The Top 5 Industries In the Fortune 500 Promoting Women In Business

BusinessFibre has analysed the top 10 companies across 15 different industries in the Fortune 500 to find which are leading the way in gender equality and promoting women in business. In addition, the data highlights what industries pay their CEOs the most and how salaries compare between men and women.

Across the world, women continue to make their mark in businesses, with fights for equality taking place across all industries. 

But it’s not just the salaries – women are underrepresented across all industries, which means the world’s top 10 technology companies are run almost exclusively by male leaders.

Beyond technology, from healthcare to aerospace & defence, most male CEOs and leaders continue to be paid more than women, with some of the biggest wage gaps seen in the top tier positions. But which companies and what industries promote women in business more than others, and what are the salary differences between male and female CEOs in each sector?

Take a look at the table below to find out the average male and female CEO salary across every industry as well as female representation in this top tier role.

Only six out of 15 industries have female CEOs in their top 10 companies, with other sectors such as energy and telecommunications also not featuring any women in the top leadership role.

Below are the top five highest-paid female CEOs, the companies they work for, and their annual salaries:

1. Mary Barra, General Motors: $21,870,450
2. Marylin Hewson, Lockheed Martin: $21,516,613
3. Phebe Novakovic, General Dynamics: $20,720,254
4. Gail Boudreaux, Anthem: $14,184,276
5. Corie Barry, Best Buy: $5,919,680

Mary Barra is the highest-paid CEO in the top 10 companies in motor vehicles & parts, earning around $21,870,450 per year, which is $4,117,715 more than what the highest-paid male CEO in the same industry earns (James Hackett, CEO of Ford Motor with $17,752,835 a year).

Women Love Tech would like to thank Grace Hartnett for her story.