Well, the next quarter's numbers are known to the board now, and this time there was nobody left to shoot except her. |
Posted on 02/10/2005 6:35:25 PM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
SAN FRANCISCO -- Carly Fiorina's ouster from Hewlett-Packard Co. on Wednesday wasn't totally unexpected, but for some it was a disturbing end to an otherwise encouraging chapter in U.S. women's corporate progress. The number of Fortune 500 companies with female chief executives declined 12.5 percent Wednesday, from eight to seven, according to the nonprofit Catalyst Inc., which tracks women in business. And it will shrink again soon, with the pending resignation of Marce Fuller at independent power producer Mirant Corp.
"It's a shame it's a woman CEO, because it could influence people to think that opportunities for women are on the decline," Catalyst President Ilene Lang said of Fiorina's dismissal. "But we see in the research we do that there is a steady increase, although not at a fast enough pace, in women taking up these jobs."
Equally ambitious
Among senior managers at large companies, more than half of those who are women aspire to the chief executive title, making them just as likely as men in those positions to want the job, Catalyst has found. Fiorina was one of the most powerful and closely watched chiefs in the country during her 5 1/2-year tenure at the top of the prominent computer company. Career experts and women's business groups are divided about how they see Fiorina's departure affecting future board decisions, the career paths of other female executives and of those entering the corporate ranks.
Some view it as a setback, underscoring the notion that companies are apt to scapegoat female leaders for taking legitimate risks or that women can't cut it in the executive class. But others see Fiorina's tenure and her aggressive strategic pursuits as signs of equality: that women are treated as harshly as male chief executives under the same kind of pressure. "I do think it's a big blow to women," said John Challenger, chief executive of Chicago outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Fiorina, he said, "is one who fought the political battles to make it up to the top in corporate America, which means really breaking down all kinds of barriers . . . within a company."
The seven female CEOs of the largest U.S. companies run businesses ranging from energy and banking to retail and tech. They are: Fuller; Andrea Jung of Avon Products Inc.; Anne Mulcahy, Xerox Corp.; Pat Russo, Lucent Technologies Inc.; Mary Sammons, Rite Aid Corp.; Marion Sandler, Golden West Financial Corp.; and Eileen Scott, Pathmark Stores Inc. In 1995, the first year of Cata- lyst's census, there was only one female chief at a Fortune 500 company, Sandler of Golden West Financial, who shares the post with her husband, Herbert.
Stereotypes persist
Women make up 46 percent of the U.S. work force but just 5.2 percent of top earners and 13.6 percent of directors in the Fortune 500, Catalyst reported. Women report that the biggest obstacle to advancement is stereotypes: They don't want to travel or relocate; they'll choose family over work; they'll be unable or unwilling to manage effectively. Those barriers don't get eliminated passively, Lang said. "We see in companies that are voted best for women and where women advance the most that they work very hard to eliminate those kinds of stereotypes." Though some may revel in a high-profile, powerful woman's fall from grace, others will view the situation as another case of dashed short-term financial expectations from shareholders, according to Judy Olian, dean of the Pennsylvania State University's Smeal College of Business. "The perils are there for a male," Olian said. "Look at (real estate mogul Donald) Trump; people gloat whenever he falls. He's much more out in front than Carly ever was, but there's no doubt that her leadership was signified by a much more personal imprint on the company than a lot of chief executives."
April 11 in the bankruptcy courtroom of the Honorable Judge Michael Lynn in Fort Worth, Texas, we will "discuss" her prowess as a female CEO in great detail. Don't miss it.
With any luck Chatty Patty will be next.
BTW, it's long past time Carly was gone. She's been a dead weight to every company she's been involved with.
Women make lousy CEOs.
So far, they haven't impressed me much.
Looking for a fight, are ya? ;)
Looking for a fight, are ya? ;)
No actually, I have wanted to say it out loud for a while.
Say it loud, say it proud!
A great thing about FR is that if one wants to tilt at the feminist fantasy...there usually is room to do it.
Carly Fiorina ... man, when they had that big fight over the Compaq acquisition and I read how she and her allies were sticking to the deal in the face of poor fundamentals and common sense I knew she was living in a dreamworld.
Well, the next quarter's numbers are known to the board now, and this time there was nobody left to shoot except her. |
>>Women make lousy CEOs.<<<
Agree 100 percent and then some.
Running business based on emotions rather than rational thought is a surefire way to end up in Chapt. 11. Other than interests in index funds, if a woman gets named CEO or President, I reallocate my investments elsewhere.
There may be no more equal opportunity than that to succeed in the executive suite. The BOD doesn't check your style of underwear but rather your results.
Women should not be in a position of power because they run on emotions rather than rational thought. I've seen too many businesses suffer because a women is pms'ing making stupid decisions based on emotions or just plain petty nonsense.
Not CEOs mammoth F500 companies.... not if you're a mommy with little babies and a husband. How are you going to be CEO of a company and a wife and mom at the same time?
That's a bit stereotypical...not everything a woman does bad is because of pms.
Apparently you haven't worked with a lot of women in power, either that or you are a women trying to defend female actions.
My you're assuming a lot. I've worked with both men and woman in power and both have had their problems and benefits. You didn't expect to get away with making stereptypical statements did you?
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I think the die was cast for Fiorina last quarter when the bad numbers came in and she pre-emptively shot the guilty by firing three of her top execs.