Korn Ferry Analysis of Largest U.S. Companies Shows Percentage of Women in Most C-Suite Roles Dramatically Lagging Male Counterparts

A new analysis of the top 1,000 U.S. companies by revenue finds the percentage of women in most C-Suite positions is dramatically lower than their male counterparts. The study, by Korn Ferry, was conducted in June 2016 and examines the percentage of women by title and by industry.

The analysis found that across the most prominent C-Suite titles (CEO, CFO, CIO, CMO, CHRO) and several industries (consumer, energy, financial, life sciences, industrial, technology) an average of less than one quarter (24 percent) of the top leaders are women.

Female Representation by C-Suite Title

CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
The study found that across all of the C-suite positions, the most senior post is held by the smallest percentage of women, with only 5 percent serving as CEO. This percentage remains flat from 2015.

CFO (Chief Financial Officer)
Just 12 percent of CFOs across industries are women. The industry with the most is consumer at 15 percent. Those industries tied for having the least female CFOs are financial and life sciences at 9 percent.

CIO (Chief Information Officer)
The CIO role fares only a bit better than the CFO role, with 19 percent of women holding the CIO seat across all industries.

CMO (Chief Marketing Officer)
While the percentages are higher than the CEO, CFO and CIO, less than a third (29 percent) of CMOs are women.

CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer)
The CHRO role is the only C-Suite role where there is gender parity, with 55 percent of CHROs across industries being women.

The Mix by Industry

When considering the percentage of C-Suite women by industry, the financial sector comes in the highest, at 28 percent, followed by technology (25 percent), energy (24 percent) consumer and life sciences (tied at 23 percent) and industrial (22 percent).

“In every industry we analyzed, there’s a tremendous need for improvement to bring more women to the C-Suite,” said Hazard. “This is a joint responsibility of the women to seek out experiences and development that can help them lead and succeed, and for organizations to create an environment where women feel empowered to progress in their careers at all levels.”

To read the full report, click here.