Median Pay Of Female CEOs Fell By 2% In The Year 2020

On analysing the reports from 2020, it was observed that the median pay given to female CEOs had dropped by 2%. Though the number of female CEOs was already less as compared to that of male CEOs, there was still a further decrease in this number after several female CEOs left their rank.

According to the report based on the Associate Press and Equilar’s compensation survey, it was noted that the salary given to female chief executive officers had increased in the year 2020 despite the pandemic. But as the number of female CEOs went down, the overall income of the group went down contributing to the fall in the median pay. This also means that the increase in pay only benefited a handful of female CEOs.

Who did the survey include and analyse?

In the AP’s and Equilar’s compensation survey of S&P 500 companies, there were only 16 such companies that had a female CEO. The CEOs who have served at least two full fiscal years at their companies were eligible to be a part of the survey. Further, the report noted the companies must have filed proxy statements between Jan. 1 and April 30 to be eligible to be on the list.

What were the conclusions of the survey?

80% of female CEOs that is 13 out of 16 women saw a pay rise in comparison to 60% male CEOs. Lisa Su, CEO of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, topped the list with a compensation package worth $27.1 million. But the survey noted a decline in the amount as Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good saw a nearly 3% decline in compensation to $14.3 million. The overall median for the survey was $12.7 million.

Bring about female leadership in the picture, Lorraine Hariton, President & CEO of Catalyst called it a 'slow process. She further added that the reasons are that we are still dealing with cultures embedded with unconscious bias. Hariton further said that building the pipeline of women CEOs takes time.