NEW YORK: Women CEOs earned big bucks last year, but there is still very few of them running the world’s largest companies.
The median pay for a female CEO was $13.1 million last year, up 9 percent from 2015, according to an analysis by executive data firm Equilar and The Associated Press. By comparison, male CEOs earned $11.4 million, also up 9 percent.
But the number of women in CEO roles has barely budged. Just 6 percent of the top paid CEOs in the US last year were women, according to the Equilar and AP analysis, a slight increase from about 5 percent in 2015 and 2014.
The highest paid woman was Virginia Rometty of International Business Machines Corp., bumping out Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer from the top spot.
Rometty earned $32.3 million last year from the technology company, a 63 percent jump from the year before, mainly due to $12.1 million in stock option awards she did not receive in 2015.
Mayer earned $27.4 million last year, making her the second-highest paid woman. But she may be out of a job after Yahoo Inc. completes the sale of its websites and e-mail services to Verizon Wireless in June. She is not expected to join Verizon, and Yahoo has said Mayer will receive a $23 million severance package if she departs.
Third on the list was Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo. Inc., the maker of Mountain Dew soda and Lay’s potato chips. She earned $25.2 million, up 13 percent from 2015. She was followed by Mary Barra, the CEO of automaker General Motors Co., who earned $22.4 million.
On the bottom of the list was Susan Story of American Water Works Co., the utility company, who earned $4.1 million.
To calculate pay, Equilar added salary, bonus, perks, stock awards, stock option awards and other types of compensation. Equilar only looked at companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index that filed proxy statements with federal regulators between Jan. 1 and April 30, 2016. And it only included CEOs that have been in their roles for at least two years in order to exclude sign-on bonuses. Of the 346 CEOs in that group, just 21 were women.
The only black woman on the list, Xerox’s Ursula Burns, left the CEO role in January after the document management company split in two. Burns, who earned $13.1 million as CEO last year, is now chairman of Xerox Corp.’s board.
Gracia Martore, who earned $8.5 million last year, announced earlier this month that she will retire as CEO of Tegna Inc., the TV station owner and operator. Her replacement is a man.
Experts say companies need to do more to get women into CEO roles.
Janice Ellig, the co-CEO of executive search firm Chadick Ellig, says “unconscious bias” in the workplace is keeping women from getting opportunities that will put them on track to for top roles.
Companies need to “start recognizing that gender inequality exists,” say Ellig, who is also chairperson of the Women’s Forum of New York.
“If you don’t recognize a problem, you can’t solve a problem,” she says.
Women CEOs earned more last year, but few were in top job
Women CEOs earned more last year, but few were in top job
Industry leaders highlight Riyadh’s Metro, infrastructure as investment catalysts
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, is experiencing a transformative phase in its real estate sector, with the construction market projected to reach approximately $100 billion in 2025, accompanied by an anticipated annual growth rate of 5.4 percent through 2029.
The Kingdom is simultaneously advancing its data center capacity at an accelerated pace, with an impressive 2.7 GW currently in the pipeline. This expansion underscores the critical role of strategic land and power planning in establishing national infrastructure as a cornerstone of economic growth.
These insights were shared by leading industry experts during JLL’s recent client event in Riyadh, which focused on the city’s macroeconomic landscape and emerging trends across office, residential, retail, hospitality, and pioneering sectors, including AI infrastructure and Transit-Oriented Development.
Saud Al-Sulaimani, Country Lead and Head of Capital Markets at JLL Saudi Arabia, commented: “Riyadh is positioned at the forefront of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, offering unparalleled opportunities for both investors and developers. National priorities are continuously recalibrated to ensure strategic alignment of projects and foster deeper collaboration with the private sector.”
He added: “Recent regulatory developments, including the introduction of the White Land Tax and the rent freeze, are designed to stabilize the market and are expected to drive renewed focus on delivering premium-quality assets. This dynamic environment, coupled with evolving construction cost considerations in select segments, is fundamentally reshaping the market landscape while accelerating progress toward our national objectives.”
The event further underscored the transformative impact of infrastructure initiatives. Mireille Azzam Vidjen, Head of Consulting for the Middle East and Africa at JLL, highlighted Riyadh’s transit revolution. She detailed the Riyadh Metro, a $22.5 billion investment encompassing 176 kilometers, six lines, and 84 stations, providing extensive geographic coverage, with a depth of 9.8 km per 100 sq. km. This strategic development generates significant TOD opportunities, with properties in proximity potentially commanding a 20-30 percent premium. JLL emphasized the importance of implementing climate-responsive last-mile solutions to enhance mobility and accessibility, particularly given Riyadh’s extreme temperatures.
Gaurav Mathur, Head of Data Centers at JLL, emphasized the rapid expansion of the Kingdom’s AI infrastructure, signaling a critical area for technological investment and innovation.
Focusing on the construction sector, Maroun Deeb, Head of Projects and Development Services, KSA at JLL, explained that the industry is actively navigating complexities such as skilled labor availability, material costs, and supply chain dynamics.
He highlighted the adoption of Building Information Modeling as a key driver for enhancing operational efficiency and project delivery.
