By Cindy Barth – Contributing Writer , The Business Journals

Women — especially women of color — still are not moving into the positions from which CEO recruitment takes place at a pace fast enough to reach gender equity within the next decade.

The historic rise in women CEOs leading major firms in 2023 sparked widespread optimism that we might finally be on a steady upward swing, but that momentum stalled somewhat in 2024, according to the Women Business Collaborative’s 2024 Women CEOs in America Report.

As a result, while there has been improvement over the past 20 years in the number of women CEOs, the pace is “glacially slow,” noted Catalyst President and CEO Jennifer McCollum in a post on LinkedIn. “But there are bright spots.”

For instance, despite ongoing inequities and public backlash against DEI efforts, women entrepreneurs are experiencing strong growth in companies valued at more than $1 million. Additionally, there is an increase in women leading private companies and serving as CEOs within the Russell 3000, the report said.

But that uptick is not being experienced in all areas. As of July 2024, the number of women at the helm of Fortune 500 companies remained unchanged at 52, the report said.

In addition, the number of women CEOs in the S&P 500 declined from 41 in 2023 to 39 in 2024. However, there was an increase in the number of women CEOs in the Russell 3000, from 204 to 270, and the percentage of women CEOs in private companies is up more than 30% from 2023.

The WBC report corroborates data from Wells Fargo’s 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report released earlier this year, which found that women-owned businesses are having an undeniable impact on the U.S. economy, with women owning more than 14 million businesses, employing nearly 12.2 million people and generating $2.7 trillion in revenue.

That said, the stagnation does raise concerns about whether true gender equity in top executive positions is achievable in the near future, the report said. Women — especially women of color — still are not moving into the positions from which CEO recruitment takes place at a pace fast enough to reach gender equity within the next decade.

 A Closer Look at the Numbers

Fortune 500: 52 women CEOs, 10.4%

Fortune 1000: 46 women CEOs, 9.2%

Russell 3000: 270 women CEOs, 9%

S&P 500: 39 women CEOs, 7.8%

Private (> 1 billion): 180 women CEOs, 7.2%

Entrepreneurs > 1 million): 14 million, 25%

 Source: 2024 Women CEOs in America Report

 In addition, the polarizing climate around diversity, equity and inclusion threatens to jeopardize the gains made by women in recent years, the report adds.

According to S&P’s Quantamental Research, the growth in women’s representation among senior corporate positions potentially faces an alarming turning point. “Growth no longer appears exponential,” write study authors Henry Chiang, Samrudhi Kaulapure and Daniel J. Sandberg. “A waning focus on diversity initiatives suggests a potential inflection point and calls our previous gender parity estimates into question.”

To create meaningful change when it comes to gender parity in the CEO ranks, a commitment to a diverse workforce must start with senior leadership, then shared throughout the company and be viewed as a key part of corporate culture, the report said.

Some specific steps organizations can take include:

  • Sponsoring and advocating for women’s leadership, especially for women of color
  • Celebrating those leaders advancing women in the executive suite and toward the CEO position
  • Actively supporting efforts to build pathways for women of color to be advanced to executive leadership, board directorships and executive committees
  • Calling on current boards and CEOs to be intentional in building a diverse pipeline for talented women as CEOs

 “Diversity, equity and inclusion work is not always easy, and the results don’t always come immediately,” said Edelman’s Trisch Smith, global chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. “But organizations owe it to their employees, customers and all stakeholders. The work is worth it — for both employees and the business bottom line.”

Here’s a deeper dive into what the numbers currently show about the current state of women in leadership roles, what the data signals for gender equity and what we must do to pave a way forward.

The current state of women in leadership

Fortune 500 

  • There are 52 women CEOs in the Fortune 500 as of July 2024, the same number as in 2023.
  • There are 8 new women CEOs in 2024; 8 women CEOs departed.
  • Women are 10.4% of the Fortune 500, the same percentage as in 2023.

Fortune 1000

  • There are 46 women CEOs in the Fortune 1000 (501-1000) as of July 2024.
  • Women are 9.2% of Fortune 1000 CEOs. 

 Russell 3000 

  • As of 2024, 9% of CEOs in Russell 3000 companies were women, up from 6.2% in 2021.
  • By June 2024, there were 270 women CEOs in the Russell 3000, representing an increase in women’s leadership within smaller public companies.
  • In 2023, women made up 6.8% of the Russell 3000 (204 women).

 S&P 500

  • Women currently hold 39 of CEO positions at S&P 500 companies, or 7.8%.
  • There is a decrease from the 41 women who held CEO positions in S&P companies in 2023.

 Private companies (more than $1 billion)

  • There are 180 women CEOs leading private companies worth more than $1 billion in 2024.
  • Women make up 7.2% of private company CEOs of more than $1 billion in 2024.
  • In 2023, there were only 3.3% of women leading private companies.

Women entrepreneurs

  • Women entrepreneurs have continued to grow rapidly, with a 41% year-over-year growth rate from 2023 to 2024, outpacing men counterparts by 25%. Women aged 25-34 remain the largest group, but there has been significant growth among younger women aged 18-24 (up 67%) and women over 65 (up 69%). Women of color entrepreneurs drive the economy nationwide, with businesses owned by racially or ethnically diverse women growing at a faster rate than their white counterparts — despite being less likely to have access to capital.
  • As of 2024, there are approximately 14 million women-owned businesses in the U.S.
  • Women now own 34% of all small businesses and franchises, contributing significantly to employment and revenue in the private sector.
  • One in four businesses with revenue of $1 million or more are woman-owned.

Women of color

  • Between 2019 and 2023, Black women-owned businesses saw average revenues increase 32.7%. Hispanic or Latina-owned small businesses also had a 17.1% increase. Asian women-owned businesses saw a more modest increase of 7.5%, Comparatively, all women-owned businesses saw a 12.1% rise.

What the data signals for gender equity

  • There are headwinds to progress, and the pipeline for senior leadership has cracks. Women, especially women of color, still are not moving into the positions from which CEO recruitment takes place at a pace fast enough to reach gender equity within the next decade.
  • The polarizing climate around diversity, equity and inclusion threatens to jeopardize the gains made by women in recent years.
  • Women are making strides at private companies and at smaller companies, albeit at slower rates.
  • Women have founded and own businesses, continuing to make a positive mark on the economy. With greater access to capital, it is likely to see women’s businesses of $1 million or more continue to gain momentum over the next few years.

Pipeline problems

  • The growth of women’s representation among all senior leadership positions in the U.S. dropped to the lowest rate in more than a decade, 0.5% vs. 1.2% on average.
  • Across C-suite positions, women lost seats for the first time over the study period of 2005-2023. Women held just 12.2% of the 15,000 C-suite positions across publicly traded U.S. firms in 2022. However, women’s progress declined to 11.8% in 2023.
  • Forecast models of parity for senior leadership positions among U.S. firms now suggest parity one to seven years later: 2033-2042 compared with 2022 estimates.