OMAHA, Neb., Oct. 27, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Despite the recent controversy over the lack of diversity at major technology companies, an Infogroup Targeting Solutions analysis of national business data has found that the Silicon Valley is the friendliest place in America for female executives.
While companies like Facebook, Google and Apple have reported this year that about three-quarters of their leadership positions are filled by men, records in Infogroup's real-time business database, Data AxleTM, show that many of the cities with the highest percentage of firms with female executives are concentrated in the high-tech region in California.
Infogroup Targeting Solutions found that Palo Alto, Calif., trails only Dover, Del. with 43 percent of companies having at least one woman in an executive position. Two other Silicon Valley cities made the top 10: Emeryville at No. 10 and Facebook's hometown of Menlo Park at No. 7.
The study, which looked businesses in 12,000 cities across the United States, found that only 27 percent of firms nationwide have women in top leadership positions.
"While less than a dozen tech companies have released their own data on hiring and the gender gap, we analyzed nearly half a million businesses nationwide," said David McRae, president of Infogroup Targeting Solutions. "While the gender gap certainly needs to be closed at major tech companies, the deeper data reveals another side to the story in the Silicon Valley."
Six cities in the Silicon Valley are included in the top 50 U.S. places for female executives:
1. Dover, Del. – 44.8 percent
2. Palo Alto, Ca. – 42.3 percent
3. Chapel Hill, N.C. – 41.5 percent
4. Washington, D.C. – 41.1 percent
5. Bethesda, Md. – 41 percent
6. New Haven, Conn. – 41 percent
7. Menlo Park, Calif. – 40.9 percent
8. Frankfort, Ky. – 40.6 percent
9. Williamsburg, Va. – 40.5 percent
10. Emeryville, Ca. – 40.4 percent
45. San Francisco, Ca. – 36 percent
47. Oakland, Ca. – 35.8 percent
48. Redwood City, Ca. – 35.5 percent
University towns also tend to have a high concentration of companies with female executives, with 16 appearing on the top 50 list:
1. Dover, Del. (Delaware State) – 44.8 percent
3. Chapel Hill, N.C. (University of North Carolina) – 41.5 percent
6. New Haven, Conn. (Yale University) – 41 percent
8. Frankfort, Ky. (Kentucky State University) – 40.6 percent
9. Williamsburg, Va. (College of William and Mary) – 40.5 percent
11. Camden, N.J. (Rutgers University) – 40.2 percent
12. Flagstaff, Ariz. (Northern Arizona University) – 40.2 percent
15. Cambridge, Mass. (Harvard University and MIT) – 39.6 percent
21. Berkeley, Ca. (University of California – Berkeley) – 38.6 percent
23. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Vassar College) – 38.5 percent
26. East Lansing, Mich. (Michigan State) – 38 percent
27. Corvallis, Ore. (Oregon State) – 38 percent
31. Norman, Okla. (University of Oklahoma) – 37.4 percent
33. Pasadena, Calif. (California Institute of Technology) – 37.1 percent
39. Burlington, Mass. (Tufts University) – 36.5 percent
40. Ann Arbor, Mich. (University of Michigan) – 36.4 percent
To come up with the list of top cities for female executives, Infogroup Targeting Solutions used the Data AxleTM to pull business records on 466,000 U.S. firms with 10 or more employees and C-suite, president or vice president positions. The company then analyzed the executive contact information to determine how many companies have women in leadership positions. The top 50 list includes only cities with at least 100 businesses meeting the criteria.
"The fact that you can determine sociological and geographic trends from the Data Axle demonstrates the power of real-time business data," said David McRae, president of Infogroup Targeting Solutions. "The information in the database on 21 million businesses is relevant, accurate and up to date with a level of detail unmatched by any other sales and marketing provider."
For an infographic representation of the best areas for women in business, click here.
About Infogroup Targeting Solutions
Infogroup Targeting Solutions helps companies increase sales and customer loyalty through analytically driven consumer and business data and database marketing solutions. With exclusive access to the Data Axle™, we build multichannel solutions using contextually relevant information on 235MM individuals and 21MM businesses. For more information, visit www.infogrouptargeting.com.