When this information technology and networking company launched its Business Leader Forum last spring, it gave its senior executives a career development program that would help them become truly transformational leaders, better driving results and profitability. Over the next few years, this forum will no doubt be more and more valuable to women, who earned 19% of all promotions to vice president and senior vice president in fiscal year 2012 and now occupy more than twice as many executive positions with profit-and-loss responsibility than they did in 2010. (Executive business coaching programs and stretch assignments help take promising talent to the next level.)

Chairman & CEO: John Chambers

SVP, HR: Kathleen Weslock

% of senior managers who are women: 19%

% of corporate executives who are women: 18%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 17%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 13%

% of the executives running divisions with revenues of more than a billion dollars who are women: –

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: –

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 17%