Dive Brief:

• Women comprise only 19% of the CIO positions across six major industries, according to a new analysis from Korn Ferry looking at the top 1,000 U.S. companies by revenue. 
• The analysis examined the percentage of women holding top titles (CEO, CFO, CIO, CMO, CHRO) in the consumer, energy, financials, life sciences, industrial and technology sectors. 
• The CIO role fell about in the middle among all C-suite roles examined. Across sectors, CHROs had the highest percentage of women with 55%, while CEOs had only 5% serving in the postion. 

Dive Insight:

Overall, the analysis found only 24% of the top leaders in consumer, energy, financial, life sciences, industrial and technology are women.

"Study after study shows that diverse senior teams provide better corporate results," said Peggy Hazard, Korn Ferry Managing Principal, in a press release. "Having more women at the top is a priority for our clients. However, the needle is not moving as quickly as any of us would like to see."

Comparatively, there were less women on average in CFO and CEO roles than in CIO roles, but more women on average in CMO and CHRO roles. 

"Having gender equality in the CIO role is already top of mind for CEOs and Boards," said Craig Stephenson, managing director of Korn Ferry's North America CIO Practice, in a press release. "We expect this focus to continue for years to come as the CIO creates greater strategic impact across organizations."