Late last year, the Women Business Collaborative (WBC) released its first Women Corporate Tech Executives in America Report with lead sponsor Deloitte and 12 other companies to examine the role of women tech leaders in the C-suite across industries. Women hold 24% of tech C-suite positions and represent 8.7% of tech CEOs in the Fortune 500. The position held with the highest percentage of women is chief information officer (CIO), where women occupy 27% of the roles.
WBC analyzed executive leadership at over 5,000 companies, specifically aggregating data on twelve C-suite positions whose roles focus on technology. These positions include chief information officer; chief security officer; chief information security officer; chief technology officer; chief data scientist; chief data officer; chief data analytics officer; chief analytics officer; chief data science officer; chief digital officer; chief digital information officer, and CEOs of tech companies.
The numbers of women in these positions are highest in the Fortune 500, S&P 500, and Russell 3000. The promotion of women in private companies lags as women only make up 11.4% of tech C-suite positions in private companies with over $1 billion in revenue.
It is critical for companies to have tech leadership and diverse leaders in the C-suite and to create pathways that help ensure equity in tech leadership. “This report is important as it is the first time the information on the roles and 12 positions across industries has been analyzed to determine who is leading these critical leadership positions and what are the pathways to leadership,” stated Edie Fraser, CEO, WBC. “We are thrilled to collaborate with key corporate sponsors, organizations focused on ensuring diverse leadership in technology and leading academic institutions preparing the next generation of leaders.”
“To advance equity, you need to disaggregate and drill into data to truly understand where the gaps are and get to the root causes – the systemic causes creating inequities,” said Janet Foutty, executive chair of the board, Deloitte US. “Despite modest progress, there are still too few women in influential technology leadership roles, let alone thriving in leadership roles. This WBC report surfaces important data needed to get to the heart of the matter – where the opportunity and gaps are for women to attain and thrive in technology leadership roles.”
Deloitte was the lead sponsor of the report. Twelve additional companies contributed to this report, including: ASGN, Bank of America, Capital One, Cigna, Cielo Staffing, Diligent, Diversified Search Group, IBM, NetApp, Sanofi, Verizon, and Wells Fargo. As well, WBC worked with Digital Directors Network, Stanford Women in Data Science and more than ten Partner Organizations in the Women in Technology Action initiative, including groups like Executive Leadership Council, and the WIT Network.
The report covers companies in the Fortune 500, S&P 500, Russell 3000, and private companies over $1 billion in revenue. The report showcases insights from companies leading the way in promoting diverse tech talent and features interviews with women occupying these positions today.
For more information and to download a copy of the report, visit wbcollaborative.org.