As of 2025, 55 Women lead Fortune 500 companies, nearly double the number in the past five years. Accounting for around 11% of the current CEO’s, it wasn’t until 1972 that Katherine Graham, CEO of The Washington Post, became the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 Company since its inception in 1955. Despite major changes and movements in the past decade or so to expand opportunities for women, they continue to be underrepresented while facing gender stereotypes and systemic inequalities.
This systemic underrepresentation is not accidental but rather deeply rooted in historical structures that have favoured men's access to leadership and positions of power, thereby limiting access for women. With our society being built on the foundations of patriarchy and traditional gender roles, where “the man is seen as the breadwinner and the woman is seen as a homemaker,” this social structure limited women to domestic roles. It also justified their exclusion from the right to education and voting. While the men’s suffrage movement is dated to the early 19th century and having achieved it worldwide by the early to mid-20th century, women had to struggle for far longer, with activists such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton dedicating their lives to this cause. The most recent country to allow women’s suffrage is Saudi Arabia in 2015, marking a positive change and granting women the right to vote and run in municipal elections. In contrast, women have their rights suspended in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule. After having secured the right to vote, women gradually broke into the political setting, which eventually set the stage for Indira Gandhi in India and Margaret Thatcher in the UK, who became the first female leaders of their nations.
While the likes of Gandhi and Thatcher broke historical barriers by leading their nations, women still face structural inequalities, gender bias, and social expectations that limit their advancement. As of September 12, 2025, there are 29 countries where 32 women serve as Heads of State and/or Government, and 55 CEOs serve Fortune 500 companies. This highlights the gender disparity of women in power, and, at the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. On a positive note, Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Norway have achieved almost true gender equality in parliaments. Even though we can see the clear progress made, women have been hindered by unequal pay, not having access to good mentors, and having to infiltrate male-dominated networks. Stereotypes, such as women being overly emotional or less authoritative, negatively influence perceptions of their competence. Efforts to debunk these stereotypes through increasing awareness of diversity and inclusion, along with feminism, have encouraged companies and political parties to implement policies that promote female leadership and inspire younger generations through successful women serving as role models. Even though the historical movements, such as the right to equality, have been necessary, these movements alone were not enough to establish gender equality.
Despite facing a number of barriers, women continue to strengthen and contribute as leaders to society with a more noticeable impact. After extensive research has been conducted, it has shown that women incorporate more effective communication as leaders and place more emphasis on collaboration and empathy, which in turn enhances team performance to a wider extent. Taking the example of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, who displayed incredible composure and took a very good approach during the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in New Zealand having the fewest deaths per head of population than any other OECD country. Ursula Von der Leyen, who is the current president of the European Commissions has introduced and reformed policies on climate change that showcase forward thinking.
In politics, we can take the example of the former president of Liberia and the Nobel Peace Award recipient, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She was the first democratically elected president of an African nation, and she proved exactly why she was the perfect choice. She helped Liberia reconcile after a nationwide decade-long civil war that had reduced the country to turmoil. She also helped in the recovery of the nation after this event, and at the same time, was empowering women and promoting non-violent efforts to promote peace.
In corporate, Dr. Lisa Su and Mary Barra have made transformative changes in their respective companies, which have altered their companies' turn for the better. Dr. Lisa Su, the current president of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), saved the company from the brink of bankruptcy to turning them into a world leader in their domain. She prioritized focusing on core competencies, which included shifting their focus onto high-performance CPUs and GPUs specifically for data centers and gaming, along with strengthening their relationship with customers such as Microsoft and Sony. On the other hand, Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors (GM) created a workplace environment that was accountable and transparent and addressed the 2014 ignition switch crisis head-on. She is leading a massive shift to an all-electric future. Under her leadership, the company has achieved high profitability and often exceeds analysts' expectations. These strong role models not only influence and empower the younger generation to pursue positions in power but also encourage societies to reassess the bias and stereotypes about women in power.
By reducing the gender disparity and incorporating diverse perspectives, unique insights are brought forth, which help transform both organizations and society. Companies such as L’Oréal, Citigroup, and Accenture are great examples of this. They have equal representation of women and men in the workforce as well as on the board of directors. The result, these companies outperform their peers in almost all metrics, along with being profitable and providing a higher return in equities.
Looking ahead, achieving gender equality in all aspects of our society will require both cultural changes and systemic reforms. Introduction of policies that ensure equal pay without any discrimination based on gender is very much needed. Providing good mentors for women through mentorship programs, as well as introducing quotas that ensure a balanced population of both men and women in corporate and politics. Taking the example of companies such as PepsiCo and Accenture that have introduced leadership programmes for women to help address the historical gaps in mentorship, as well as promote career advancement. Beyond the introduction of policies, it is important to educate both the younger and older generation of these issues. Providing quality education, which emphasizes knowledge, the development of skills, and confidence for young women to pursue leadership roles. With the help of ever-growing social media, it can be used to amplify women's voices as well as promote female role models to inspire the next generation.
By combining all of these reforms, we as a society can be closer to achieving true gender equality in leadership and ensure that the perspectives and talents of young women help shape our future.
