WOMEN IN INDUSTRY

IF THERE WERE a ?year of the woman? in the U.S. chemical industry, it would have been 2009, at least as reflected in C&EN?s survey of women in industry that year. For the first time, two chief executive officers appeared in the magazine?s annual list. One of the CEOs was Ellen J. Kullman, who became the first female CEO of a publicly traded firm dedicated to chemicals when she took over the top job at DuPont at the beginning of 2009. Because DuPont is the second-largest public chemical company in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world, Kullman holds one of the most important positions in the entire chemical industry. Also, last year saw the addition of Lynn L. Elsenhans, CEO of refiner and chemical maker Sunoco. There have been other years in which women broke glass ceilings in the chemical industry. In 2001, for instance, Fran Keeth became head of the ...