Summary

Women have made a number of inroads into the corporate world, especially when it comes to middle management. However, true power in corporations remains an overwhelmingly, often exclusively male club. According to a recent study of 500 top corporations by Catalyst, the not-for-profit women's research organization, only 12% of corporate officers are women, and less than a third of these have profit-and-loss responsibility. As a new generation of highly trained women managers take their place in corporate America, they are finding that there is not just a glass ceiling holding them down but also an iron wall holding up the glass ceiling. Behind that iron wall is the true seat of corporate power: the highest ranks of corporate America - the clout titles of Chairman, CEO, Vice Chairman, President, COO and EVP.