Business · Companies · 2 days ago
Women hold 5.8% of CEO roles worldwide, UN Women finds
A UN Women study says women remain underrepresented in company leadership around the world.
Women make up about 40% of employed people, but hold only 5.8% of CEO jobs and 25.1% of board seats in the companies studied.
The figures cover nearly 88,000 board members at more than 9,600 listed companies in 62 countries and territories, based on data from March 2024.
In Spain, women held 42.19% of board seats at IBEX 35 companies at the end of 2025, but only 27.71% of senior management roles.
The study also found that women board members earned 67.6% less than men on average, even though a higher share of them had postgraduate degrees.
An expert cited in the story says rigid work arrangements and traditional ideas about leadership can hinder women's progress into top jobs.
The findings show that having women on boards does not necessarily mean they have equal influence or access to the most senior roles.
Women hold 5.8% of CEO posts worldwide, according to a UN Women report.
The report says women make up around 40% of employed people and 25.1% of board seats in the companies analyzed.
Its company data, collected in March 2024, covered nearly 88,000 directors at more than 9,600 listed companies in 62 countries and territories.
In Spain, women held 42.19% of board seats at IBEX 35 companies at the end of 2025, but 27.71% of senior management roles.
An IESE Business School professor said workplace structures and leadership stereotypes contribute to the gap.
- Who
- Women worldwide, including women in company leadership roles.
- What
- A UN Women report found women hold 5.8% of CEO posts and 25.1% of board seats in the companies analyzed.
- When
- The company data were collected in March 2024; the report was published in 2026.
- Where
- Worldwide, across companies in 62 countries and territories.
- Why
- IESE professor Nuria Chinchilla attributed the gap partly to workplace structures designed around men, rigid schedules and leadership stereotypes.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The business structure has normally been designed by men and for men of the previous century
Flexibility and management by objectives, not by presenteeism
Men are generally evaluated for their potential; women, more for what they have done, for the past
The report's company data covered nearly 88,000 directors at more than 9,600 listed companies in 62 countries and territories.
Women held 42.19% of board seats at Spain's IBEX 35 companies, with 179 women directors.
UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs issued the report on gender equality across the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Global share of CEO posts
- Women: 5.8%
- Global share of board seats
- Women: 25.1%
- Company data
- Nearly 88,000 directors at more than 9,600 listed companies
- Countries and territories
- 62
- Spain, IBEX 35 board seats
- 42.19% held by women at the end of 2025
Sources
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