There are now more women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies than ever before — but the numbers are still distressingly low
- Dick's Sporting Goods recently announced Lauren Hobart would become the company's CEO, raising the number of women leading Fortune 500 companies to 41.
- Her appointment follows news of other women taking the helm at top companies, like Karen Lynch at CVS Health, Jane Fraser at Citigroup, and Linda Rendle at Clorox.
- Yet, only three women on the list of Fortune 500 female CEOs are women of color, according to Fortune.
The number of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies who are women has reached a new record.
Last week, Dick's Sporting Goods announced that Lauren Hobart, the company's president of three years, would take the helm as CEO. She is replacing Ed Stack, who's held the position since 1984 and whose father founded Dick's in 1948.
Hobart's appointment brings the number of women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to 41 surpassing the previous record high of 40, Fortune reported. Hobart joins a number of other women who've recently been named CEO, like Karen Lynch at CVS Health, Jane Fraser at Citigroup, and Linda Rendle at Clorox.
Despite the recent progress, roughly 8% of all Fortune 500 companies are led by women. And only three women on the list of Fortune 500 CEOs are women of color: Sonia Syngal, the CEO of Gap, Lisa Su, the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, and Joey Wat, the CEO of Yum China.
According to McKinsey and Lean In's most recent "Women in the Workplace" report, the number of women in the C-suite grew from 17% to 21% between January 2015 and January 2020.
As the researchers write, "Women remained dramatically underrepresented — particularly women of color — but the numbers were slowly improving."
To increase the number of Black women and women of color in executive leadership positions, diversity, equity, and inclusion strategists recommend companies to review hiring practices, increase sponsorship opportunities for people from marginalized backgrounds, and to hold managers accountable to diversity goals.
McKinsey research shows companies with more gender and ethnic diversity in the C-suite outperform those that are less diverse.