The Catalyst¹  Pyramid: US women in business. (Sources: Bureau of Labor² Statistics Current Population Survey, Annual Averages, 2003.)

Women in 2008 made no significant gains in winning more top US business jobs, according to a study released on Wednesday, but the head of the study said women are poised³ to make strides in the year ahead.

The number of women who were board directors, corporate⁴ officers or top earners at Fortune 500 companies remained essentially⁵ unchanged, said the study by Catalyst, a nonprofit group that promotes opportunities for women in business.

The percentage of companies with women on the board of directors was 15.1 percent this year, compared with 14.8 percent in 2007, Catalyst said.

Also, the percentage of corporate officer positions held by women was 15.7 percent in 2008 and 15.4 percent in 2007, it said. The percentage of top earners in 2008 who were women was 6.2 percent, compared to 6.7 percent in 2007, it said.

The research on the Fortune 500 companies was based on data as of March 31, 2008. The slight changes in the numbers are not considered statistically⁶ significant, Catalyst said.

Nevertheless, given the changes in U.S. politics, the future for women in business looks more promising⁷, said Ilene Lang, president and chief executive officer of Catalyst.

"Overall we're expecting to see change next year," Lang said. "When we look at shareholders⁸, decision makers⁹, the general public, they're looking for change.

"What they're basically saying is, 'Don't give us more of the status quo. Get new ideas in there, get some fresh faces,'" she said.

Lang said President-elect Barack Obama's choices for cabinet and other leadership positions, which include women and minorities, former rivals and opponents, bode¹⁰ well for women in the corporate world.

"These are very, very inclusive teams," she said. "I think that can be a role model for leadership in other sectors¹¹."

The Catalyst study also noted¹² that minority women -- black, Asian or Latina -- comprised 3.2 percent of company directorships, compared with 3.0 percent in 2007.

本周三发布的一项研究报告显示，2008年美国商界女性在获得高管职位方面没有取得明显进步，但研究负责人称明年商界女性的前景看好。

促进商界女性职业发展的非赢利机构Catalyst对“财富500强”企业开展的一项调查发现，在过去一年中，这些公司的董事会和管理层成员或高薪员工中女性的比例基本没变化。

报告称，今年15.1%的公司有女董事，去年这一比例为14.8%。

此外，今年公司管理层的女性比例为15.7%，去年为15.4%。高薪员工中女性占6.2%，去年为6.7%。

该调查主要对2008年3月31日以前的相关数据进行了分析。Catalyst称，这些细微的数据变化在统计学上意义不大。

Catalyst机构总裁兼首席执行官艾琳•朗表示，尽管如此，考虑到今年美国政坛的变化，商界女性的前景将会改观。

她说：“我们期待明年的变化。股东、决策者和公众都在期待改变。”

她说：“大家都在说：‘我们不要再维持现状，我们需要新的理念，新的面孔。’”

她说，美国当选总统巴拉克·奥巴马挑选的内阁班子和其他政府要员对商界女性十分有利，其中包括女性、少数族裔、前竞争对手和反对者等。

她说：“奥巴马组建了一个非常多元化的团队，为其他领域树立了榜样。”

该报告同时指出，少数族裔女性（非洲裔、亚裔或拉丁裔）占公司管理层的3.2%，去年这一比例为3.0%。