At Large US Companies, Female CEOs Earn More Than Male CEOs

Women CEOs at large US public companies outearned their male counterparts in 2024. The median compensation for female CEOs in the S&P 500 was $16.4 million, while their male counterparts earned $15.6 million.

Despite higher compensation, the new report by The Conference Board, ESGAUGE, and FW Cook notes that women continue to hold few CEO positions in corporate America—just 7.9% in the S&P 500. That marks a small uptick from their representation in 2020, when they held 6.4% of CEO positions.

Additional findings include:

Gender Pay and Representation

Female CEOs outearn male counterparts at the median but are underrepresented overall:

• Russell 3000: Female CEOs earned $6.7 million at the median, compared with $6.1 million for their male counterparts. Women constitute 6.9% of Russell 3000 CEOs.

Total CEO Compensation

CEO pay rebounded strongly, particularly in larger companies:

• S&P 500: Median total CEO compensation increased to $15.5 million, up from $14.4 million in 2023.
• Russell 3000: Compensation increased to $6.1 million, up from $5.8 million.
• Driving the rebound: “The rebound in CEO compensation, particularly in equity-based pay, reflects the economy’s resilience and positive shareholder returns in 2023 and early 2024,” said Dana Etra, coauthor of the report and Managing Director at FW Cook.

Incentive pay is driving the rise in total compensation:

• S&P 500: Performance-related stock awards increased by 7.5%, compared to 2023.
• Russell 3000: These stock awards increased by 9.1%, compared to 2023.
• Long-term goals take precedence: “Increases in stock awards significantly outpace those of non-equity incentive plans, potentially overemphasizing long-term equity growth at the expense of short-term corporate goals. Compensation committees should continue to strive for the right balance between the two,” said Matteo Tonello, coauthor of the report and Head of TCB Benchmarking and Analytics at The Conference Board.

Equity-Based Compensation

Stock options have been losing ground but remain used by a large share of US public companies:

• S&P 500: 40% of CEOs have stock options included in their compensation plans.
  • They account for 9.8% of total CEO compensation, down from 18.3% in 2011.
• Russell 3000: Less than 25% of CEOs have stock options included in their compensation plans.
  • They account for 10.4% of total CEO compensation, down from 16% in 2011.
• Companies should keep in mind: “If deployed correctly, stock options can contribute to aligning pay with long-term strategic goals and remain an effective tool in compensation design—for example, to promote increased firm productivity,” said Paul Hodgson, coauthor of the report and Senior Advisor to ESGAUGE.

Perks and Other Compensation

The value of CEO perks has risen substantially, particularly in larger companies:

• S&P 500: The median value of perquisites reached $237,000 in 2024, increasing over 60% since 2011.
• Russell 3000: Value of perquisites reached $50,000, ticking up slightly compared to 2011 ($48,000).
• Potential scrutiny on the horizon: “The rise in perquisites may attract increased scrutiny from stakeholders. This calls for increased transparency to maintain stakeholder trust,” said Umesh Tiwari, Executive Director of ESGAUGE.

Note: Report findings are based on proxy statements by Russell 3000 and S&P 500 companies between January 1 – June 30, 2024. A historical comparison dating back as far as 2011 is also provided.