The glass ceiling is still in place in the boardroom, but the DirectWomen Institute is out to change that. Launched in January, it will train female law firm attorneys to be corporate directors and then help them find board seats.
The institute is a joint initiative of the American Bar Association and Catalyst Inc., a nonprofit research and advisory organization that works toward expanding opportunities for women in business. According to a 2005 census conducted by Catalyst, only 14.7 percent of the directors at Fortune 500 companies are women.
