S&P Reveals Fall in Number of Women in C-suites in 2023

A revelation about women losing seats in C-suite in 2023 has made S&P Global Market Intelligence’s researchers call it ‘surprising’ and even ‘alarming’. According to the study, women held 12.2 per cent of C-suite positions throughout publicly traded U.S. firms which came down to 11.8 per cent, i.e., approx. 15000 seats in 2023.

The first decline has been marked when S&P started tracking metric unit back in 2006 with women holding below 8 per cent C-suite roles. The study exclaims, “The growth in women’s representation among senior corporate positions, once a bright spot for gender parity, potentially faces an alarming turning point. Exponential growth over a decade is showing signs of losing momentum.”

The researchers of S&P said, “Unfortunately, 2023 numbers indicate an inflection point ‘waning focus on diversity initiatives’ as a possible cause. Mentions of diversity and inclusion on S&P 500 earnings calls surged in 2020, mentioned a total of 1,367 times, but have trended downward each quarter since, the study found. Mentions in the 2023 fiscal year were the lowest since 2012.”

The increase rate of women in C-suite jobs has tumbled in 2023 as this decade’s lowest i.e., to 0.5 per cent v/s an average of 1.2%. This shows that women need more encouragement and push towards managerial positions in order to equalize the gender parity.