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During the past decade, the incidence of women starting businesses dramatically accelerated in the US. A national, representative sample of women (and men) business owners was interviewed by telephone to understand better this phenomenon. This analysis focuses on women business owners who left corporate careers to start their own businesses. Respondents' experiences with corporate “glass ceilings” and “glass walls”, such as lack of flexibility and challenge, lack of role models and mentors, lack of access to line positions with concomitant intrapreneurial opportunities, and failure of organizations to credit and reward women's contributions, are examined. Differences among three age cohorts of women business owners, included in the analysis, portend increased difficulty for companies in retaining talented women professionals and managers, especially those with entrepreneurial interests. Recommendations to companies include identifying and eliminating barriers to women's advancement in the corporate culture and work environment, and development of more intrapreneurial opportunities.

Examines the role of key players such as front‐line and middle managers as well as executives in implementing and sustaining corporate gender diversity initiatives. Findings show that mentors and role models can have a great effect, especially in assisting women employees gain and complete high profile projects important for their advancement. Develops key leadership roles and discusses them through a number of case examples.

Describes two recent research projects on women′s advancement, one in the food marketing industry and one in sales. These are the type of industry which might be expected to offer women more opportunities for advancement. The research showed this not to be the case. Identifies the barriers to the advancement of women in both industries. Offers recommendations for breaking down the barriers. Ends by citing specific corporate initiatives which represent best practice.

To show how companies that address gender diversity issues as business issues, not just as human resources issues, will reap rewards both inside and outside the company. Also, to show how business schools can make a significant contribution toward the understanding of diversity as a business issue.

First, women's corporate managerial roles are examined: the economic and social reasons to focus on gender diversity and the costs of companies’ failure to address diversity issues, specifically, turnover and retention. Next, women's roles as consumers are studied. Finally, women's roles as business students are looked at, specifically, the negative stereotypes reinforced in business school and carried into the workplace. The study concludes with examples of programs developed by Avon Products and Deloitte and Touche, LLP, to address diversity issues.

Provides statistics on women's workforce participation, costs of corporate turnover, women's earned college and graduate degrees. Identifies the key barriers to female career advancement; discusses the role of female consumers and business owners; provides company examples and case studies that illustrate the successful integration of women into academic and corporate life.

Only Stanford and Harvard Business school cases are looked at, although the latter is the largest producer of case studies used in business schools. One of the two longer corporate examples discusses diversity strategies in Avon Mexico which may limit its relevance to other US companies.

Good source for bibliography on corporate and academic diversity. Particularly useful for corporate human resources professionals and women about to enter business school or start their first corporate job. Also useful for researchers/academics writing business school case studies.

Presents a strong case for the retention and development of corporate women as well as the need for business school cases to model behavior and modify negative attitudes toward women in business.

EEO and the management of diversity Volume 8 Number 5 of the Journal of Organizational Change Management contains an article by Maria Humphries and Shayne Grice entitled “Equal employment opportunity and the management of diversity: a global discourse of assimilation?”

Increasing research attention has been devoted to understanding the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors of North American corporations (Gillies, 1992; Lorsch & Maclver, 1989; Fleischer, Hazard & Klipper, 1988). This has resulted, in part, from increased interest in corporate governance. Scholars continue to explore and debate the question of who controls and is responsible for the activities and performance of corporations in a democratic society (Vance, 1983; Worthy & Neushel, 1982). In addition, the veil of privacy that had historically been accorded CEOs and board members is slowly being lifted. As a result, information about the membership and working of corporate boards of directors is starting to accumulate (Gillies, 1992). Corporate boards of directors also came under increased scrutiny and criticism during the 1980s because of specific decisions made by them (e.g. hostile takeovers, mergers and acquisitions, golden parachutes, excessive levels of executive compensation) and the generally low performance levels of North American organisations in the international marketplace. The latter has resulted in several suggestions for improving the effectiveness of corporate boards (Barrett, 1993; Patton & Baker, 1987; Salmon, 1993; Leighton & Thain, 1993). Suggestions have included the separation of the CEO/Board chairman roles, improved selection of directors, training of directors, clarifying roles and responsibilities of directors (and CEOs), and replacing directors who are not performing well.

One of the major challenges for managing human resources in the 1990s is to appropriately respond to employees having to manage the dual responsibilities of home and work (Paris, 1989). Balancing work and family has been considered a women's issue, with the question being whether women could handle both the home demands and the responsibilities of a paid job. Yet the entrance of women into the workforce has also required major role adjustments by their husbands. According to the traditional model of work, husbands prioritize work over family with the wife providing the necessary emotional and physical support to keep the husband in “good working order” (Pleck, 1977). In today's society, this model is no longer widely applicable, as men in dual earner families receive less emotional support than their single‐earner counterparts (Burke, & Weir, 1976; Keith, & Schafer, 1980) and tend to assume greater family responsibilities (Holahan, & Gilbert, 1979; Weingarten, 1978).