The Number of Female CEOs in the Fortune 500 Hits an All-Time Record
The number of females currently at the reins of America’s biggest corporations has hit a new record high, reports Fortune (May 18, Hinchliffe). In total, 37 of the companies on this year’s Fortune 500 are headed by women chief executives. The Fortune 500 has long been viewed as a microcosm of U.S. business at large. For that reason, the number of female CEOs on the list is a closely monitored statistic among those who track gender diversity in boardrooms and C-suites nationwide. This year’s totally soundly topped 2019’s 33, which was also a new record. However, industry observers say the big picture is less encouraging. Even with the record 37 female CEOs, women are at the helm of just 7.4 percent of the 500 companies on the ranking. Only in the last four years has the growth of women in these posts cleared the 30 mark.
