MCCA’S 14TH
ANNUAL
chief legal counsel since 2007. Corporations involved in construction and farm
machinery are increasingly hiring women to ham- mer out legal matters. Mary K.W. Jones of Deere (85), Sharon Barner of Cummins (160), and Debra Kuper of AGCO (272) are among those who have led the way, while Diane Lazzaris has handled legal aff airs at WESCO International (385), which works with con- struction supply fi rms. In the industrial machinery business, Maria Green is
GC at Illinois Tool Works (155) as is Ivonne Cabrera at Dover (308). Railroad companies such as Union Pacifi c (138) and CSX (231) have boasted women GCs in Gayla T al and Ellen Fitzsimmons, respectively. Remarkably, these companies represent 67 percent of the Fortune® 500 total in railroads and 40 percent in industrial machinery. Furthermore, eight high-performing corporations in
THE NUMBER OF WOMEN GENERAL COUNSEL AT FORTUNE® 500 COMPANIES HAS DIPPED SLIGHTLY IN THE PAST YEAR, BUT THEIR PRES- ENCE IN HISTORICALLY MALE-DOMINATED FIELDS IS CERTAINLY GROWING. In fact, top corporate women lawyers in so-called
20
‘hard hat’ professions have become almost as common as they are in the retail and food industries combined, according to this year’s MCCA general counsel survey. Although the 105 women currently holding in-house
jobs across all U.S. industries represent a decrease from their 108 Fortune® 500 counterparts a year ago, the ever- expanding opportunities in mostly male settings strongly suggest that their numbers will resume increasing sooner rather than later. “Women are not allowing themselves to be limited to
certain industries or practice areas,” says Joseph K. West, president and CEO of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, which conducts the annual survey. “T is bodes well not only for the hiring of women GCs but for the retention, development, and advancement of (all) women lawyers.” As an example among hard hat professions, women
GCs have emerged so rapidly in aerospace and defense that their companies comprise at least 42 percent of that industry on this year’s Fortune® 500 list. T e women include Maryanne Lavan of Lockheed Martin (59), Katherine Adams of Honeywell International (78), Sheila Cheston of Northrop Grumman (120), Ruth Beyer of Precision Castparts (355), and Ann Davidson of Exelis (453). All but the latter assumed their jobs within the past
four years. Davidson became GC of Exelis when it was spun off in 2011 from what was formerly known as ITT Defense & Information Solutions, where she had been
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013
additional areas such as pipelines, engineering, trucking, energy, and petroleum refi ning currently employ women general counsel. As recently as August, offi cials at Sempra Energy (281) tapped Martha Wyrsch to fi ll a vacancy created by the retirement of Javade Chaudhri, an Asian American man. In contrast, 12 female GC-led companies among the
Fortune® 500 specialize in restaurants or food-related endeavors, and another 12 focus on retail, such as general merchandise, sporting apparel, or pet supplies. So the fact that a total of 21 corporations in mostly
male settings—22 when counting Sempra Energy’s hire of Wyrsch—have female GCs suggests that jobs for women in those industries will continue multiplying. T is bears signifi cance when considering the historical
context behind the 105 women now running company law departments. Although they number three fewer than they did a year ago, the tally of 105 marks the third straight year of the MCCA survey in which Fortune® 500 women have numbered more than 100. T at constitutes undeniable progress when compared with the 92 GCs in 2008. Additional, early fi ndings of the annual MCCA
general counsel survey involve minority women, who comprise 19 of the 105 GCs, one more than a year ago. T ere are 11 African Americans, six Hispanics, and two Asian Americans—a gain of one Hispanic. Nevertheless, women of color now total less than 4
percent of all Fortune® 500 GCs. However, the current 19 minorities are more than double the 2008 head count in which the nine women were composed of four African Americans, three Hispanics, and two Asian Americans. Furthermore, minorities this year include women
in hard hat industries such as Ivonne Cabrera at Dover (308), Maria Green at Illinois Tool Works (155), and Sharon Barner of Cummins (160), all of whom assumed their positions within the last two years.
Continued on page 22
MCCA.COM
GENERAL COUNSEL
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