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
Closing Bell: Saudi benchmark index edged up to close at 10,549
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Thursday, gaining 58.39 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 10,549.08.
Total trading turnover reached SR1.59 billion ($425 million), with 218 stocks advancing and 37 declining.
The parallel market, Nomu, added 222.72 points, or 0.96 percent, to finish at 23,519.01, as 43 stocks rose and 21 retreated. Meanwhile, the MSCI Tadawul Index increased by 6.11 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 1,393.42.
Leading the day’s gains was Alkhaleej Training and Education Co., whose shares jumped 7.63 percent to SR20.45. Other strong performers included Consolidated Grunenfelder Saady Holding Co., up 6.60 percent to SR9.69, and Abdullah Saad Mohammed Abo Moati for Bookstores Co., which rose 6.48 percent to SR48.98.
On the downside, Naseej International Trading Co. recorded the largest decline, falling 2.44 percent to SR34.44, while National Gas and Industrialization Co. dropped 1.79 percent to SR93.10 and Nama Chemicals Co. slipped 1.32 percent to SR23.99.
Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co., or Luberef announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Aramco for a GIII+ production facility in Jazan.
The 18-month agreement, which may be renewed, is a key step in the Group III+ Project aimed at enhancing production capacity. The MoU is non-binding, and any future approvals, formal agreements, or financial impacts will be disclosed in line with regulatory guidelines. Luberef ended the session at SR96.10, down 0.26 percent.
Meanwhile, the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, or Marafiq, reported receiving official notice of higher energy product prices used in production. The company estimated the financial impact for 2026 at 5.6 percent of total cost of sales, based on its most recent audited 2024 statements.
The effect is expected to appear in the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. Marafiq said it is working to mitigate the impact through improved production efficiency, enhanced plant reliability, optimized asset utilization, and cost reductions. The stock closed at SR36.80, up 1.03 percent.
