CHROs are leading representation of women in the senior executive team, according to Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA), but are often an isolated voice. The FTSE 100 has seen women appointed in 54 out of the 80 CHRO changes since 2018, representing 68% of the roles. However, only 5% of these women were appointed alongside a woman CEO and 20% alongside a woman CFO.
The finding is part of RRA’s new Global CHRO Turnover Index, which tracks the appointment and departure of CHROs in large listed companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the EU, Hong Kong, Australia, India, Japan, and Singapore.
The Index reveals, for the first time, the extent of the global trend to increase the representation of women within the CHRO role. More than two in three (61%) of new CHRO appointments in listed companies so far this year were women. In Australian listed companies, all new CHROs this year were women, while women occupied half of the new CHRO spots in the Euronext 100. In Asian indexes, however, gender parity has made lower strides, with the Nikkei 225 only appointing one woman CHRO so far this year, and six men. The Nifty 50 similarly only appointed one woman to the position, and four men.
Globally, the CHRO role has the highest representation of women in senior executive roles. By comparison, since 2018, just 9% of CEO and 21% of CFO appointments were women.
“It is encouraging to see more women taking on leadership roles across the world’s most powerful companies. It is a credit to the pipeline of talent the HR profession has created and a pattern we need to see replicated beyond just gender diversity,” says Anna Penfold, consultant at RRA. “However, the benefits of gender diversity also need to be felt across the entire leadership team. Too often, the CHRO is the sole woman’s voice in the senior executive team. The CHRO is an increasingly complex function and a key ally for the CEO, but we must not let progress in board diversity come purely from one profession.”
The role of the CHRO has gained an increasingly central position alongside the CEO as they look to navigate a succession of economic and political disruptions. In the first half of the year shaped by European, U.K. and U.S. election campaigns, geopolitical conflict, and continued cost pressures, executives have prioritized stability and experience among CHROs.
Of the CHROs who have been appointed this year, more than half (56%) were external or had previous CHRO experience (52%), a sharp increase from the same time last year, where a majority of CHROs appointed were first timers.
“CHROs today are a key ally for the CEO in both managing complex internal restructurings and responding to unpredictable external shocks. The chemistry between CEO and CHRO is vitally important and CHROs are often the first to depart or arrive when new CEOs are appointed,” Penfold says.
