The number of female CEOs at leading American companies has more than doubled since 2013, according to a recent report from Crist Kolder Associates.
The executive recruiting firm examines the backgrounds and measures turnover of C-suite executives in a portfolio of 674 Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies, 9.9 percent of which are healthcare organizations. Analysts tracked data from Jan. 1, 1995, through Aug. 15, 2023, to compile this year's Volatility Report.
In 2013, 25 of the sitting CEOs Crist Kolder analyzed were female. In 2023, 60 of the 682 sitting CEOs were women.
The gap is still prominent, and not all industries are closing it at the same rate. Consumer and service industries have added the most female CEOs over the past decade. Healthcare has added the fewest of any industry — there was one female healthcare CEO in 2013, and there are five in 2023.
Significantly more women hold the CFO role, per Crist Kolder, and the percentage of female CFOs has grown faster than the percentage of female CEOs. More than 18 percent of CFOs analyzed were women — nearly 10 percentage points greater than the representation of female CEOs.