A powerful story from Annapolis, Maryland:

Nancy Squires doesn't dwell on the glass ceiling. She's too busy breaking it.

"There are always those obstacles. I chose not to concentrate on the challenge (of being a woman business owner) and get the job done," said Ms. Squires, chief executive officer of The Squires Group, an Annapolis-based technology firm that assists clients in building financial, human resources and supply chain systems.

The Squires Group is one of the country's top 500 women- and minority-owned businesses, coming in at 238, according to the Web site www.DiversityBusiness.com. Ms. Squires' company rakes in $13 million in sales annually, placing it at 15 on the site's list of Maryland women- and minority-owned businesses.

Another local firm on the list, Alliance Technology Group of Hanover, started in Hope Hayes' basement. The CEO said launching the data management/storage company in 1997 was certainly bucking the trend.

Back then, women were answering phones at IT companies - not running them. Ms. Hayes had no money, no clients and two partners who constantly clashed with her business philosophy.

A decade later, the tide has turned. Last year Alliance brought in more than $27.4 million in revenue, and the company placed sixth in a list of the top minority- and woman-owned businesses in Maryland. In the Web site's national list, Alliance ranked 227th.

"When you come right down to it, qualifications matter, skills matter, but you still have to have an account," she said. "You still need clients."

The company, which sells and services a variety of specialized medical equipment, has seven employees and has about $2.7 million in annual sales.

But when Mrs. Keaton joined MarCal in 1991, she was a woman in a man's world, just like Ms. Hayes.

"In the beginning it was very unheard of for a woman to be involved in biomedical engineering," she said. "When you've got to use screwdrivers and wrenches ... it's automatically assumed that you're a good technician if you're a guy."

Gender discrimination, however subtle, is also something that transcends race, said Ms. Hayes.

"If you're in a completely black group of people or a completely white group, it's still the women being held back," she said.