2004 CWDI Report on California Based Fortune 1000 Companies and Top Financial Institutions

Key Findings

74.3% of 105 California-based Fortune 1000 companies have women directors.
Only 12% of corporate board seats are held by women in the 105 companies.
In the F500, California surpasses the national percentage of women on corporate boards: 14.3% of board seats are held by women in California based F500 companies compared to 13.6% female representation on boards nationally.
California-based companies ranked from 501-1000 have a much lower percentage of women on their boards: 9.2% — a significant 5.1% drop from the F500 companies’ percentage of women directors.
Ranking first with the most women on its board is Golden West Financial Corporation with five women directors out of nine (55.6%). It has the highest percentage of women directors in the F1000 with more women than men on its board.
Ranking second is Wellpoint Health Networks, Inc. with four women out of nine board directors (44.4%). Health care corporations are well represented in the Top Ten Companies with the highest percentage of women directors — Wellpoint Health Networks, Inc. (2nd), McKesson Corporation (3rd), PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. (7th), Apria Healthcare Group, Inc. (8th), and Davita, Inc (8th).
The California industry with the best percentage of women directors is the finance industry with 33.3% of board seats held by women.
Sectors that fared badly in placing women on their boards are the computer (9.9% female directors), semiconductor (4.4%) and entertainment industries (9.4%).