Even though we still observe an imbalance between men and women in top managerial roles in business globally, the forecasts indicate that there is a definite increase in women in post-graduate programmes and, afterwards, in their ambitions toward C-level positions. All in all, women are taking charge of their careers.
About 83% of countries recorded a proportion of women leaders over the 30% tipping point, according to the 2021 Women in Business report by Grant Thornton. In addition, 90% of businesses have at least one woman in senior management in 2021.
These are some promising numbers. Hopefully, they are a sign that the glass ceiling is beginning to crack. Below is a short list of women who are senior executives at some of the biggest and most powerful companies in the world.
7 women changing the landscape of leadership
Ruth Porat has been serving as the chief financial officer (CFO) of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. since 2015. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and international relations from Stanford University, a Master's degree in Industrial Relations from London School of Economics, and an MBA with distinction from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Porat is married with three children.
Mary Barra, who has an MBA from Stanford, became the CEO of carmaker General Motors in 2014. The company is ranked 22nd in the Fortune 500 2021 list. In 2021, the number of women running businesses on the Fortune 500 hit an all-time record: 41.
Sheryl Sandberg is the chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, and the founder of LeanIn.Org. Before joining Meta, she worked for McKinsey, Alphabet and the US Treasury. She is 52 years old and has an MBA from Harvard University. Sandberg has two children.
Meg Whitman is currently a board member of Procter & Gamble and General Motors and former president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and eBay. She holds an MBA from Harvard University. Whitman is married and has two children.
Susan Wojcicki is CEO of YouTube and was involved in the founding of Google. The 53-year-old Wojcicki is married, has five children and holds an MBA degree from the University of California in Los Angeles.
Sheri McCoy is the former CEO of Avon Products and former vice chairman and member of the office of the chairman of Johnson & Johnson. She has an MBA degree from Rutgers University and holds five patents registered in the United States and Europe. McCoy is married and has 3 sons.
Jane Fraser has been CEO of Citigroup since March 2021. She was a partner at McKinsey & Company for 10 years before joining Citigroup in 2004. Fraser has an MBA degree from Harvard University. She is married and has two children.
