Women at top 'boost equality'

As women struggle to crack corporate America's so-called glass ceiling, they may find more success in breaking the job barrier from the top down, a study said.

The more women on a company's board of directors, the more women are likely to be among that company's senior management, according to the study by Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that researches and helps promote women in business.

Firms with 30 percent of women board directors in 2001 on average had 45 percent more women corporate officers by 2006, compared with ones with no female board members, it said.