership membership organization of more than 425 women of sig- Conversation Series to the publication of research nificant influence across the Greater Philadelphia region. reports and outreach promoting the value of gender The Forum’s membership consists of individuals holding diversity on boards and in executive suites. A robust the senior-most positions in the corporations, non-profit mentoring program with diverse initiatives enhances organizations and public sector entities that drive our The Forum’s commitment to build the pipeline of our regional economy and community. next generation of women leaders in the 11-county, tri-state Greater Philadelphia region. Dedicated to a mission of leveraging the power of exec- utive women in the region to advance the impact and The Forum is also a founding member of The Inter- influence of women leaders across a broad spectrum of Organization Network (ION), a nationwide consortium society, The Forum has served as the linchpin for a multi- of 15 like-minded women’s leadership groups working col- tude of initiatives that have sparked critical conversations laboratively to advocate for the advancement of women to in executive suites, boardrooms and public policy arenas. positions of power in the business world, including boards The Forum’s members join together to exchange views that of directors and executive suites of public companies. expand and strengthen their own relationships and inspire About this report progress toward a world in which women and men share Women on Boards 2014 is a joint initiative of The Forum an equal place in leadership, policy and decision-making in of Executive Women and PwC. The Forum advocates for all private and public entities. and facilitates the increased representation of women on boards and in top management positions in public companies in the region. A status report on women leaders of Philadelphia-area corporations, universities and healthcare systems 1 Giving women executives a voice Diversity of thought. Diversity of insight. Diversity of representation. Women on Boards 2014 tells us how far we’ve advanced in helping broaden the perspectives in the boardroom. And this year the report reaches beyond the public sector to include information pertaining to non-profit universities and healthcare systems in the Greater Philadelphia region. The expansion of the report is notable, because when we talk about the need for women in leadership, it’s important to include all aspects of the business community whether those companies are public, private or non-profit. There are opportunities for women at all these organizations and all can benefit from diversity of thinking. Stakeholders are more interested in board diversity than ever. As a result, boards are increasing their focus on recruiting directors with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Stakeholders recognize the value that alternative insights can con- tribute to the success of a company, and, as a result, a number of organizations and shareholder groups have undertaken efforts to increase diverse representa- tion on public company boards. In fact, according to PwC’s 2014 Annual Corporate Directors Survey, 17 percent of directors say their board has already considered recruiting new directors with diverse backgrounds over the past 12 months and 57 percent say they are talking about doing so going forward. Ultimately, getting the governance models right for the future depends on build- ing the right leadership pipeline today. The report includes interviews with five outstanding women leaders who make important decisions for their organizations and donate their time to help improve our community. They share the importance of being on boards, in both corporate and non-profit organizations, and how diver- sity is critical to the success of both. While we’ve seen improvement in the representation of women in leadership roles over the past six years, we need to do better. While the number of women in execu- tive leadership positions in public companies in the Philadelphia region is on track with the national percentage, we are still falling short in terms of female represen- tation in the boardroom. We’re heading in the right direction, but the pace is very slow and the numbers remain small. Diversity of insight drives innovative thinking, and an assortment of voices at the table is a key factor in helping broaden perspec- tives, not only in the public company sector, but in all sectors. As a member of The Forum and a woman partner at PwC, I am thrilled to be involved with this very important initiative and hope that the continued focus on board diversity helps to continue shifting the numbers in a positive direction. Thank you, Deanna Byrne PwC Assurance Partner 2 Voices at the table A message from the president This year for the first time, our Women on Boards report includes data about how women are faring in the C-suites and boards of many of the non-profit health- care systems and universities in the Greater Philadelphia region. Hospitals and universities have a significant impact on our community both culturally and economically. They impact our standard of living, bringing talented students and professionals into the region, providing the healthcare that is so critical to our community, and employing a large segment of the workforce. Our hypothesis was that women would have greater representation in this sector. It turned out that while women do have better representation in “eds and meds,” it is not in as great numbers as we would have guessed. The inclusion of the “eds and meds” data is part of the legacy of the late Happy Fernandez. Happy, a former Philadelphia City Councilwoman, college president, community leader and Forum member, was passionate about the need to have women and greater diverse repre- sentation on the boards and in the C-suites of non-profit organizations as well as for-profit corporations. In continuance of her work, we believe that including large non-profit organizations is important in conveying the overall representation of women leaders in our community. The march to gender equity on boards continues to be maddeningly slow. Although there are numerous studies that demonstrate that having a critical mass of women on boards and in the C-suite makes a significant difference in corporate and organi- zational performance, the numbers continue to inch up all too slowly. The theme for this year’s report is Voices at the table. The report highlights where women have their voices heard at the board table and in the C-suites of the top 100 public companies in the region. It is dismaying that 35 public companies still do not have a single woman on their board.

Load more

  26

Copy Link