New Index Ranks Companies for Women in Leadership

- The 2026 index is the seventh annual edition and is compiled by reviewing the boards and management teams of the world's 500 largest companies, which in 2026 had revenues ranging from $32 billion to $680 billion. A total of 106 companies were included in the 2026 index due to ties in ranking. - Companies listed on the 2026 index demonstrated stronger financial performance compared to their peers in the top 500, with 73% reporting year-over-year revenue growth, compared to 60% of non-index companies. Additionally, 52% of the companies on the index reported year-over-year profit growth, versus 47% of companies not on the list. - The index is part of a broader initiative called "Mission 2029 for a Better World," which was launched in 2020. A key goal of this mission is to quintuple the number of female CEOs in the world's 500 largest companies from 14 in 2020 to 70 by 2029. - The methodology for the index is a fact-based computation of gender diversity at the top of the world's 500 largest companies; a spot on the index cannot be bought or influenced. The research for the 2026 index involved reviewing over 10,000 C-suite executives. - While the full 2026 list is not yet publicly available, the 2025 index was topped by U.S.-based mortgage financier Fannie Mae, with Australia's Woolworths Group and National Australia Bank also in the top three. - In 2021, U.S.-headquartered companies made up the majority of the list, with 51.78% of the ranked companies. This was followed by companies headquartered in France (12.5%) and Great Britain (10.71%). - To be considered for the index, companies must have more than 20% female executive representation on both their board and management team. - The "Break the Ceiling, Touch the Sky" initiative also includes a series of global leadership summits and a book by the same name, with proceeds donated to Save the Children.