November 7, 2005 8:08 AM

Fortune's most powerful women
Posted by Diane Danielsonat 8:08 AM

It's that time of year - Fortune lists their 50 most powerful women. No real surprises at the top. Meg Whitman rules again. But there are some new names.

However, what article about powerful women would be complete without the publication also printing an article about the women who "choose to chuck it." Also in the same Fortune issue:

Research by Catalyst, an organization that studies women in the workplace, shows that attrition rates at the highest corporate levels are comparable for men and women (roughly 10%). But because so few women make it to the top—only 15.7% of corporate officers at FORTUNE 500 companies are women, according to Catalyst—any departure naturally attracts notice. We were curious about why ambitious women would step off the corporate ladder. So we looked up some women whose path had led them onto FORTUNE's power list, then off it—and asked them to tell us their stories.

My question to Fortune: If the ratios don't differ from the men - as you state - why do you have to focus on it? Personally, if the ratio is the same, that means there are many more men "chucking it." Now, that would be a much more interesting story.