Charles Schwab, IBM, And Northern Trust Win 2000 Catalyst Award

Catalyst for Women 
Tuesday, 21 March 2000

Focus on Culture Change Advances Women in Business

NEW YORK, March 21, 2000— Charles Schwab & Co., IBM Corporation, and The Northern Trust Company received the 2000 Catalyst Award at a gala dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria this evening. Chaired by General Electric Chairman and CEO John F. Welch, the 25th Annual Catalyst Awards Dinner celebrated the strategic approaches to advancing women in business practiced by each of the winners. Accepting the award on behalf of their companies were David S. Pottruck, President and co-CEO of Charles Schwab; Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., Chairman and CEO of IBM; and William A. Osborn, Chairman and CEO of Northern Trust.

In congratulating the award-winning companies, Welch urged the audience of 1,800 business leaders, including more than 50 of his peers—other CEOs of leading companies—to commit themselves to women's advancement in corporate America. "These achievements are inspirational," he said. "With commitment comes change – change that is good for women and good for business."

Sheila Wellington, President of Catalyst, remarked, "We are in the midst of an extraordinary, transformative period." She called on audience members to "seize the talents of the women and men you have working for you," adding that it has become essential to foster an environment in which everyone's talents can thrive.

The 2000 Catalyst Award-winning approaches have proven successful, effective, and measurable. Schwab's Building a Culture: No Ceilings, No Barriers, No Limits has shaped the organization's philosophy since its inception twenty-five years ago. IBM's Global Women Leaders' Task Force: Creating the Climate to Win specifically targets women and minorities for leadership development, both nationally and globally, through a variety of programs. Northern Trust Company's Sustained Leadership Commitment: Diversity at Work initiative succeeds by targeting high-potential individuals and focusing on specific performance management programs and mandatory diversity training.

The results of the award-winning initiatives are impressive—at Schwab, women comprise 36 percent of corporate officers; two of the company's five vice chairmen are women. At IBM, women's representation at executive levels has increased since 1995 from 1 percent to 8 percent in the Asia-Pacific region; from zero to 5 percent in Latin America; and from 2 percent to 8 percent in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In North America, women executives are up from 14 percent to 21 percent. Northern Trust's women officers are up from 39 percent in 1990 to 49 percent in 1999 (24 percent of those are women of color); women vice presidents are up from 23 percent to 39 percent (12 percent are women of color); and the number of women at the Executive Vice President level and above has gone from zero to 14 percent.

About the Catalyst Award

Catalyst annually honors companies for outstanding approaches to advance women in business, evaluating senior management commitment, measurable results, accountability, replicability, and originality. Since 1987, the Catalyst Award has honored 42 corporate initiatives that have demonstrated a proven ability to advance women. According to John F. Smith, Jr., Chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation and Chairman of Catalyst's Board of Directors, "Catalyst's evaluation process is well respected, and the Award at the end of the road is prized by American business. And indeed, corporate America is strengthened by the competition."

The annual Catalyst Awards Dinner has become the preeminent venue for highlighting the corporate leaders in advancing women. It is accompanied by a full-day conference featuring an analysis of the winning initiatives by company representatives, a frank review of personal success strategies by high-level corporate and professional women executives, and several interactive sessions with Catalyst experts who address cutting-edge issues about women in business.

For more information, or to contact Catalyst for Women , see their website at: www.catalystwomen.org