Women hold 10.6 percent of CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies. Academic institutions show female representation in senior roles between 18 and 41 percent depending on the position. The sections that follow present the full set of figures across corporate, political, and entrepreneurial leadership.
Key Takeaways
- Women university presidents in US: 30.1% in 2023.
- In 2023, only 10.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs were women.
- In 2023, women held 28.7% of board seats at S&P 500 companies, up from 19.2% in 2014, according to the Spencer Stuart Board Index.
- Women in women entrepreneurs globally: 131 million in 2023.
- Women held 27% of parliamentary seats worldwide in 2023.
Female leaders drive stronger performance, with statistics consistently showing improved outcomes for teams.
Related reading
01 · Category
Academic Leadership18 stats
01
Women university presidents in US: 30.1% in 2023.
02
Female deans in US medical schools: 25.4% in 2023.
03
Women provosts in US higher ed: 38.7% in 2023.
04
UK university vice-chancellors: 29.2% women in 2023.
05
Female chairs of US departments in STEM: 18.5% in 2023.
06
Women full professors in Europe: 24.3% average in 2023.
07
Canadian university presidents: 32.1% female in 2023.
08
Australian vice-chancellors: 27.8% women 2023.
09
Female heads of research institutes globally: 22.6% in 2023.
10
US law school deans: 41.2% women in 2023.
11
Women engineering faculty department chairs: 16.4% in 2023.
12
Female Nobel laureates in sciences cumulative to 2023: 6.3% of total.
13
EU ERC grant principal investigators women: 19.8% in 2023.
14
Women in top 100 global universities leadership: 28.5% in 2023.
15
Female business school deans: 35.6% worldwide 2023.
16
Women heads of Oxford colleges: 42.1% in 2023.
17
US community college presidents women: 38.9% 2023.
18
Female R1 university presidents: 27.3% in 2023.
Interpretation
Academic Leadership Interpretation
The academic leadership landscape suggests that while the glass ceiling is indeed cracking, the view from the top remains stubbornly, and statistically, a man’s world.
02 · Category
C-Suite Executives17 stats
01
In 2023, only 10.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs were women.
02
Women held 9.9% of CEO positions in S&P 500 companies in 2023.
03
Female CFOs in S&P 500 firms increased to 16.5% in 2023 from 7.4% in 2016.
04
Women comprised 12.8% of COO roles in Fortune 500 companies in 2023.
05
In tech sector S&P 500 companies, women CEOs were only 5.2% in 2023.
06
Globally, women held 8.8% of CEO positions in 500 largest companies in 2023 per Credit Suisse.
07
In Europe, 17.5% of top 100 companies had female CEOs in 2023.
08
UK FTSE 100 female CEOs stood at 10.3% in 2023.
09
In financial services, 11.2% of global bank CEOs were women in 2023.
10
Women presidents in US companies over $2B revenue: 7.4% in 2023.
11
Female CHROs in S&P 500 reached 75.2% in 2023.
12
In healthcare, 14.3% of hospital CEOs were women in 2023.
13
Energy sector female CEOs: 6.1% globally in 2023.
14
Retail industry women CEOs: 12.7% in Fortune 500 in 2023.
15
Manufacturing female C-suite executives: 9.8% in 2023.
16
Women in legal C-suite (GCs): 28.4% in large US firms 2023.
17
Media and entertainment female CEOs: 13.5% in 2023.
Interpretation
C-Suite Executives Interpretation
We stare at a corporate ladder where the top rung is still a glass ceiling for many, the middle rungs are a confusing mix of glacial progress and surprising strongholds, and the bottom is frustratingly crowded with untapped potential.
03 · Category
Corporate Boards22 stats
01
In 2023, women held 28.7% of board seats at S&P 500 companies, up from 19.2% in 2014, according to the Spencer Stuart Board Index.
02
Women accounted for 33% of new board appointments in S&P 500 companies in 2023, compared to 27% in 2020.
03
Among Russell 3000 companies, female representation on boards reached 25.4% in 2023.
04
In Europe, women held 37.1% of board positions in largest listed companies by the end of 2022, per European Commission data.
05
FTSE 100 companies in the UK had 38.7% women on boards in 2023.
06
In Fortune 500 companies, women comprised 27.6% of board directors in 2023.
07
Women of color held 8.8% of board seats in S&P 500 firms in 2023.
08
Norwegian companies achieved 42% female board representation by 2023, due to quotas.
09
In Canada, women held 26% of board seats in TSX-listed companies in 2023.
10
Australian ASX 200 companies had 33.7% women on boards in 2023.
11
In Japan, women accounted for 12.4% of board members in prime market companies in 2023.
12
Brazilian B3-listed companies reached 18.5% female board representation in 2023.
13
South African JSE Top 40 companies had 28.2% women on boards in 2023.
14
In India, women held 17.1% of board seats in NSE Nifty 50 companies in 2023.
15
German DA X 40 companies achieved 35.6% female board members in 2023.
16
French CAC 40 firms had 43.2% women on boards in 2023, exceeding quota targets.
17
Italian FTSE MIB companies reached 40.1% female board representation in 2023.
18
Spanish IBEX 35 had 34.8% women directors in 2023.
19
Swedish OMX Stockholm 30 companies reported 39.5% female board seats in 2023.
20
Belgian BEL 20 firms had 36.7% women on boards in 2023.
21
Dutch AEX index companies achieved 32.4% female representation on boards in 2023.
22
Swiss SMI companies had 31.2% women board members in 2023.
Interpretation
Corporate Boards Interpretation
The global boardroom is slowly realizing that letting women in isn't an act of charity, but rather a belated and still incomplete audit of talent, with countries like Norway and France proving quotas and ambition actually work while others are stuck arguing over the bare minimum.
More related reading
04 · Category
Entrepreneurship20 stats
01
Women in women entrepreneurs globally: 131 million in 2023.
02
Female-founded unicorns: 18.5% of total in 2023.
03
Women-led VC-backed startups raised 2.3% of total funding in 2023.
04
US women-owned businesses: 12.3 million, 42% of all businesses in 2023.
05
Female CEOs in startups: 15.7% in 2023 Crunchbase data.
06
Women in fintech startups founders: 12.4% in 2023.
07
Global female entrepreneurship rate: 10.5% vs 13.2% men in 2023.
08
UK women-led businesses: 20% of SMEs with 25% revenue share 2023.
09
India women entrepreneurs: 18.2 million in 2023.
10
VC firms with female partners: 15.8% in 2023.
11
Women-led startups in Africa: 22.1% of total 2023.
12
Latin America female-founded startups: 14.3% in 2023.
13
Female tech founders in Europe: 16.9% of startups 2023.
14
US Black women-owned businesses grew 50% from 2014-2023.
15
Women in cleantech startups: 11.2% founders 2023.
16
Female angel investors: 12.7% globally 2023.
17
Women-led SaaS companies: 13.4% in 2023.
18
Asia-Pacific women entrepreneurs: 25% of total businesses 2023.
19
Female unicorn founders in US: 83 out of 600+ in 2023.
20
Women CEOs in IPOs 2023: 7.8% of total.
Interpretation
Entrepreneurship Interpretation
The data paints a clear, frustrating portrait: a world teeming with talented women entrepreneurs is still met with a venture capital ecosystem that, when it comes to funding, behaves like a reluctant, miserly dragon guarding its hoard.
05 · Category
Political Leadership20 stats
01
Women held 27% of parliamentary seats worldwide in 2023.
02
In the US Congress, women made up 27.2% of members in 2023.
03
Rwanda had 61.3% women in parliament, the highest globally in 2023.
04
Cuba achieved 55.7% female parliamentarians in 2023.
05
Nicaragua had 54.8% women in national assembly in 2023.
06
Mexico's Congress had 50.2% women deputies in 2023.
07
New Zealand parliament: 50.3% women in 2023.
08
Sweden: 46.4% female parliamentarians in 2023.
09
Finland: 45.9% women in parliament 2023.
10
Norway: 44.4% female MPs in 2023.
11
Spain: 44.3% women in Congress in 2023.
12
France: 39.1% women in National Assembly 2023.
13
Germany: 35.2% female Bundestag members in 2023.
14
UK House of Commons: 34.5% women MPs in 2023.
15
Canada House of Commons: 30.2% women in 2023.
16
Australia: 33.7% women in federal parliament 2023.
17
India Lok Sabha: 14.7% women MPs in 2023.
18
Brazil Chamber of Deputies: 18.2% women in 2023.
19
US female governors: 12 out of 50 states (24%) in 2023.
20
Globally, 13 countries had women heads of state or government in 2023.
Interpretation
Political Leadership Interpretation
The data suggests the world is still doing the math on true gender parity, with a few bright spots like Rwanda proving that equal representation is not only possible but already in session.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Lars Eriksen. (2026, February 13). Female Leadership Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/female-leadership-statistics
MLA
Lars Eriksen. "Female Leadership Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/female-leadership-statistics.
Chicago
Lars Eriksen. 2026. "Female Leadership Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/female-leadership-statistics.
Sources & references
87 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level