License to Thrive

Felice N. Schwartz

Felice N. Schwartz, a prolific writer and organizer, helped provide
women with better access to the workplace and more opportunities at the
top levels of corporate America. Schwartz's many books and articles
convinced major companies that, from a cost-benefit perspective, it was
wiser to offer flexible schedules for women than to let women managers
resign. Though sometimes controversial -- especially her call for a
separate career climb for women, dubbed "the mommy track" by the media
-- Schwartz's work effectively heightened awareness of women's career
conflicts.

In 1962, Schwartz founded Catalyst, a national organization dedicated
to helping women re-enter the work force after years at home, and to
helping companies recruit women for their boards of directors. In the
early 1960s, women represented less than 35 percent of the work force;
today, the figure exceeds 46 percent. As late as 1977, only 46 women
were on the boards of Fortune 500 companies. On the eve of the 21st
century, more than 400 women are serving on Fortune 500 boards.

Schwartz's efforts at Catalyst and her pioneering research on job-sharing,
dual-career couples, parental leave and other work/family issues have
significantly impacted corporate America. Today, maternity leave is a
common benefit, and most major companies offer working mothers some form
of flexibility. Such changes have helped remove barriers to women's
upward mobility and have increased the number of women in the executive
ranks and in corporate boardrooms.

Courtesy of the National Women's Hall of Fame