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Women remain underrepresented in finance leadership roles.

In the 2025 Fortune 500, only 17.4% of CFO positions are held by women, up from around 12% a decade ago. The upward shift is encouraging, but the pace of change shows that true parity is still a long way off. Companies must keep working hard to drive gender diversity among their executive teams.

Our CFO Pathways Report confirms the trend: 82% of CFO appointments were male. As many businesses make great strides in achieving gender equality in the workforce, it’s important leaders in finance don’t get left behind.

Together, Lynne Colgate, Partner & Head of Interim, and Emily Harrison, Associate Partner within the Finance Practice at Eton Bridge Partners, explore why female CFOs are still lacking and share the remarkable achievements of some of the world’s great Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) who are women.

Is a lack of parity in the home holding back the impact of gender inclusion policies?

Statistics from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) show 32% of men compared to 78% of women are engaged in cooking and housework every day for at least one hour. Among couples with children, the gender gap is even greater, with three times more women (91%) than men (30%) spending at least one hour per day on housework.

Anyone, male or female, who has tried to juggle a career with the weight of housework and childcare knows how challenging this can be. Taking on the lion’s share of the family chores can become entrenched and set a pattern for the next 10 or 20 years – a time when a career could be built.

As Emily Harrison observes, “With time and energy taken up by the demands of housework and childcare, women in particular can find themselves sidelined while others scale the corporate ladder.”

Self-belief can also be a barrier for women, with some having a lack of confidence in their own abilities or a feeling of ‘imposter syndrome,’ which may deter them from applying for promotions.

Lynne Colgate adds: “Confidence plays a huge role in leadership progression. Even the most talented women sometimes hold back from opportunities because of self-doubt.”

Then there is the matter of choice and what drives us. Our career paths are a succession of choices we make; we all have our own set of motivations and priorities. Anyone who has been in the position of having to choose between more time with their children or a promotion knows how difficult that choice can be.

Is it possible that today’s working adults – both men and women – remain heavily influenced by the gender role models they grew up with, and could this be a barrier to women going for the top job?

Children of the 1970s most likely had a mother who did the bulk of the housework and childcare. We often, even subconsciously, follow in our parents’ footsteps. Could it be that we won’t see gender parity at work until we see gender parity at home?

Top 5 female CFOs to watch in 2025

Fortunately, some exceptional female CFOs have broken down these barriers. Here, we celebrate their amazing achievements and highlight their accomplishments to act as inspiration for future female leaders in finance.

Amy Hood, EVP and CFO, Microsoft

Amy Hood oversees Microsoft’s global finance organisation, which includes acquisitions, business operations, accounting, and investor relations.

Appointed CFO in May 2013, becoming the first woman to hold this position at Microsoft. Has played a pivotal role in Microsoft’s transformation, focusing on cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Instrumental in orchestrating over 57 acquisitions, including the $7.5 billion purchase of GitHub in 2018.

Under her financial leadership, Microsoft’s capital expenditures reached $64.5 billion in the past year.

Ranked 63rd in Forbes’ “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” list in 2013 and climbed to 28th in 2021. In 2023, she was listed 23rd on Forbes’ list and 17th on Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” list.

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Susan Li, CFO, Meta

Susan Li was appointed CFO at Meta in November 2022 at the age of 36, becoming one of the youngest CFOs in the industry.

Played a role in guiding Meta through the company’s first-ever quarterly revenue decline and her strategic financial leadership has been crucial as Meta navigates its ambitious pivot toward the metaverse.

When she became CFO, Meta had a market cap of $250 billion. Its market cap surpassed $1 trillion in January 2024 and stood at roughly $1.3 trillion in late September.

Featured in Forbes’ “American Dreamers” series, highlighting her journey as an immigrant and her ascent to a top executive position at Meta.

Acknowledged among Fortune’s growing group of Fortune 500 CFOs under 40.

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Colette Kress, EVP and CFO, NVIDIA

Colette Kress has over 25 years of experience in finance within major technology companies and is now responsible for shaping NVIDIA’s financial strategy and growth.

Before joining NVIDIA, she held significant positions at Cisco Systems and Microsoft.

Under her financial leadership, NVIDIA has experienced significant revenue growth, driven by advancements in graphics processing units and expansion into artificial intelligence and data centre markets.

Acknowledged as a trailblazer for women in high-tech finance, serving as a role model for aspiring female leaders in the technology sector.

Featured in Forbes’ “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” in 2024 – listed at number 55.

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Tracey Travis, EVP and CFO, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc

Tracey Travis oversees global finance, accounting, investor relations, information technology and strategy and new business development.

Held several significant positions before joining The Estée Lauder Companies, including at Ralph Lauren Corporation, Limited Brands and PepsiCo.

Helped The Estée Lauder Companies achieve consistent revenue growth, expanding its global presence and product offerings. Has also been a strong advocate for integrating sustainability into the company’s financial and operational strategies.

Serves on the Board of Directors for Accenture and Meta Platforms, Inc.

Named among the most powerful women in business by various publications, including Black Enterprise magazine’s list of “The Most Powerful Women in Corporate America” in 2019.

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Kelly Steckelberg, CFO, Canva

Kelly Steckelberg is renowned for her leadership in the technology sector, working for Cisco Systems, Zoosk, Zoom Video Communications and now Canva as of December 2024.

Played a critical role in taking Zoom public in 2019, a milestone that significantly enhanced the company’s market presence.

Led Zoom to unprecedented growth during the global shift to remote communication, scaling its operations to meet surging demand.

Featured in Forbes’ 2021 list of “America’s Self-Made Women”, acknowledging her contributions to the tech industry.

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Are D&I policies just a short-term fix?

Diversity and inclusion are not ‘nice-to-haves,’ they are absolute necessities for businesses today. Stakeholders want to see a diverse leadership team and diversity drives innovation across the business.

“The data shows progress in some functions, like CPO appointments, but finance still remains male-dominated. That signals the barriers are cultural as much as structural,” shared Emily.

Gender diversity and inclusion policies, positive hiring practices, and family-friendly initiatives such as flexible working hours and shared maternity/paternity leave have had an impact. But given the steps companies have taken to recruit more female leaders, why are we not moving closer to gender parity? Is there a point at which there is little more that companies can do, and the onus shifts elsewhere?

It’s worth noting here that we are seeing more females step into leadership roles in some functions. Our recent CPO Pathways Report found that 81% of CPO appointments in the UK last year were female, up from an already high base of 71% in 2021. The CPO role is as female-dominated as the CFO one is male; could it be that finance is traditionally seen as a more ‘male’ function?

In theory, there should be a large pipeline of potential female CFO candidates. According to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), 50% of accountancy students globally in 2023 were female – a percentage that has remained roughly constant for the past decade. There are a large number of potential future female leaders coming into the funnel at the top of the system, but where do they all go?

Perhaps the barrier lies beyond the workplace. If gender stereotypes at home persist, even the strongest D&I policies may only go so far.

Looking to the next generation for real change

The societal norms of the past are changing – slowly but surely – before our eyes. Corporate culture is evolving, and workplaces feel more inclusive. Getting the job is only the first step; feeling a valued part of the organisation is what makes you stay.

Lynne Colgate reflects: “Children growing up today have role models of women in top jobs, mothers who are the breadwinners, fathers who are the homemakers. Could today’s children who are growing up in such different times bring the changes in gender parity in the home when they reach adulthood? If so, could that spill over into greater gender parity in the workplace?”

Only time will tell, but it’s a tantalising prospect to think that gender diversity policies – a sticking plaster today – may not even be needed in the future. It’s a journey we can support each other on by continuing the debate and working to ensure equal rights to opportunities for all, whilst also respecting that others have the right to make different choices from our own.

At Eton Bridge Partners, we are committed to supporting organisations in building diverse leadership teams and developing inclusive cultures.

Get in touch with Lynne or Emily to continue the conversation.