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President's Message
Women Executive
Leadership is proud to present the 2006 Florida WEL
Census of Women Directors and Executive Officers (the
2006 WEL Census). This publication is the only report of
its kind in Florida and illustrates the status of gender
 diversity
in Florida companies. The 2006 WEL Census, conducted in
collaboration with the University of Miami, details the
status of women on boards and in executive officer
positions at the top 150 Florida public companies
(Florida Public 150), as ranked by net revenue by
Florida Trend Magazine.
In my profession as a
partner of a public accounting firm, I often hear from
boards that they want to add gender diversity and yet
find it difficult to identify board ready women
candidates. Many women executives also tell me that they
are interested in serving on boards but do not know how
to access the opportunity. I founded WEL to take the
mystique out of the board selection process, to raise
the visibility of the many accomplished women in our
business community, and to bridge the gap in connecting
senior level women with those involved in the board
selection process.
It is not merely about
placing more women on boards, it is about getting the
right individuals on boards, and that means getting more
women to participate in the board selection process.
Women represent a largely untapped talent pool that can
bring expertise and knowledge to both corporate boards
and executive management teams. Studies have shown that
diverse boards are more effective.
The 2006 WEL Census is an
extension of our mission to increase the awareness of
the importance of gender diversity in the boardroom,
raise the visibility of our organization as a resource
in connecting accomplished women, demonstrate the
current state of gender diversity in our business
communities, and benchmark the results as we continue to
publish these studies.
We are delighted to
coordinate our efforts on a national basis and have
joined The InterOrganization Network (ION), which
consists of seven regional organizations in the United
States that advocate the advancement of women to
positions of power in the business world, especially to
boards of directors and executive suites of public
companies.
In similar reports from
other ION organizations, studies show declines in the
number of women occupying board seats. Despite the
consolidations and mergers in Florida, our study shows a
slight increase in boardroom diversity from the last WEL
Census. In 2006, women occupied 106, or 8.7% of the
1,221 board seats of the Florida Public 150, up from
7.9% in 2004. However, if we continue to increase at
this slow pace, it will take several decades to see
significant change. WEL's objective is that the
continued publication of the WEL Census will encourage
more companies to consider diversity and leverage
resources like WEL to assist them.
The path to the boardroom
is often through the executive suite. However, our study
shows that the number of executive officer positions
held by women dropped from 7.6% in 2004 to 5.4% in 2006,
and the number of companies with women executive
officers serving in the top five positions has dropped
from 33% in 2004 to 21% in 2006. We believe this decline
may translate into a breakdown in the pipeline to the
boardroom.
We can each contribute to
the goal of increasing gender diversity in the boardroom
and executive suite. We believe organizations that
develop and promote women will be the winners in the
marketplace. Fully tapping the pool of qualified talent
makes good economic sense, as well as good business
practice.
I want to personally
thank the 2006 WEL Census Committee and the University
of Miami for their dedication, diligence, and the many
volunteer hours they incurred in completing this study.
I also want to thank our Partner Sponsors, Holland &
Knight LLP and KPMG; our Alliance Sponsors, Bowne and
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.; and our Advocate Sponsors,
Birks & Mayors Inc., Lockton Companies, LLC, Noven
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and WellCare Health Plans, Inc.
for their commitment and support of WEL's mission.
Cindy Kushner
President and Founder
Women Executive Leadership
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