November 13, 2009 Contact: Kristina Goodman
For Immediate Release 212-261-4752/kgoodman@thewhitehouseproject.org
GROUNDBREAKING "BENCHMARKING WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP REPORT LAUNCHED TODAY BY THE WHITE HOUSE PROJECT
Examines Status of Women's Leadership Across Ten U.S. Sectors
“The White House Project Report: Benchmarking Women’s Leadership” will be launched with an exclusive breakfast and panel hosted by Bloomberg LP, beginning at 7:30am. The morning program will be followed by a series of events nationwide, featuring industry leaders from each of the ten fields profiled. The groundbreaking study looks at the status of women’s leadership across ten U.S. sectors, from business and politics to media and military, and provides sector-specific recommendations from top experts to close the leadership gap once and for all.
As “The White House Project Report: Benchmarking Women’s Leadership” illustrates, women may be participating in equal – or in some cases, higher – numbers to their male peers in the workforce, yet they are few and far between when it comes to positions of leadership. Women are stalled at 19 percent across the leadership spectrum – with numbers much lower among women of color – fostering a constricted pool of ideas, talent, and experience where they are most needed: from corporate boards to editorial pages to the Senate floor.
“Amidst the upheaval in our economic, political, and cultural spheres, we stand to benefit in the long run if we are creative and committed to utilizing all of our nation’s resources – women and men alike – to lead together,” said Marie C. Wilson, President of The White House Project. “It is our hope that this report will help to advance that goal, and contribute to building a stronger economy, better institutions, and a more representative democracy for us all.”
The launch event will feature a lineup of distinguished representatives from five of the ten sectors, including Lisa Caputo, Executive Vice President, Global Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Citi; Beth Brooke, Global Vice Chair at Ernst & Young and White House Project Board Chair. Laurie Hays, Executive Editor for Company News, Bloomberg Media; Col. Michaelene Kloster, USAR; Wendy Puriefoy, President of The Public Education Network, and will be moderated by Toddi Gutner, an award-winning journalist, formerly of The Wall Street Journal. Following the launch, a series of additional events will be held in cities across the nation, including “Add Women, Change Michigan” in Detroit on November 18th, featuring Academy-Award winning actor and White House Project Board Member Geena Davis.
After Davis was cast to play the commander in chief, the White House Project's founder, Marie Wilson, asked her to get involved. "I endorse their plan," she says simply, "because we need to get more women in positions of governing, in a timely fashion."
Panelists and experts cited in the report can be made available for interview or comment. Please contact Kristina Goodman at kgoodman@thewhitehouseproject.org / 212.261.4346 for information.
The White House Project is a national, nonpartisan organization which works to advance a critical mass of diverse women into leadership. The organization has trained over 8,000 women nationwide through their award-winning Vote, Run, Lead program since 2004. For more information, please visit www.thewhitehouseproject.org
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