In this article we are going to list the 15 biggest companies with female CEOs. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 10 biggest companies with female CEOs. As men, we don’t often tend to realize it, but it has been a tough world for women to live in across history, and while signs of betterment can be seen on the horizon as steps are being taken and feminism grows, a lot more needs to be done still to ensure equality between genders, equal opportunities and and equal benefits as well.
Throughout history, men have been the dominant force and straight white men have been the absolute dominant force in countries where they were present or had conquered. Even in countries such as Africa or in Asia where the vast majority of the population is not white, men have regardless dominated throughout history. Look at any nation, any culture and you’ll see that it has been run by men while women have had, to put it kindly, a subservient role. And why is that? It’s not like men have consisted of a significant majority, as even now, the global population is more or less equally split between the genders. It’s also not because men have been far more intelligent or superior in mental capabilities than women. It has had to do, more or less, with just physical strength. Since men were physically stronger, they were able to establish their authority and since women didn’t have the tools to fight back, they had to accept this supremacy unfortunately. This was then passed down generation to generation and myths were started that women are not intellectually equal to men, and they should only be considered for house work and raising children, rather than concerning themselves in finance, politics or anything that would require critical thinking. This belief has further been lent credence by many major religions as well, which deem men as protectors of women and do not allow women to go out of the house unless there’s a vey valid reason and even then to cover themselves completely from head to toe. Basically, women have been in lockdown for millennia.
Even today, in nations which are more conservative, you will see very few women out and about, as opposed to developed economies which have seen women rise and shatter many a glass ceiling on their way to the top. Of course, even in developed countries more is still required to bring the two primary genders to an equal footing but at least the women there don’t face the same predicaments as the women in developing countries, where their rights are still subjugated. And anywhere you go in the world, you will still see stereotypes passed down through centuries, and even adapted for modern technology, which will mention that women can’t manage a budget as they don’t understand finance or women can’t drive or at least not as well as men. These kinds of stereotypes are fine if only taken in light fun, but the problem is, many people actually believe them and start to demean women, which leads to troubles.
However, women are very resilient if nothing else and while the deck may have been stacked against them, they have kept on fighting for their rights and shown significant progress with their achievements. After all, women weren’t even allowed to wait until a century ago in the US, the self proclaimed defender of human rights and yet did not provide those same rights to women until long after men. Now, a lot more women are working rather than becoming stay at home moms, not that there’s anything wrong with that but a woman should always have the choice to choose. In fact more than 57% of the women in the United States are not working, despite the joblessness caused by Covid-19 for millions of Americans, which has hurt the growth of women in working fields. Despite these setbacks, they have continued to, as I mentioned earlier, shatter glass ceiling after glass ceiling and reach the top position of some of the biggest companies in not just the US but the world at large as well. Now, there are 37 women in the list of Fortune 500, which tracks the biggest companies in the US by far. Unfortunately, Fortune 500 Global only shows us 13 women CEOs, which shows the lack of diversity in countries across the world.
2020 has still been a landmark year for women, who have made their presence felt across several industries, nations and companies, to become the CEO of these companies and help them grow further. The biggest companies with woman CEOs have been ascertained using the Fortune 500 Global ranking of the biggest companies in the world by revenue as well as the Fortune 500 list, since the global list only has 13 women CEOs. We have ranked these companies by their revenue, which in total comes to around $850 billion. This just shows the power that these women have in today’s corporate world. So let’s take a look at the women who are actually running the world, or are at least very influential, starting with number 15:
15. Occidental Petroloeum (NYSE:OXY)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 22
Occidental is engaged in hydrocarbon exploration, and has a worldwide presence. It is run by Vicki Hollub, who has been the CEO since 2016.
![Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)](https://imonkey-blog.imgix.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/oxy-logo-288x300.jpg?auto=fortmat&fit=clip&expires=1756166400&width=480&height=499)
Pixbabay/Public Domain
14. Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 24.7
An electric power holding company operating in the US, while also having assets in Canada. Lynn J. Good is the CEO of the company and has been since 2013.
![Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK)](https://imonkey-blog.imgix.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Duke-Energy-Corp-300x102.jpg?auto=fortmat&fit=clip&expires=1756166400&width=480&height=163)
Pixbabay/Public Domain
13. Northrop Gruman (NYSE:NOC)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 33.8
Northrop is an aerospace and defense technology company, and is head by Kathy Warden, who has been the CEO since 2019.
![Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)](https://imonkey-blog.imgix.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/northrops-ew-solutions.jpg?auto=fortmat&fit=clip&expires=1756166400&width=300&height=100)
Pixabay/Public Domain
12. Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 39
One of the largest insurance companies in the US, it is headed by Tricia Griffith who was appointed as the CEO back in 2016.
![The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)](https://imonkey-blog.imgix.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/progressive-logo-300x79.jpg?auto=fortmat&fit=clip&expires=1756166400&width=480&height=126)
Pixabay/Public Domain
11. General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 39.3
General Dynamics is one of the biggest aerospace and defense companies in the world, and Phebe Novakovic is the CEO, and has been listed as one of the most powerful women in business by Forbes.
Please continue to see the 10 biggest companies with female CEOs.
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Disclosure: No position. 15 biggest companies with Indian CEOs is originally published at Insider Monkey.