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Fortune Magazine came out with its issue naming the "2011 Businessperson of the Year," as well as 49 runners-up. As one would expect, the 50 individuals featured by Fortune are extraordinary leaders who have attained exceptional results for their respective businesses. What’s remarkable about this list, however, is that only four of the 50 businesspeople are women.

Women comprise almost half of the workforce, yet they account for only 6% of corporate CEOs and top executive positions, as noted in the January 2011 report by David A. Matsa and Amalia Miller entitled “Chipping Away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership.” At law firms, barely 15% of equity partners are women – a level that has not improved over many years, according to an October 2011 survey by The National Association of Women Lawyers and The NAWL Foundation. Although women have made much progress toward achieving equality in the workplace, we still have a long way to go. We would be wise to continue to focus our energy on identifying and addressing gender disparities at the highest levels of corporate America.

Congratulations to Irene B. Rosenfeld, Christine M. Day, Carol Meyrowitz, and Angela Ahrendts on their selection to Fortune’s list – and on the achievements for which they were selected.
 

I was not surprised to see an article in The New York Times regarding the prevalence of insomnia among working mothers.

Last week, I attended a dinner of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) General Counsel Institute. At the dinner table, I enjoyed interesting conversation with some accomplished women. We shared anecdotes of work, work-related travel, children, homework, and sleep – or, more accurately, our lack of sleep.

Women lawyers are often skilled multitaskers, driven to succeed at work and in their personal lives. Along with the responsibilities of the multiple roles of professional, spouse, and mother (and perhaps caregiver, volunteer, and friend, too), comes stress. Difficulty sleeping is a natural but unfortunate consequence of stress. According to a study cited in the article, 80 percent of women reported “being just too stressed or worried to turn out the proverbial lights.” The irresistible urge to check BlackBerry devices and iPhones before bedtime makes it even more difficult to wind down and fall asleep. (I’m certain that I am not the only one who pretends that I will rest better if I am sure that I have seen every email that may have arrived during the evening hours.) Waking at 3 or 4 a.m. with worries about the day ahead is also common.

Many women are resorting to prescription and over-the-counter treatments for their insomnia. “Nearly 3 in 10 American women fess up to using some kind of sleep aid at least a few nights a week,” The New York Times stated. Among 40 to 59 year olds, twice the number of women than men use prescription sleep aids.

Are professional women destined to a sleepless fate in this hyper-connected, 24/7 world? Are we sufficiently motivated to find solutions apart from pharmaceuticals or wine? The first step may be prioritizing our own well-being, and recognizing that we will be better able to respond to the stresses of the day if we get a good night’s sleep.