ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604040032
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
WHEN Newsweek did a recent cover story on ``corporate killers'' - CEOs who've fired tens of thousands of American workers - the featured mug shots were all of men. Not surprising, since the heads of most of America's huge (but downsizing) companies are still men.
That picture is gradually changing. More women are moving into CEO ranks - some by climbing corporate ladders, more by owning their own ladders.
A new report, based on 1995 Census Bureau data, shows that women now own more than one-third of all businesses in the United States - a startling 78 percent increase since 1987. The number of women-owned companies is growing in every state. Indeed, one out of four American workers is now employed by a company owned by a woman.
Julia Weeks, research director at the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, which issued the report, sees the phenomenon as an outgrowth of the steady increase, since World War II, in the numbers of women working outside the home. Many women, hitting the glass ceiling while working for others, have discovered they can continue upward mobility by starting their own businesses. Also, more younger women are starting to think of entrepreneurship before they even get out of college. And, says Weeks, some daughters are inheriting businesses from their parents - who, in previous generations, would have handed over the reins to sons only.
Could the day come when a national news magazine might feature women CEOs in a lineup of ``corporate killers''? Of course. Women are just as capable as men of making tough managerial decisions - layoffs included.
Still, there's always the possibility that women, once they're fully accepted into Corporate America's old boys' club, may change it for the better. A less hierarchical, more cooperative and communicative work place already is coming into its own as a competitive advantage over older working models. Women may reinforce the trend.
As this trend continues, more CEOs - male and female alike - will likely appreciate the importance of employees and their families, as well as stock owners, as stakeholders in the enterprise.
LENGTH: Short : 44 linesby CNB