Almost 45% of mid-market organizations now have women in their CFO roles (a 13-percentage point jump from 2024), signaling meaningful growth in representation in the office of finance.
But the broader financial services industry tells a different story, where representation of women among senior roles remains low despite high participation at entry levels.
Research into CFO career paths shows that most senior finance leaders begin with foundational experience at public accounting firms or investment banks. Women are well-represented in these early roles, but they face barriers that slow their advancement compared to their male colleagues.
But, as finance teams take on strategic, cross-functional responsibilities, new leadership pathways are opening for women. Finance is moving beyond departmental silos to drive business planning and strategy.
In this blog, we’ll examine the journey to the CFO seat for women with help from industry data. We'll also provide tips from Vena’s own CFO Melissa Howatson and our community of experts on thriving in this evolving role.
The role of the CFO has become increasingly volatile, with turnover rising across the board. However, this instability appears to affect women more than their male peers. In certain markets, female CFOs hold their positions for an average of just two years, while men average three years and 10 months.
Diversifying experience is essential because women hold just 26% of global revenue-generating "line roles"—the primary pipeline for the C-suite. By moving into these operational areas, women can bypass traditional silos and gain the enterprise-wide perspective required to thrive in a high-pressure role like CFO.
As Kristina Bittorf, Head of Finance at Aeropay, explained in a panel on Women in Finance during Excelerate Finance 2025: "The thing that makes us successful in our jobs is when we really try to understand the motivation for investments, what processes other teams outside of finance have, and really trying to find where we can insert ourselves in that added value."
This ability to influence beyond finance is what Vena CFO Melissa Howatson identifies as a hallmark of mature finance leadership in a special episode of The CFO Show Podcast. "The best finance teams don't just report on the business," she explains. "They guide it, shape it, and lead it into the future".
With this difference in tenure among women finance leaders, shifting from manual reporting to proactive guidance is critical for establishing broader buy-in and stability in executive roles.
The primary barrier for senior women finance leaders isn't necessarily the "glass ceiling" at the top, but rather a "broken rung" at the very first step of the career ladder. In 2025, for every 100 men promoted from entry-level roles to manager, only 93 women made that same leap.
Because fewer women reach these initial management positions, the talent pool for future executive roles depletes early on, making it nearly impossible to achieve gender parity in senior leadership.
In the banking sector, the disparity is even clearer. Women make up a majority (60%) of the workforce, but hold just 15-20% of decision-making roles.
A significant factor in this trend is the concentration of women in "staff roles," such as HR or legal, rather than "line roles" that manage core business operations and P&L.
Between 2018 and 2023, the fastest-growing C-suite positions for women were these corporate staff functions. In contrast, men continue to disproportionately hold the revenue-generating line roles that serve as the primary pipeline for CFO and CEO positions.
This stalled advancement has contributed to a perceived "ambition gap" among entry-level professionals. According to research from McKinsey, although nearly all employees value their careers, only 69% of women in entry-level roles say they want to be promoted, compared to 80% of their male peers.
The research suggests this isn't a lack of drive, but a direct response to a lack of support. When women receive the same sponsorship and manager advocacy as men, their desire to advance aligns perfectly with their male colleagues.
Currently, 40% of entry-level women report they haven’t received a promotion, stretch assignment, or leadership training in over two years. This lack of investment discourages many women from pursuing the C-suite before they even reach the starting line.
The mid-market serves as a powerful model for gender representation in finance. Globally, 44.6% of mid-market organizations now have a female CFO, a milestone that puts the role on the cusp of true gender equality.
Data reveals that industry has a considerable impact on a woman’s career advancement. The software sector has emerged as a hub for rapid advancement:
But progress is not universal. The healthcare sector lags furthest behind, with only 11 female healthcare CFOs represented among the Fortune 500 and S&P 500 as of 2025. Breaking into the C-Suite in these traditional sectors requires influence that extends beyond the finance department.
As Sandra Clarke, Former EVP & COO of Blue Shield of California, explained on The CFO Show, mature finance leaders "don't just deliver a financial report; they deliver information [that] helps to guide the business." This helps establish credibility, which is one of the most important determiners of success for entering senior-level finance roles.
Advancing in finance requires more than just high performance. It requires the right type of advocacy. Although many women have mentors for coaching, they often lack sponsors (senior leaders who use influence and authority to advocate for someone’s promotion).
Currently, entry-level women are significantly less likely to have a sponsor (31%) than men (45%). This gap directly feeds the "broken rung," as women miss out on the high-stakes assignments needed to reach the C-suite.
Workplace flexibility also impacts this trajectory. Data shows a promotion bias toward physical visibility in the office. Women who work primarily remotely receive promotions at a rate of 37%, compared to 53% of women who work on-site.
As return-to-office mandates increase, many women working remotely face an informal and unfair "flexibility tax," where balancing career growth with childcare needs becomes a structural barrier. In fact, 42% of women who voluntarily left the workforce in 2025 cited a lack of caregiver support as their primary reason for exiting.
As Kristina Bittorf shared during Excelerate Finance, increasing your visibility for leadership consideration means proactively surfacing your impact and wins, even if they’re still a work in progress. “Usually we wait until [something is] 110%, or until we get to a certain point in our careers, then we ask for the promotion,” Kristina said.
But by waiting until a project is fully complete before communicating the impact they’re driving, women could be hindering their career mobility.
“ Whenever I'm doing a project, whether it's a three-month six-month, or a 12-month project, I always try to identify what my quick wins are and celebrate those,” Kristina continued. "It forces me to draw attention to the great work that we're doing, even if it's not a hundred percent.”
Beyond your own company, mentors and advocates can also come from your professional ecosystem. Excelerate, Vena’s annual conference, offers a dedicated space to connect with a global community of finance leaders. It provides an opportunity to share insights with peers who are navigating the same challenges as you and have successfully overcome them.
Combining technical mastery with a supportive, expert network can help you accelerate your career trajectory and lead your organization into the future.
Learn more at https://www.venasolutions.com/excelerate.
Watch the full panel discussion from Excelerate Finance 2025 with Melissa Howatson, Kristina Bittorf and Meg Bear.
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