August 21, 2024 Only 14% of NASDAQ-100 Tech Leaders Are Women

Despite greater awareness of gender inequality, the tech leadership picture hasn’t changed.

Following up on previous research into companies on the UK’s FTSE 100 index, Tenth Revolution Group has now produced a new dataset that speaks to the picture of gender inequality in the top organizations operating in the United States.

This new research collates data on CIOs and CTOs at NASDAQ-100 companies and spans the period of 2021-2024. The results pinpoint the present state of gender inequality at the biggest companies, while also tracking how the landscape has (or hasn’t) shifted over the last four years as a whole.

Results

Key Findings

• In 2024, just 14% of tech leaders at NASDAQ-100 companies are women
• Over the course of 2021-2024, the average tenure of women CIOs and CTOs is less than half that of their male counterparts, 1.5 years compared to 4.3 years for men
• There is currently no upward trend toward gender parity amongst tech leaders at the biggest businesses in the US market. Women made up only 14% of tech leaders in 2021 and that percentage is no different in 2024
• Of the companies included in this survey, not one had a visible non-binary tech leader at board level

Tenth Revolution Group Chairman and CEO James Lloyd-Townshend commented: “There’s been so much good work in terms of research and advocacy around gender inequality in tech over the past decade, but this new data on the balance at leadership level amongst some of the biggest and most influential companies is really very stark. Women making up only 14% of tech leaders in 2024 just isn’t right.”

Addressing the question of tenure, Tenth Revolution Group President Zoë Morris added: “We know we need to get more women into tech, but we also need to create the conditions to support women to stay in tech and become our next generation of leaders. More than ever, we need to ensure progression pathways are clear and that both hiring and promotional decisions are taken equitably.”

“The shorter average tenure for women is also a problem,” Morris continued. “It indicates that the few women who are in these posts are newer to them, but it could also be telling us that women are burning out and leaving their posts. Our research into wellbeing last year revealed that in 2023 some 46% of women in tech had experienced burnout. High rates of burnout and shorter average tenures for women are connected issues, and we have to work towards better long-term sustainability and a culture of true equity.”

Methodology

Introduced in 1985, the NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index, ranking non-financial companies based on US market capitalization. Rebalancing of the index takes place annually.

Researchers at Tenth Revolution Group collated the lists of NASDAQ-100 companies for the years 2021-2024. They gathered the 2024 list from CNBC and used Internet Archive for the years 2021-2023.

Researchers identified company tech leaders, either Chief Information Officers or Chief Technology Officers, using official company websites. They used Internet Archive to access previous iterations of those sites.

Where an organization had both a CIO and a CTO, the most senior was included in the dataset. In instances where both CIO and CTO sat at board level, both were included in the dataset. Where an organization’s tech leader could not be identified, these entries were not included in the final dataset.

To determine gender, researchers collated pronoun usage either on company websites or on the individual tech leader’s LinkedIn profile. Where a tech leader’s gender could not be confirmed, these entries were not included in the final dataset.

To determine tenure, researchers collated information on either official company websites or the individual tech leader’s LinkedIn profile. Where a tech leader’s tenure could not be confirmed, these entries were not included in the final dataset.

The total number of executive entries for 2021-2024 is 255. Data is accurate to May 31st 2024.

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