Ceiling

women serving in Minnesota’s
executive offices (Section 16b)
A look at the state’s top 100 public companies
INSIDE THE C-SUITE
Cents and Sensibility
WOMEN OFFICERS
women executive officers
(Based on SEC filings as of June 30, 2011)
Women hold 17.4 percent of the available executive
officer positions in Minnesota’s 100 largest publicly held companies.
This increase of one percentage point over 2010 levels
reflects an increase in the number of women executive officers
as well as a decrease in the number of available positions.
Seventeen of the top 100 public companies have three
or more women executive officers, 13 of the top 100
public companies have two women executive officers, 38
have just one woman executive officer and 32 have none.
Minnesota companies reporting larger revenues tend
to have a greater number and percentage of women
executive officers than smaller companies.
Sixteen of the 17 Minnesota Fortune 500 ® companies
have women executive officers: seven of the companies
have three or more women executive officers, five companies
have two women executive officers, four companies
have one woman executive officer and one company
(C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc.) has none.
Between 28 percent and 75 percent of companies
included in ION’s sample have no women in their
executive offices. Thirty-two percent of Minnesota
companies have no women executive officers.
Learn more at www.ionwomen.org.
PERCENT OF executive officers who
are WOMEN NATIONALLY
nationwide
Fortune 500® (497)
alabama (24)
california (400)
florida (100)
georgia (136)
Kansas/Missouri (47)
maryland (84)
massachusetts (100)
michigan (100)
minnesota (100)
nyc metro (100)
philadelphia (100)
tennessee (65)
texas (94)
NA
6.4%
8.0%
9.6%
9.8%
9.6%
10.1%
11.6%
10.3%
14.1%
13.1%
13.3%
15.4%
17.4%
Deb Schoneman,
CFO, Piper
Jaffray Cos.
Piper Jaffray Chief
Financial Officer Deb
Schoneman says her collaborative
style contributes
to her effectiveness.
She’s also convinced that
diversity throughout the
company is crucial to
Piper’s success.
Schoneman is one of
four executive officers at
Piper Jaffray and the only
woman in the investment bank’s C-suite. An expanded
leadership team, however, includes several women, and
three women sat on Piper’s eight-person board of directors
during the period covered by this year’s Census (that
number now is four).
As a CFO, Schoneman is bottom-line focused. She sees
the impact of gender and ethnic diversity in business
terms. “Our client set is diverse,” she says. “Matching up
“Seeking out women and diverse
talent has to be deliberate.”
— Deb Schoneman, CFO, Piper Jaffray Cos.
our diversity with the diversity of our client set makes a
difference in building relationships and trust.”
Like many women, she says emotional intelligence plays
a role in her decision making. “I try to consider the
impact of what I say and take into account other people’s
perspective,” Schoneman says. “I may not change my
stance on a topic, but if people feel they been heard,
they’re more willing to partner with me.”
A paucity of senior women in investment banking has
led Piper to focus on developing talent through training
and intern programs. “We make a conscious effort
to bring people through the pipeline,” Schoneman says.
WOMEN OFFICERS
Fifty-two of the 83 remaining companies in the Census
have women executive officers: 10 of the companies
have three or more women executive officers, eight of the
companies have two women executive officers, 34 of the
companies have one woman executive officer and 31 of
the companies have no women executive officers.
Comparisons with National Data
Executive officers of companies are a potential pipeline
for corporate board appointees. The increase in women
executive officers noted in Minnesota Census companies
attests to a growing pool of qualified board candidates
across the state.
Women hold between 6.4 percent and 17.4 percent of
all executive officer positions across the 14 regions represented
in the national study by ION (InterOrganization
Network), of which Minnesota is one of 14 regional members.
Minnesota, with 17.4 percent, leads the regions.
wisconsin (50)
Women Doing Well
Eight Minnesota Census
companies had a net
increase in women
executive officers in 2011.
Some (*) added two
women to the C-suite:
Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.
HickoryTech Corp.
Hormel Foods Corp. *
Patterson Cos. Inc.
Target Corp. *
The Dolan Co.
3M Co.
Value Vision Media Inc.
0
5%
12.3%
10%
15%
The numbers in parentheses indicate the number
of companies in each region’s sample.
20%
Fewer Women
Executives
Five Minnesota Census
companies had a net decrease
in women executive
officers in 2011:
Deluxe Corp.
Digital Angel Corp.
Hutchinson Technology Inc.
SUPERVALU Inc.
U.S. Bancorp.
Women in the C-Suite
Criteria for inclusion in the “executive officer” category
vary by company. To be consistent, the Minnesota Census
identifies only those individuals formally designated
as Section 16b executive officers in SEC filings.
The 2011 Minnesota Census examined the women
executive officers holding the following titles: chief
executive officer, president, chief operating officer, chief
financial officer and chief technology officer. Twentyfive
women hold these executive officer positions across
the Minnesota Census companies. Financial expertise
and leadership have provided an entrée for women into
the executive suites of Minnesota companies. The distribution
of top women executives across Minnesota’s
100 largest publicly held companies reveals twice the
number of CFOs to CEOs.
Selected
Positions
Percentage
Minnesota Women
Chief Executive Officer 6%
President 6%
Chief Operating Officer 4%
Chief Financial Officer 12%
Chief Technology Officer 2%
LEARN MORE Minnesota is one
of 14 cities or regions that are part
of ION (InterOrganization Network),
a nonprofit organization that promotes gender
diversity among boards across the United States.
Visit www.ionwomen.org.
8 APRIL 2012 MINNESOTA CENSUS OF WOMEN IN CORPORATE LEADERSHIP
MINNESOTA CENSUS OF WOMEN IN CORPORATE LEADERSHIP APRIL 2012 9