Dive Brief:

• A Korn Ferry analysis of the top 1,000 U.S. companies found that female executives constitute only 24% of C-Suite roles, with CHRO comprising the only majority of female executives (55%), according to a report from Hunt Scanlon.
• The data showed that the business sector with the most female CEOs is consumer, with 9%. The highest percentage of women for any executive position was the CHRO role at top companies in the financial sector, which polled at 69%. 
• Despite the fact that other Korn Ferry research has highlighted similarities between the competencies of both CEOs and CHROs, a source quoted in the report noted that "women are still not making it to the very top spot at the rate that they should."

Dive Insight:

There's been similar coverage around compensation in the C-Suite. It's very likely that because CHROs tend to be female, the gender pay gap at the executive level tends to affect CHROs most adversely. The pay gap is one of the most talked-about issues in the HR world today, and progress has been painfully slow.

If there's one thing that's made clear from all of this coverage, it's that young female professionals need much more support from their peers in order to succeed. Women also miss out on critical early promotions to the managerial level, affecting their chances of succeeding in the C-Suite later on in their careers. The negative effects of this deficit of female leadership are well-documented, and it's time for HR leaders to work toward fixing the many problems caused by gender discrimination.