Women in charge

Q: How many women are CEOS of big companies? — R.W., Rutland, Vt.

A: The folks at Catalyst (a nonprofit advancing women in the workplace) maintain a list of women CEOS of the S&P 500. As of April 1, there are 30 out of the 500 — or 6 percent. They are Mary Barra, General Motors; Corie Barry, Best Buy; Gail Boudreaux, Anthem; Rosalind Brewer, Walgreens Boots Alliance; Michele Buck, The Hershey Company; Debra Cafaro, Ventas; Safra Catz, Oracle; Joanne Crevoiserat, Tapestry; Mary Dillon, Ulta Beauty; Jane Fraser, Citigroup; Adena Friedman, Nasdaq; Lynn Good, Duke Energy; Tricia Griffith, Progressive; Vicki Hollub, Occidental Petroleum; Jennifer Johnson, Franklin Resources; Reshma Kewalramani, Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Christine Leahy, CDW; Karen Lynch, CVS Health; Judy Marks, Otis Worldwide; Lisa Palmer, Regency Centers; Kristin Peck, Zoetis; Linda Rendle, The Clorox Company; Barbara Rentler, Ross Stores; Lori Ryerkerk, Celanese; Lisa Su, Advanced Micro Devices; Julie Sweet, Accenture; Sonia Sygnal, The Gap; Carol Tome, United Parcel Service; Jayshree Ullal, Arista Networks; and Kathy Warden, Northrop Grumman.

Here’s hoping that within a few years there will be too many to list individually.

Q: Is it true that you can buy shares of stock directly from companies instead of through a brokerage?

— H.C., Watertown, Wis.

A: Yup. While you can own stocks in brokerage accounts and through mutual funds, many companies also let you buy their shares directly. You can do this using Dividend Reinvestment Plans (sometimes called “DRIPS”), Direct Stock Purchase Plans (DSPPS) or other methods. These plans generally let you spend small sums on stock, charge low or no fees and often allow you to reinvest dividends in additional shares or fractions of shares (though reinvested shares can require extra record-keeping).