A lot of experts once argued that Sarbanes Oxley would lead to more women being added to corporate boards. The logic was that more boards, reacting to insider board limits, might start looking for women who weren't executives. According to Forbes, it hasn't quite worked out that way. Instead, in their search for outside directors, boards have reached out to retired executives, who skew heavily male. Still, there has been some progress. Ninety-seven percent of the 200 largest companies in the S&P 500 have at least one female director (Spencer Stuart). But women account for just one out of six board seats at these companies. Some note that there is an elite women's club of directors, who serve on multiple boards.    

For more:
- here's the Forbes article [1]

Related articles:
- More women making a mark [2] on Wall Street?
- Finance opening doors [3] for women?
- Private equity turns taxes into civil rights issue [4]