C-Suite·chief financial officer (CFO)Companies with female CFOs outperform industry averages, study showsBy Jesse KleinBy CFO BrewBy Jesse KleinBy CFO Brew Underperforming companies that hired women as CFOs went on to see total holder return imve.Getty ImagesA new study from finance management platform One showed that companies with a female CFO increased holder value by an average of 4.5% annually, 0.2% higher than their industries overall.
But even with this outpaced performance, the percentage of female CFOs has been stubbornly static.
Since 2011, the number of CFO seats at Global Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies held by women has remained stuck at 25%.
One looked at the stock performance of US, Europe, and UK Global Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies, comparing those with female CFOs to industry averages.
The company also looked at the LinkedIn files of 346 CFOs, 86 of them women, to map out the differences in career paths, and sent a survey to 700 senior finance fessionals, half men and half women, to get qualitative context.
US companies saw an average revenue growth of 7.3% after appointing a female CFO, while those in Europe and the UK saw higher increases of 10.6% and 12.8%.
As for specific sectors, energy organizations with women CFOs performed 2.8% better than the stock market, and those in the health sector performed 4.7% better.
Underperforming companies that hired women as CFOs went on to see total holder return imve by an average of 10%, relative to industry benchmarks, compared with the return under the previous CFOs.“In my experience, women are often handed leadership roles in times of crisis because they’re seen as detail-oriented, thoughtful in their apach, and relentlessly hard-working,” Hope King, founder of Macro Talk, said in the report.
One’s re also found women were more ly to align with “financial guardian” or “strategic architect” personas in their LinkedIn files.
These archetypes prioritize risk tolerance, strategic planning, and transparency, according to One.
Male CFOs were more ly to identify with “digital operator” and “resilient reformer” personas more focused on nology. But men weren’t the only ones thinking nology.
Female CFOs viewed AI as a potential equalizer.
While it typically takes women three years longer than men to reach the CFO chair (18 years, versus 15 for men), 83% of women CFOs said automation could diversify the paths into the position, and 69% felt it was supporting personal career growth.
This report was originally published by CFO Brew. Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world. Explore this year's list.