By: Anna Marie Kukec, Daily Herald Business Writer

February 10, 2005, Chicago Daily Herald

When Jean K. Holley was studying to become an electrical engineer at the University of Missouri-Rolla, there wasn't even a women's bathroom at the engineering school.

She forged ahead in the male-dominated field, eventually becoming chief information officer at USG Corp. and joining Naperville-based Tellabs Inc. last April as senior vice president and chief information officer.

Holley is among the few top-ranking executives at Chicago area corporations. And nationally, only seven women are chief executive of Fortune 500 corporations, according to research group Catalyst Inc., a number that was one less with Carly Fiorina's ouster Wednesday as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. In the Chicago area, no Fortune 500 companies are headed by women.

To get to the top ranks, Holley, 45, of Naperville, says women executives need to learn how to promote themselves so Corporate America notices them.

"You have to be able to make yourself be found, be published, and to brand yourself," Holley said. "It's not an easy thing for women to do, to create their own image. But it's important and it's hard."

Even among those women who break the glass ceiling, few survive in the highest echelons, in some cases because of barriers that differ for men, experts said Wednesday.

Exclusion from an organization's informal network, gender-based stereotyping, and the lack of role models are the top three barriers for women seeking high-ranking positions, including CEO, said Paulette Gerkovich, senior research director for Catalyst, a New York non-profit that tracks progress of women executives nationwide.

On the other hand, men said their top three barriers were displaying a different behavior than the organization's norm, lacking general managerial experience, and lacking knowledge of an organization's political atmosphere.

"Many of the women executives also cited the same reasons the men did," said Gerkovich. "While there has been some progress in the last few decades, these remain some of the reasons why there are so few women at the top."

A 2002 Catalyst survey said women hold 2,140 positions, or 15.7 percent, of the 13,673 corporate officer positions in the Fortune 500. Officer positions include CEO and other top posts.

Despite inroads, women still face glass-ceiling issues, including discrimination and political bias, said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an outplacement firm in Chicago.

"The glass ceiling is so much more pronounced at the bigger, public companies because so much more politics goes on in making your way up to the top," he said. "There are so many levels along the way where you can get knocked off."

While men and women both face office politics, women face more discrimination, "it's harder for women to form relationships with people in power because they are mostly men," he said.

Corporations should review how they can train and encourage women to attain executive roles, said Victoria Medvec, executive director of the Center for Executive Women at Northwestern University.

"Corporations need to look at themselves and learn what the obstacles are and remove those hurdles," Medvec said.

The corporate lifestyle turns off many women to attaining or remaining in the CEO seat, said Josetta McLaughlin, director of Roosevelt University's School of Management, Marketing and Information Systems.

"The corporate lifestyle for CEOs is still defined by males in that role and many women simply do not like that approach to corporate life," she said.

The lack of women who are trained and in the pipeline for top jobs at major corporations is another issue, said Margot Dorfman, chief executive officer of the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

"What women executives in Chicago are experiencing is the same across the nation," said Dorfman. "There aren't enough women in the positions that lead to the top. They need to be trained and in middle management in order to reach the executive levels."

Some boards of directors are still comprised mostly of men who had been in the same fraternities, attended the same universities or clubs, which fosters that "old boy network," said Sumaria Mohan-Neill, professor of entrepreneurship at Roosevelt University.

"There aren't many women CEOs, and the one's who are in that position are put under the microscope," said Mohan-Neill. "Every decision is scrutinized. If women stumble, it's huge news."

More women CEOs are found at smaller, independent companies in the Chicago area.

"These women have a more holistic view. They're closer to their employees and their customers, compared to the high-profile companies," Mohan-Neill said.

Despite the challenges, Tellabs Holley remains optimistic that more women will reach higher.

"It will take a while. They'll need more role models, more mentors, but it will happen," she said.