Move Over John And James — Women CEOs Are Finally Taking The Lead

It might not come as a surprise to learn that men outnumber women in corporate executive suites, but the disparity even in 2023 might come as a bit of a shock.

Until quite recently, the number of female CEOs among companies in the S&P 500 was lower than just the number of male CEOs named John (or Jon)!

Things are slowly changing

It was in 2018 that women CEOs officially outnumbered Johns holding the same position. But since people named John account for just over 3% of the population and women make up roughly half, it’s clear that there was still some work to do to achieve equality.

Also, there was another common man’s name that was disproportionately represented among chief executives. In 2019, the number of CEOs named James was equal to all of the female CEOs combined.

As it now stands, women account for more CEO positions held by women than those held by either Johns or Jameses.

Not only are there currently 41 women at the helm of S&P 500 corporations, but 10 of them were added in the past year alone.

Another popular CEO name

Along with the shift toward more female CEOs comes the rise of a new name that is becoming repetitive in executive suites. There are currently three top executives named Jennifer at S&P 500 firms.

Of course, the recent progress is just the beginning for those fighting for equal representation between the sexes. And if you add in one other common CEO name, women still lag behind.

There are a total of 60 CEOs on the list who are named either John, James, or Robert, which is 19 more than all of the women put together.

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Chris Agee April 28th, 2023

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