Today’s list of the “Top Businesses For Working Women” (see here) didn’t come without a hefty portion of research into the state of women in the workplace today — obviously. And beyond the each company’s facts and figures (board member stats, maternity leave stats and so on) came some advice and commentary from two of our favorite expert groups: Catalyst and Working Mother. How far have women come in the business world? What is left to be accomplished? Read on for answers — and some interesting trends for working women in the U.S. today.

What makes a company “good” for women? Does the number of female board members matter? Does the number of weeks of maternity leave? At what point do you know what makes a company “pro-woman”? As graduation comes closer and closer, I (along with the rest of The Jane Dough) started asking myself those questions. The result? Our definitive guide to the top 15 pro-women Fortune 500 companies.

As the CEO of Catalyst, a non-profit that does research and studies (ones we frequently cite!) focused on women advancing in the business world, Ilene Lang knows a thing or two about the topics we cover around these parts. Today in Forbes Woman, she tackles the question of whether women are as ambitious as men.

“The misguided assumption that women are less ambitious than men puts companies at risk of inadvertently underutilizing talented women and overlooking, or outright dismissing them, for key roles. This is a real loss for companies. Organizations need to step up and clear a path for women’s success,” she writes.