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"You can't be successful in this arena without the chief executive voicing it and making it clear," Gorelick said. "Otherwise people just give lip service to the concept but you get no results."

In Virginia, about 19.9 percent of top executives are women, and in Maryland 16.7 percent, according to Catalyst. The survey included all company officials who are designated "insiders" to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including chief executive, president, chief operating officer, senior vice presidents and legal counsels.

Having more women in executive positions is better for female workers overall, said Heidi Hartmann, president and chief executive of the D.C.-based Institute for Women's Policy Research. "Women at the top do more for other women," she said.