Whirlpool Corporation, Fortune 500 #147, appointed Diane Dietz (pictured) to its Board of Directors. Diane is Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Safeway Inc. Out of 12 members on the Whirlpool Board of Directors, there is only one other woman according to their website - Kathleen Hempel, the former Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Fort Howard Corporation (correct me if I'm wrong please). You would think that a maker of major kitchen appliances would have more women on its board since women are more likely the major users of its products. Fortune 500 companies need to commit to women and break the accepted norm of two women on the board. As Europe aims for 40%, the U.S. should be leading the way to gender equality.
While Whirlpool makes some headway with this appointment, more Fortune 500's recently appointed men; Dow Chemical #47 appointed Ajay Banga, CEO of MasterCard; GE #6 appointed Frank D’Souza, CEO of Cognizant Technology Solutions, and Dean Foods #207 appointed Robert Wiseman. Where are the women? Fortune 500 Companies' appointments of women are not even close to being equal so far this year even as we talk about gender equality on boards every day. Fortune 500 Companies - commit to women! Make your next board appt a woman!
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