Top Companies Urged to Give Women More Roles in Leadership

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Washington, Sept. 23 (AFP) -- A leading group of international businesswomen on Friday called on the world's 200 biggest male-dominated companies to step up efforts to give women more leadership roles in large corporations.

Although the number of women on corporate boards in Fortune Global 200 companies increased from 285 to 308 since 2004, men still hold the lion's share of board seats, with nearly 89 percent, a report issued by Corporate Women Directors International (CWDI) showed.

Little progress has been made to ensure boardroom equality of the sexes, the report, which

followed up on a similar study conducted in 2004, lamented.

"If over 80 …