Today, 8.8% of America’s 500 highest-grossing companies are led by women, thus setting a new record and an example for female leaders across the globe. Moreover, female CEO statistics reveal 5.4% of private companies with revenues over $1 billion dollars are managed by women. But is this enough?!
Given that only seven women stood at the helm of Fortune 500 companies two decades ago, it could be argued that women in C-suite roles have seen growth over the past couple of years. And yet, women remain underrepresented in the higher echelons of the business world, especially those of color. Read on for more of the latest insights on the topic.
Top Female CEO Statistics and Facts
Women occupy only 29.2% of the chief executive roles in the US.
Only 8.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.
6.6% of S&P 500 companies are run by women.
Thirty-seven Fortune 1000 companies are managed by women.
A total of 186 Russell 3000 companies have female chief executive officers.
In October 2022, 26.1% of new CEOs were women or non-binary.
50% of the healthcare insurance industry is run by women.
Throughout 2021, 222 male CEOs were replaced with women.
In 2020, women in the C-suite earned 75% less than their male counterparts.
The average pay of female startup CEOs is $133,000.
Female CEOs Statistics
Women occupy only 29.2% of the chief executive roles in the US.
In 2015, 39.2% of companies in the US were managed by women. At present, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor, women are managing a total of 40.5% of US companies which translates to 20,199 women currently working in managerial positions.
Moreover, the number of women currently working as chief executives stands at 1,780, of which 85.9% are White, 5.9% are African American, 6.8% are Hispanic, and 6.7% are Asian. Unfortunately, despite the general increase in the number of women in CEO positions, estimates show that in the past five years, the numbers have grown by as little as 1.2%.
(BLS)
Only 8.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.
The above figure may not seem like much, but believe it or not, it’s the highest recorded in history and marks a 7.3% growth compared to 2021. Moreover, for the first time, women of color comprise 1% of the above.
Yet, in the past three years, only five women have made it to the top of a Fortune 500 company. In fact, the number of Fortune 500 female CEOs currently stands at 44, which means that less than a tenth of these companies is currently run by women.
It seems that women aren’t advancing to corporate leadership as fast as they ought to considering that, in 2012, there were 18 Fortune 500 companies ran by women.
(WBC)
35% of corporate executives are female.
In 2022, the percentage of women corporate executives increased by only one percentage point compared to the figure in 2021. In addition, only 30% of female corporate executives are with P&L (profit and loss) responsibilitiess, and this figure has remained unchanged compared to the previous year.
Women in leadership statistics further point to a minor increase in female board of directors, from 36% in 2021 to 38% in 2022. However, when it comes to the highest-paid employees, data shows 45% of the top 20% of highest-paid employees are women, noting an increase of four percentage points compared to 2021.
(SERAMOUNT)
6.6% of S&P 500 companies are run by women.
By the end of 2022, women were managing just 33 of the S&P 500 companies. Moreover, since January 2021, when women were in charge of 6.4% of S&P companies, there has been an increase by only two female chief executive officers.
In fact, if we consider female CEOs statistics from 2015, when women held as little as 5% of the CEO jobs in the S&P 500, it seems there is still a significant shortage of women in leadership roles.
And yet, the goals of the Women Business Collaborative remain the same – women to occupy 15% of S&P 500 companies by 2025 and 20% by 2030.
(WBC, CNNMoney)
Thirty-seven Fortune 1,000 companies are managed by women.
Nearly three decades ago, two women (Marion O. Sandler, in charge of Golden West Financial Corporation, and Linda Wachner from Warnaco Group Inc.) made history by making it among the CEOs of the top 1000 largest companies in the US.
Back then, the percentage of female CEOs was just 0.2. Today, 7.4% of CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies are operated by women. Moreover, this number has grown by four percentage points compared to the previous year, reflecting not only a minuscule share but very little progress for women in C-suite positions.
(WBC, Catalyst)
A total of 186 Russell 3,000 companies have female chief executive officers.
When it comes to female chief executive officers, the highest increase in numbers compared to the previous year is with the 3,000 publicly traded US companies with the highest market capitalization.
In 2021, the above figure was lower and amounted to 158. In other words, the percentage of women CEOs in charge of these companies noted a 17.72% growth between 2021 and 2022.
The latest data reveals that 6.2% of all CEOs in the Russell 3,000 are women. In 2019, women made up 5.2% of CEOs in Russell 3,000 companies, and by 2021, this figure had increased to 5.6%.
(WBC)
In October 2022, 26.1% of new CEOs were women or non-binary.
Towards the end of 2022, fewer women were ascending to CEO roles compared to the same period the year before, when 26.87% of new CEOs were women.
The percentage of new female CEOs reached a record in January 2022 when it stood at 27.1%. The previous record was reached in September 2021, when 26.9% of new CEOs were women. In absolute numbers, 1,042 of all new CEOs in 2021 were women compared to 962 in the same period of 2022.
(Challenger, Gray & Christmas)
50% of the healthcare insurance industry is run by women.
Of the total four healthcare insurance companies listed on the Fortune 100, two are run by female and two by male CEOs. Women CEO statistics also reveal gender equality in the pharmacy and other services industry, computer software, and mail, package, and freight delivery industry.
The female CEO rate in the motor vehicles and parts industry is 33.3%. In addition, the female CEO representation in specialty retailers, food and drug stores, aerospace and defense, and life and health insurance industries is 25%. Finally, women as chief executive officers are least represented in the commercial and savings and property and casualty sectors, with 16.67%.
(Lensa)
Women CEOs comprise 5.4% of CEOs in private companies that make $1 billion in revenue.
In addition, only 14.2% of private company boards have at least one female member. Regarding gender representation in senior leadership, 46% of large private companies have a female chairperson and CEO, while 39% have a female chairperson and male CEO.
Furthermore, 38% of these companies are led by a male chairperson and female CEO. Finally, workplace diversity statistics reveal that the percentage of privately owned companies managed solely by men is lowest at 23%.
(WBC)
Male vs Female CEO
Throughout 2021, 222 male CEOs were replaced with women.
Over the last decade, there’s been a dramatic shift in CEO replacements in favor of women. The latest male vs female CEO statistics show that of the total 1,236 replacements, a little under 26.86% were made by women. In fact, 110 of the new chief executives were women who replaced women, while 130 were men replacing women.
These figures may not seem like much, but they still point to a significant increase considering that of the grand total of 1,194 CEO replacements in 2020, 22.78% were made by women. And despite the fact that men still represent the majority of CEO replacements, the percentage of women replacement CEOs has been steadily growing since 2014, when it stood at 15.2%.
(Challenger, Gray & Christmas)
In 2020, women in the C-suite earned up to 25% less than their male counterparts.
When it comes to male vs female CEO pay statistics, research shows that the gender pay gap in S&P 500 companies post-COVID reached the widest level since 2012. This is most likely because male executives have higher gains from stock-based compensation.
In reality, women in C-suite roles earned as low as $0.75 for every $1 earned by their male counterparts. And despite the fact that S&P 500 C-suite pay increased by 24% from 2012 to 2020, the increase of women in executive roles was only 10% compared to that of men, which was 27%. Moreover, of the 18 executives earning more than $50 million, only one was a woman.
(Morningstar)
The average pay of a female startup CEOs is $133,000.
The percentage of CEOs that are female and running startups is growing, but the gender pay gap persists. In 2022, the average pay of male startup CEOs was around 15% higher than that of women and amounted to $153,000.
What’s more, data shows that at the peak of the pandemic, the salaries of men CEOs increased while that of women reduced by 30%. And so, compared to 2019, when women startup CEOs earned $0.96 for every $1 earned by men, the earnings of women running startups are now lower, or $0.86.
(Kruze)
Women outscore men in 84% of key leadership competencies.
According to a recent analysis that included 454 men and 366 women leaders in a corporate pandemic-governed world, women outscore men in 13 of the 19 key leadership competencies. And even though the data is not strictly limited to male vs female CEO attitudes, statistics show women perform much better in a crisis.
Female corporate leaders were rated better at taking initiative by 60 percentile scores, learning agility and being better at inspiring and motivating others by 59, developing others, and building relationships by 58 percentile scores.
Women were also found to be more innovative, result-driven, and more inclined to value diversity, while men scored higher in areas like technical and professional expertise.
(Zinger Folkman)
The Summary
Some estimates say that it won’t be before 2060 that the female CEO percentage reaches that of men. And considering the above statistics and how slow progress has been going for women serving as CEOs in both public and private companies, this doesn’t seem far from the truth. In the meantime, even though women outperform men in many aspects of leadership, they still must work harder to change the profile of these companies to include more of them in C-level positions.
FAQs
How many Fortune 500 CEOs are female?
Female CEO statistics reveal that, as of July 2022, 44 Fortune 500 have women as chief executive officers. This number is higher by three compared to 2021 when 41 women were occupying the role of CEO in Fortune 500 companies.
(WBC)
Do female CEOs perform better?
Women-dominated companies have a higher return on equity by a total of 35% compared to companies run by men. Moreover, data shows that companies with female leadership also have a higher shareholder return of 34%. Studies also reveal that companies with a female CEO have a 25% annualized return over eight years, which is significantly higher considering the average is 11%.
(The Balance)
Who is the youngest female CEO?
The most recent announcements and female CEO facts point to April Koh, age 16, as the youngest unicorn CEO and co-founder of a mental healthcare service-providing company, Spring Health. Between the number of millionaires in the world and self-made entrepreneurs, April’s name gets easily lost, but despite her age, her unicorn startup is valued at over $2 billion.
(Yale News)
Who is the first female Fortune 500 CEO?
In 1972 Katherine Graham was named CEO of The Washington Post and made history by becoming the first woman to be leading a Fortune 500 company.
(Ohio State University)
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