“I’ve always had people here who not only supported me but also mentored and encouraged me,” says Roxanne Mercer, director of the pathology department at VCU Health System.

Women serve on every board and search committee at this academic medical center, by mandate of CEO Sheldon Retchin, MD, who wants to ensure that his organization is an inclusive one. Working with the internal Council on the Status of Women and Minorities, chief human resources officer Maria Curran helps create policies and initiatives that further support female advancement. Every year, her department sponsors four scholarships that allow diverse managers and executives to attend a prestigious leadership development program; formal mentoring, tuition aid and on-site master’s degrees in health administration help others to rise.

CEO: Sheldon Retchin, MD

Chief HR Officer: Maria Curran

% of senior managers who are women: 1%

% of corporate executives who are women: 57%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 50%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 67%

% of the executives running divisions with revenues of more than a billion dollars who are women: 62%

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 33%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 24%