Women have had greater success than racial minorities climbing the ladder of corporate finance departments, but both groups still remain underrepresented, according to a survey by CFO magazine.
Why are women doing better as a group than minorities in this environment?
CFO counted 38 female finance chiefs at Fortune 500 companies this year, compared with 24 in the last survey six years ago. For African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American finance chiefs, the number hasn't changed from 14.
Some of the disparity reflects the general population itself, says CFO's Alix Stuart, with women making up 50% of the U.S. population and minorities about 30%. For female finance chiefs, most of whom are white, going to college was a given growing up, and they didn't face some of the socioeconomic hardship faced by some of the finance chiefs from minority groups. The survey's respondents also cited the lack of minority students in accounting and business degree programs. Only about 20% of accounting graduates and MBAs come from minority groups, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2007