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More Women General Counsels at Fortune 500 Companies Than Ever Before

By Andrew Lu on September 04, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A recent survey showed that more women than ever are serving as general counsel at Fortune 500 companies.

So does this mean the glass ceiling is finally broken?

The study shows that the number of women serving as general counsel at Fortune 500 companies has more than doubled from 1999 to 2008, writes Business Insider. The survey was conducted by Minority Corporate Counsel Association.

The study indicates that there were 92 women general counsel at Fortune 500 companies in 2008, compared to only 44 in 1999, reports Business Insider. In 2011, 108 women were reportedly serving as general counsel at these top companies.

The trend of more and more women attaining general counsel positions at big corporations is in line with a similar survey that showed that more and more women are making equity partners at the biggest law firms. With both general counsel positions and equity partnerships, the surveys indicate that women make up about 20 percent of these positions.

So to answer the question whether the glass ceiling is finally broken, the answer is a resounding "no!"

While an uptick in women general counsels and equity partnerships is definitely encouraging, 20 percent is still a pathetically small number when you consider that the the civil rights movement happened over 40 years ago.

It's a given that it takes time to reach the top. However, 40 years is a long time, and more women should have attained the top legal positions including general counsel jobs and equity partners had the glass ceiling truly been broken.

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