WOMEN DIRECTORS NOT TOKENS

Many corporate leaders are no longer motivated by tokenism in appointing women to their boards of directors, according to Catalyst. The research and advisory group says the leaders are looking instead for women who can bring judgment and expertise to the discussion of bottom-line issues.

Catalyst, which aims to foster career and leadership development of women, holds that female board directors provide ``power models'' for company women and show potential female recruits that upward mobility in business is unlimited. Women directors also send a message to customers, clients, and consumers that the company recognizes the value of having women at the top.

A survey of the Fortune 1,000 service and industrial companies by Catalyst found 402 women serving on corporate boards of these companies in 1988. That's a slight decline from 1987 because some companies with female directors were displaced from the Fortune 1,000.