Chicago, Jan. 16, 2005 — Today, The Chicago Network released its annual Census Report, which measures the progress of women at the highest levels of Chicago's top 50 public companies. While progress remains stagnant, the group identified several members of Chicago's esteemed Civic Committee who are leading the way with winning business strategies. These forward-thinking CEOs are speaking out on the value of moving more women into executive and board positions. They know from experience what research has proven — there's a positive correlation between the representation of women at executive levels and better financial returns.

John Edwardson, chairman and CEO, CDW Corporation, links his company's continued growth throughout the recession and the technology downturn to having an inclusive corporate culture, in which women play key, senior roles. He said, "If you value a corporate culture where everyone feels included and numerous perspectives are encouraged, having women in senior leadership positions is important."

Miles D. White, chairman and CEO, Abbott, also believes having women at the top is a winning business strategy. "Talent is not easy to find. It's a simple business proposition. If you're not working to recruit women to leadership positions, you're leaving half the talent pool untapped," he said.

In addition, R. Eden Martin, president of the Commercial Club of Chicago and its Civic Committee, offered his support in asking other CEOs to take action. Even with this visible support, Chicago's largest 50 public companies overall have been slow to move more women into top positions. "The trend is upward but our progress continues to be glacial," said Erin McInerney, executive vice president, Harris Bank, and chair of this year's Census Committee. "There are now numerous studies that positively correlate business success with the number of women in senior roles.

Given that and the fact the best-in-class companies nationally have senior ranks of up to 40% women, it's clear we are nowhere near where we need to be in Chicago with representation in the low teens."The Chicago Network has been tracking the representation of women in key executive positions — board seats, top earners and executive officers — since 1998.

Key 2004 Census findings for Chicago's largest 50 companies include:

• No women CEOs — a decrease from two in 2003
• A less than one percent increase in women directors (from 12.2% to 13.0%)
• A less than one percent increase in women executive officers (from 13.5% to 14.4%)
• 32 companies still had zero women top earners
• Three Chicago companies still had no women directors or executives
  

In addition to CEO support, The Chicago Network recently expanded its voice by helping form the InterOrganization Network (ION), a group linking professional women's organizations in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Milwaukee, who advocate increasing the number of women on corporate boards and in executive positions.

"Best practices show it takes leadership at the top for real progress to occur," said Deborah L. DeHaas, vice chair and regional managing partner, Deloitte, and past Census Report chair. "The Chicago Network looks forward to working with Chicago's business leaders to create meaningful change in the near future."

The Chicago Network 2004 Census comes on the heels of a recent landmark study released by Catalyst, a leading research and advisory organization working to advance women in business. Its data on the Fortune 500 continues to show a correlation between company profitability and the number of women in top leadership positions. Specifically, Catalyst found that companies with the highest representation of women on their senior management teams had 35% higher financial returns than companies with the lowest representation.

The entire 2004 Census Report can be found online at www.thechicagonetwork.org. This year Deloitte performed data collection and analysis. Find the Catalyst Report entitled "The Bottom Line: Connecting Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity" at www.catalystwomen.org.