As reported on information-age.com, the recruitment firm Talentful has compared male and female CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies “to find out how gender can affect money, success, and their career path.” The study group of 108 CEOs used by Talentful included the 54 women who hold CEO positions at Fortune 1000 companies and 54 male CEOs.
The total of 54 women on the list of CEOs at Fortune 1000 companies puts the percentage of women holding those positions at 5.4%.
For each of the 108 CEOS in the study, Talentful compared several factors, including the company’s Fortune rank and the CEO’s total compensation (defined as the total financial gain from the business, made up of both salary and incentives).
In terms of compensation, the CEO with the highest compensation was male, but three others in the top five are women: Safra Catz, Oracle; Marissa Mayer, Yahoo; and Mary Barra, General Motors. Also, GM’s rank as #8 on the top 1000 list puts Barra at the top of the female CEO list.
Of the 54 female CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies, only three of them head up companies who are among the top 50 companies on the Fortune 1000 list. The average ranking for female-run companies is 509. For the men researched, it was 29.
Another point analyzed: degrees held by CEO’s. Two backgrounds most popular across both genders: MBAs and Engineering degrees (especially Electrical Engineering).
The average age for both genders was 51.
Fortune ranks companies each year to create a range of lists, including 50 Best Workplaces for Diversity, 50 Best Workplaces for Parents, and 100 Best Workplaces for Women.
For more on the percentage of women who lead top companies, see the report by Catalyst on 25 female CEOs of the S&P 500.