MCCA Survey: Women General Counsel at Fortune 1000 Companies Increase

MCCA Survey: Women General Counsel at Fortune 1000 Companies Increase
Rise in Number of Women GC Among Fortune 501 – 1000 companies

WASHINGTON D.C. – The number of women serving as General Counsel at the Fortune 1000 companies increased by three during the previous year, according to a new survey by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA).

MCCA’s annual survey of Fortune 1000 women and minority General Counsel shows 189 women held the position of chief legal officer, three more than in the 2012 survey report. Other highlights from this new survey include:

• This is the third year in a row that the number of women GCs in the Fortune 500 has exceeded 100, even though that number decreased by three from the 2012 report.
• Women legal leaders are making strides in companies that have been traditionally male dominated — the so called “hard hat professions” such as aerospace and defense — and because of this increase, MCCA believes that their numbers will resume increasing across the most prosperous companies sooner rather than later.
• Minority women comprise 19 of the 105 general counsel of the Fortune 500, one more than a year ago. There are 11 African Americans, six Hispanics, and two Asian Americans.
• Of the 84 women general counsel in the Fortune 501-1000, seven are minorities: six African Americans and one Hispanic.
• However, it is concerning that there are only two women of Asian descent in the Fortune 500 and none in the Fortune 501-1000. These two women are veteran employees of their companies and have appeared in previous MCCA Annual Surveys.

“The number of women attorneys leading the legal departments of these top-grossing companies continues to increase,” said Joseph K. West, MCCA President and CEO. “This shows progress, however slowly, in the diversity and inclusion within the legal profession, but all legal leaders must dedicate themselves to offering more women within their departments increased opportunities for mentoring, development and career growth for there to be parity with male legal leaders.”

The full survey of Fortune 1000 women and minority General Counsel and accompanying analysis appears in the September/October 2013 issue of Diversity & the Bar, MCCA’s bi-monthly publication, and is on the MCCA website, www.mcca.com and in this link here.

MCCA was founded in 1997 to advance the hiring, retention and promotion of diverse attorneys in legal departments and the law firms that serve them. MCCA accomplishes its mission through publishing, research and training, pipeline initiatives and networking. MCCA’s work has been recognized with awards from the National Minority Business Council, Inc., the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National LGBT Bar, and the Association of Corporate Counsel. MCCA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. For more information, go to mcca.com.