The share of companies led by female CEOs on the Fortune 500 has been stalled at around 11%. On the Global 500, just 6.8% of companies are run by women. And Europe is somewhere in the middle.
The 2026 Fortune 500 Europe was released yesterday, and women are running 8.6% of companies on the list. That’s up from 8.2% a year earlier—for a 2026 a total of 43 female chief executives.
For a refresher on the difference between all these lists: the Fortune 500 ranks the 500 largest companies based in the U.S. The Global 500 ranks the 500 largest companies in the world (U.S. included), which means companies must be even larger to make the cut. And the Fortune 500 Europe, of course, determines the biggest 500 companies by revenue based in Europe.
Looking at the differences in female CEO representation across these rankings, we can get a sense of where each part of the world is at when it comes to advancement of women in business.
The most revealing stats on the Fortune 500 Europe relate to the oil business BP, which is No. 4 on the list with $193 billion in revenue. (Energy companies occupy almost the entire top 5.) Meg O’Neill took over BP this year, and it’s the largest woman-led company on the Fortune 500 Europe and the only one in the top 10. It’s also the only one in the top 20 or 30. The next up is No. 39 Engie, led by Catherine MacGregor—and they’re the only two women-led companies in the top 50. Women lead just nine companies in the top 100. Both O’Neill and MacGregor, of course, rank in the top 20 of the 2026 Fortune Most Powerful Women list.
Companies led by female CEOs were responsible for $1.2 trillion in revenue on this year’s list, up 24% from $1 trillion last year. O’Neill and BP are to thank for much of that increase. The share of revenues for woman-run companies is 8.0%, up from 6.7% last year but less than the 8.6% of companies women run. This confirms that on average, women run smaller companies on the list than men do.
Other leaders of Fortune 500 Europe companies to note include Karin Rådström, who leads Daimler Truck, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles. My colleague Sam Forsdick just published a new profile of Rådström, who is used to being the only woman in the room and has overseen an almost 40% increase in the company’s share price.
You can explore the full list here, with a handy filter for female CEOs.
Overall, we can tell from this year’s rankings that the U.S. is still ahead on getting women into CEO roles—and women are still mostly running smaller companies, not the true giants of the top 100, anywhere in the world.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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