CEOs in the U.S. - racial and ethnic diversity 2004-2024

Despite comprising of a smaller share of the U.S. population than African Americans or Hispanics, the most represented non-white U.S. CEOs were of an Asian background. They made up 55 percent of CEO positions at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies in 2024. By comparison, 11 percent of CEOs at the time were African American.

The rise of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)

Investments in ESG have risen dramatically over last few years. In November 2023 there were approximately 480 billion U.S. dollars in ESG ETF assets worldwide, compared to 16 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. ESG measures were put in place to encourage companies to act responsibly, with the leading reason for ESG investing stated to be brand and reputation according to managers and asset owners.

Gender diversity

With the general acceptance of ESG in larger companies, there has still been a significant employment gap of women working in senior positions. For example, the share of women working as a partner or principal at EY, one of the largest accounting firms in the world, was just only 28 percent in 2023.