The Search for a Few Good Davos Women

Last year on the way to the World Economic Forum's meeting in Davos, investment banker Jane Gladstone unwrapped eyeshades for her flight—and then didn't sleep a wink. In the next seat was Michele Burns, chief executive of Mercer, the Marsh & McLennan consulting unit. They talked through the night. "That's a very Davos experience," says Gladstone, who leads Evercore Partners' financial services advisory business. The two women have since introduced each other to business contacts.

That's the way things happen at Davos, but relatively few women have the opportunity to attend the big networking event in the Alps. About 16 percent of last year's delegates were women, roughly the same as in 2005, according to the WEF. That's up from 9 percent a decade ago, when organizers began to seek out more women.