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
Emerging markets driving global growth despite rising risks: Saudi finance minister
RIYADH: Emerging markets now account for a growing share of global output and are driving the bulk of world economic expansion, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said, even as those economies grapple with rising debt and mounting geopolitical risks.
Speaking at the opening of the annual AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies on Feb. 8, Mohammed Al-Jadaan said the role of emerging and developing nations in the global economy has more than doubled since 2000, underscoring a structural shift in growth away from advanced economies.
The meeting comes as policymakers in developing markets try to keep growth on track while controlling inflation, managing capital flows and repairing public finances after years of heavy borrowing. Saudi Arabia has positioned the forum as a platform to coordinate policy responses and strengthen the voice of emerging economies in global financial discussions.
“This conference takes place at a moment of profound transition in the global economy. Emerging markets and developing economies now account for nearly 60 percent of the global gross domestic product in purchasing power terms and 70 percent of global growth,” Al-Jadaan said.
He added: “Today, the 10 emerging economies and the G20 alone account for more than half of the world’s growth. Yet, emerging markets face a more complex and fragmented environment, elevated debt levels, slower trade growth and increasing exposure to geopolitical shocks.”
Launched in 2025, the conference this year brings together economic decision-makers, finance ministers, central bank governors, leaders of international financial institutions, and a select group of experts and specialists from around the world.
