Women on Boards of Directors -- 2006
News On Women.com (NewsOnWomen.com) reported a grand total of 278 women named to boards of directors for the full year 2006, with the addition of 26 women in December alone. Corporations in a total of 37 states (74% of all U.S. states) and 5 nations announced new female directors this year. The last six months of 2006 saw 167 women nominations, over 3 times the rate of the same period in 2005.
For the first time this year, firms based in Rhode Island and South Carolina announced female director nominations: Lin TV Board welcomed Patti Hart on board and Palmetto Bank added Jane Sosebee to its board.
In December, Massachusetts and California led all states with 5 nominations, followed by New York, Connecticut and Texas with 2 each. Nine states and the District of Columbia added 1 woman each to a corporate board. A total of 15 states announced female board directors during the month of December.
For the year, 7 states represented over 53% of the new female board nominations for the year. California led with 45 female director nominations -- equal to an average of almost 1 nomination every week. New York was a close second with about 1 nomination every 2 weeks.
