Out of the 87 instances in which women have served as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, 21 were external candidates (24.1%) and 66 were internal (75.9%).
Among Fortune 500 companies, women have succeeded other women as CEO on only three occasions.
- Anne Mulcahy served as CEO of Xerox from 2001–2009, then Ursula Burns succeeded her and served from 2009–2017.
- Andrea Jung was CEO of Avon Products from 1999–2011, when Sheri McCoy succeeded her and served from 2012–2017.
- Susan Cameron was CEO (for the second time) of Reynolds American from 2014 until January 1, 2017, when Debra Crew succeeded her, serving only one year (until December 31, 2017).
How to cite this product: Catalyst, How Women CEOs Are Selected & Succession (April 1, 2020).