Women run a record 11.2% of Fortune 500 companies in 2026—but the gain came in a year of high-profile exits
Even in a turbulent year at the top, a record 56 women lead Fortune 500 companies in 2026, 11.2% of the newest ranking of America’s largest businesses by revenue. That’s the highest share in the list’s 72-year history and the fourth consecutive year the figure has cleared double digits. Still, several Fortune 500 CEOs including Oracle’s Safra Catz, Fannie Mae’s Priscilla Almodovar, and Hershey’s Michele Buck exited their corner offices in a span of weeks during the fall. Almodovar’s departure left the Fortune 500 without a Latina CEO for the first time since she took the job in 2022. Then, SAIC’s Toni Townes-Whitley stepped down in October, briefly narrowing the ranks of Black women running Fortune 500 companies to just one (TIAA’s Thasunda Brown Duckett) until the September 2025 addition of DTE Energy CEO Joi Harris. Meanwhile, Foot Locker’s Mary Dillon is no longer ranked among Fortune 500 chiefs after the retailer was acquired by Dick’s Sporting Goods in 2025. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); Even with all of those exits, the count of female Fortune 500 chiefs kept moving upward because of a steady flow of internal promotions and outside hires. Newmont, Textron, Murphy USA, and DTE Energy all promoted women as CEOs this past year, and more high-profile transitions are set for the rest of 2026. Dow announced in April COO Karen S. Carter will take over as CEO on July 1, making her the first Black woman to lead a major U.S. chemical company—and bringing the number of Black women running Fortune 500 businesses back up to three. Lululemon named Nike veteran Heidi O’Neill its permanent CEO, with a September start date. The Fortune 500 ranks