The rise of women into top corporate roles is losing momentum, executives said at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Santa Barbara, California. Thrivent head of human resources Kelly Baker and Upwork CEO Hayden Brown pointed to weaker corporate focus on recruiting and developing women leaders, alongside workplace conditions that can make promotion harder. The issue is not only the size of the talent pool, but also how companies identify, prepare and support future leaders.
Women lead more Fortune 500 companies, but board and executive shares stall
Women lead 56 Fortune 500 companies, or about 11.2% of the list, up from 7.4% six years ago. Across corporate executive teams and board seats, however, women still hold about 30% of positions, and progress has stalled. The share of board seats held by women has also fallen for the first time in more than a decade.
Baker said companies dealing with rapid changes in the workplace may have made developing women leaders a lower priority. “If you take your foot off the gas even a little bit, you start to stall,” she said at the summit. The figures suggest that progress depends not just on more women entering career pipelines, but also on sustained corporate investment in recruitment, development and promotion.
Less attention to diversity leaves women’s leadership under scrutiny
Toni Townes-Whitley, a former Fortune 500 CEO and current Nasdaq board member, said the declining attention to workplace diversity has also reduced focus on developing and promoting women. She added that doubts about women’s capabilities can come from outside a company, from within it or from its boardroom—a shift she said has not received enough discussion.
Women continue to encounter barriers as they approach the highest corporate roles. Some also do not see themselves as CEO candidates, even when their experience and skills match the job. Jenna Fisher, a managing director at global leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates, said only 36% of women in the workforce have considered becoming a CEO or say they want to be one.
Companies cannot create candidates “out of thin air,” Fisher said. Developing talent—and helping people see leadership roles as a possibility—needs to start earlier.
Hayden Brown had not considered becoming a CEO
Upwork CEO Hayden Brown said she once had not imagined herself leading a company. She grew up in a family that strongly supported women; her mother even ran a women’s empowerment program at work. But about a decade ago, it was her company’s chairman who told her, “You should be CEO.” Brown said she was surprised by the suggestion.
Brown has also tried to shape how her children think about gender and leadership. She changes the books she reads to them to make the stories more gender-inclusive, and sometimes replaces descriptions such as “smart” with “hardworking” to emphasize qualities she wants them to value. Such efforts can influence perceptions early, but companies still need effective systems and support for women’s advancement.
Mentors offer guidance; advocates open doors
Baker said men also need to take part in wider workplace change. People in senior or influential roles can act as mentors, offering guidance during someone’s career, or as advocates, actively recommending promising women to colleagues and other decision-makers. Mentors provide advice; advocates help candidates gain recognition among people who influence appointments.
Fisher said demand for women executives and board members remains, even as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) receives less attention than it once did. She also pointed to the demands created by artificial intelligence, which are increasing the value companies place on adaptability and the ability to apply new technologies. Russell Reynolds Associates research found that women are ahead of men in AI adoption and implementation, which may be linked to their willingness to adapt to new environments.
The figures show mixed progress: women now lead a larger share of Fortune 500 companies than six years ago, while their representation across executive and board roles remains around 30% and board representation has recently declined. The summit’s discussion highlighted that advancement depends both on the number of candidates and their view of leadership—and on whether companies continue to develop, nominate and support women for senior roles.