The Number of Women CEOs in Philadelphia’s Top 100 Companies Have Tripled Since Last Year – From 1 to 3 

Women are making some progress when it comes to their place in leadership positions at top public companies in Philadelphia, writes Ariana Perez-Castells for The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

The Forum of Executive Women, in collaboration with accounting firm PwC, have released the 2023 Women in Leadership report. 

Released annually for more than 20 years, the report tracks the advancement of women in three key metrics — board membership, executive leadership, and earnings.  

The former two metrics both saw a 2% increase since last year, while the latter has remained stagnant.  

The number of female CEOs at top companies in Philadelphia has tripled since last year, from one to three.  

Susan Hardwick of American Water was the only woman CEO in the Philadelphia area last year. She is now joined by Ellen Cooper of Lincoln National Corporation and Elizabeth Burr of Rite Aid Corporation.   

While female representation has seen steady progress over the past two decades, the year-to-year progress has been incremental.  

“At the current rate of change, we will not reach equality of women in the boardroom for at least another decade,” said Colleen Crowley, a partner at PwC.  

With more companies reporting representation data, that could be key in getting more females in these roles and get supported once there. 

Read more about the Women in Leadership Report at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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