Cable Pioneer Kay Koplovitz Tells Communications Companies That Women Mean Good Business.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2001

Head of Working Woman Network Says the Path to Improving

Role of Women in Media Companies is Clear

In conjunction with the release of a special report by the Annenberg Public Policy Center with which

she has been integrally involved, Working Woman Network CEO and USA Networks founder Kay Koplovitz today issued a bold challenge to her media colleagues to take the lead in creating new opportunities for women in the upper echelon of broadcasting and telecommunications companies.

She said, "I am challenging my friends who run the communications and media companies to take the lead as you've done before on one of the most important issues facing the country: advancement of women and minorities in business."

The Annenberg report focuses on the lack of women in executive positions in telecommunications, media and e-companies. The various divisions of Koplovitz's current concern, Working Woman Network, concentrate on issues of advancement of corporate and professional women as well as diversity across the board. She pointed to Working Woman magazine's Top 25 Companies for Executive Women (Dec/Jan 2001). "Three of the companies we applaud for their efforts in empowering and advancing women are in the communications field: Knight Ridder (#8), SBC Communications (13) and Gannett (20). If they can do it, so can you."

Koplovitz insists that advancement of women is not simply the correct thing to do. "Tapping into the resource of 60 million women in the workforce is simply good business," she explains. "Women value relationships with products and companies that demonstrate support of women's initiatives and concerns. And we have identified clear and significant benefit when companies engage in corporate and diversity best practices," she explained.

Best practices are demonstrated by women advancing in a company, as well as a culture that values diversity and a strong work/life balance. Koplovitz highlighted that:

- 38% of Knight Ridder department or division heads are women, as

well as 27% of the Board of Directors.

- SBC has raised its proportion of women executives even through

mergers, with more women on its board than any other Top 25

company (6).

- Gannett's board is one-quarter women, and females represent 36%

of all department heads.

- Verizon, just created in 2000, made Working Woman's Honor Roll

by actively recruiting minority women, and tying a portion of

senior management's compensation directly to diversity

achievements.

"SBC increased its ranking on our list from 17 to 13 in one year. That kind of progress only happens when CEOs and senior management make a clear and direct commitment to supporting advancement of women and diversity initiatives," Koplovitz said.

Working Woman Network is currently speaking to a variety of cable and communications companies about diversifying supplier bases as well as employee initiatives. The leading resource for empowering professional and entrepreneurial women in the digital economy, WWN owns Working Woman and Working Mother magazines, WorkingWoman.com, WWN Events, Women & Minority Business Exchange, Diversity Best Practices and the Business Women's Network.