A new UC Davis study suggests that the glass ceiling remains firmly in place for female executives in California … and likely will stay there for a long time.

The seventh annual "Study of California Women Business Leaders," released Wednesday by the UC Davis Graduate School of Business, found that women occupy fewer than one in 10 of the top posts at the 400 largest public firms headquartered in the state.

At the current rate of advancement for women – 0.2 percent annually, according to the study – officials said it will take California more than a century to achieve gender equity in those companies.

The study also showed that more than a third (136) of the top 400 had no women among their highest-paid executives or board directors.

"There are plenty of qualified women to hire and promote, but the vast majority of the 400 largest public companies in the state don't seem to recognize that," said Steven Currall, dean of the management school.

The study looked at the five highest-paid executives for each company, as reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission through June of this year.

The top 400 companies were determined by market capitalization. More than 200 are in the Bay Area; 178 are based in Southern California.

Other study findings included:

• Women accounted for 9.2 percent of the 1,925 highest-paid executives at the 400 companies.

• Women held 10 percent of the 3,224 board seats.

• No company had an all-female board or executive management team.

• More than 40 percent of the 136 companies that tied for last place, with no female executives or board members, are high-tech companies.

• Only 13 public companies had a female CEO, down from 16 in 2010.

The slow progress indicated in the study drew comment from myriad corners.

"Women are the next global economy. They make up a majority of the work force in nine of the 10 occupations that will add the most jobs in the next eight years," noted Marilyn Nagel, CEO of Watermark, the Palo Alto-based nonprofit that offers programs for female executives. "Despite this, women still represent a significant minority on boards.

"There are many qualified women capable of serving on boards who are not currently getting those roles."

Brisbane-based Bebe Stores Inc., where the percentage of female directors and highly paid executives was equal to males, ranked first in the census for a second straight year.

Three of the 400 companies are in Sacramento County. Of those, The McClatchy Co., publisher of The Sacramento Bee, was ranked 21st.

GenCorp Inc., the parent of Rancho Cordova rocket maker Aerojet, was ranked No. 173. Folsom-based trash hauler Waste Connections Inc., the Sacramento area's largest publicly traded company, was among those firms with no women on its executive team. Worthing Jackman, chief financial officer of Waste Connections, said he had not seen the study and declined to comment.

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