May 22, 2005 11:21 PM

Good news and bad news for women in the boardroom
Posted by Diane Danielsonat 11:21 PM

From this Sunday's BostonWorks Out in the Field Section - First the good news about women in leadership positions:

In a joint study by Caliper, a New Jersey management firm, and London-based Aurora, a businesswomen's diversity network and research organization, researchers found that women are more assertive, more likely to take risks, and more empathetic than their male counterparts.

The study reveals that female executives are more likely to listen to subordinates and co-workers than their male colleagues. They also tend to talk things over more, resulting in greater input from a variety of people. In addition, they are more flexible and have better interpersonal skills than male executives, the study noted.

Sounds great, right? Too bad there aren't more women in the boardroom. (That's the bad news.)

The researchers said they found "severe underrepresentation of women and minorities on the boards of the nation's Fortune 100 firms in comparison to their population as a whole."