Female leaders make gains despite C-suite stagnation
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — The year 2024 has revealed both challenges and triumphs in the landscape of female leadership in corporate America.
The Wall Street Journal reported that women now lead 9% of companies in the Russell 3000, up from 6.8% in mid-2023, with notable appointments including Joanna Geraghty at JetBlue Airways and Ariane Gorin at Expedia. On the other hand, the path to blue-chip C-suite roles remains challenging.
Younger generations embrace female leadership
Survey Center on American Life indicates that women under 50 now prefer female leadership, while younger male professionals show an almost equal preference between male and female bosses. This marks a significant departure from a decade ago when male leadership was overwhelmingly preferred.
Meanwhile, research from prestigious institutions such as Harvard Business Review, Pew Research Center and McKinsey demonstrate that female leaders often receive higher ratings for engagement and nurturing leadership styles.
“When there’s only one woman executive, you can only imagine one way of female leadership. When you get closer to 30%, or 40%, you can see a diversity of success models for women,” said Lareina Yee, a senior partner at McKinsey.
Erika Ayers Badan, former CEO of Barstool Sports and now CEO of Food52, exemplifies this new wave of leaders. At Barstool, she embraced her unique style, turning critics’ “Token CEO” label into a podcast. “When it comes to running a business, I’m just really about the work [not the gender] and I want the results,” she said.
Female founders face funding challenges
The number of women leading private companies valued at over $1 billion more than doubled, and female entrepreneurs surged by 41%, according to the Women Business Collaborative.
While these achievements signal progress, the path to blue-chip C-suite roles remains challenging. The departure of Karen Lynch from CVS Health highlighted the slow pace of change at the very top, with women still underrepresented in CEO-track positions and receiving only 2% of venture-capital funding for startups, according to PitchBook Data Inc.
“I still find it difficult to raise money,” said Jennifer Dulski, founder and CEO of Rising Team, an employee-engagement software. “If I were a male founder, even if I had totally failed at my last company, I would find it easier.”
Education and representation drive change
Higher representation in leadership and education may pave the way for future gains. Women now occupy nearly 30% of C-suite roles and account for 42% of full-time MBA students at top business schools, up from 34% in 2014.
“We know we’ll be done with this when there are no more women-in-tech conferences or panels,” said Dulski. “It’s just not a big deal for women to be in charge.”
The journey is far from over, but the rise of women in mid-level and entrepreneurial roles signals a brighter future for gender equity in leadership.
