Despite several milestones for women, 2024 highlighted how slow progress can be. While there were some achievements in sports and a few incremental gains in political representation and business leadership, the overall trend suggests progress on gender equality is stalling. Here’s the good news and the bad for women this year.
Women In Politics
In politics, women achieved some historic firsts. Outside of the U.S., Claudia Sheinbaum was elected Mexico’s first female president, and Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah made history by being elected Namibia’s first female president.
In the United States, Lisa Blunt Rochester became the first woman and first Black person to represent Delaware in the Senate, and Angela Alsobrooks became the first Black female senator to represent Maryland. This marks the first time in history that two Black women will serve simultaneously in the U.S. Senate.
The 2024 elections also set a new record for the number of female governors serving simultaneously in the United States. With Kelly Ayotte’s election as governor of New Hampshire, the total number of female governors rose to 13, surpassing the previous record of 12.
President-elect Trump’s selection of Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff marked another milestone for women. She will be the first woman to hold this position.
One of the most notable stories for women in politics in 2024 was not about progress but missed opportunities. The U.S. once again did not elect a female president. Also discouraging, 16 states have never been represented by a female U.S. senator, and 18 states still have yet to elect a woman as governor. Five states have never had a woman senator or governor (Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia).
Perhaps equally discouraging, the number of female politicians is trending downward. Overall, 150 women are set to start serving in Congress next year, down from the current record of 152. In the House, the number of women serving is set to decrease for the first time since 1991. In the Senate, 25 women, including three newly elected members, will serve starting in January. This is one fewer than the record of 26 female senators set in 2020.
Women In Business Leadership
In corporate leadership, 2024 also saw a decline in women’s representation in top executive roles within major companies. According to the Women Business Collaborative report, the number of female CEOs in the S&P 500 dropped from 41 in 2023 to 39 in 2024, a setback in an area already marked by underrepresentation. In the Fortune 500 companies, the number of female CEOs remained steady at 52, the same number as in 2023.
Better news for female leaders comes from large privately held companies. In 2024, 180 women CEOs were leading private companies worth over $1 billion, representing 7.2% of these companies. While still a small percentage, it represents a significant increase from 2023, when only 3.3% of these companies had women at the helm.
Smaller public companies also experienced a modest increase in female leadership. In the Russell 3000 Index, the number of women serving as CEOs rose to 270 in 2024, up from 204 in 2023, reflecting a 2% growth.
Women In Sports
The most positive news for women in 2024 came from the world of sports. Women represented a record 49% of the total athlete population in the Paris Olympics—a long way from 1960 when women represented only 11.4% of the Olympic athletes. It wasn’t until 2012 that the IOC even allowed women to compete in all sports for the first time.
Caitlin Clark became a standout figure among athletes, achieving unprecedented milestones in basketball. In 2024, she was named to Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women and became the first WNBA player to be named TIME’s Athlete of the Year, recognizing her transformative impact on women’s sports.
Due to Clark’s popularity, interest in women’s basketball soared in 2024. On average of 18.7 million viewers tuned in to watch South Carolina defeat Iowa in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship, making it the most-watched basketball game—across men’s and women’s, collegiate, and professional levels—since the 2019 NCAA men’s championship game between Virginia and Texas Tech, which garnered 19.6 million viewers. By comparison, in 2024, 14.82 viewers watched the men’s NCAA basketball final.
Other female athletes made their mark as well. For example, Arisa Trew became the first female skateboarder to land a 900 in a half-pipe, a feat previously exclusive to male athletes—she was only 14.
The growing interest in women’s sports has led to more opportunities for female athletes. The PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey League) had its first season in 2024, becoming the first professional women’s hockey league to offer players a regular salary. In addition, plans for a new Women’s Professional Baseball League were announced this year, with the league set to launch in 2026. “The WPBL will re-write history by creating an elite league that provides the world’s best female players with the platform they deserve and serve as a catalyst for the creation of a women’s baseball culture in America,” according to a press release from the organization.
Reproductive Rights Legislation
Voters in seven states—Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York — approved measures to enshrine abortion rights into their state constitutions, safeguarding access to reproductive healthcare. In some instances, these amendments overturned existing abortion bans, marking a substantial shift toward protecting reproductive freedoms. Three states, Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota, had similar ballot measures that did not pass.
While 2024 showcased some milestones for women in politics, sports, and leadership, the year also highlighted the persistent challenges that hinder progress toward gender equality. Women reached new heights in athletics, yet political and corporate setbacks were a stark reminder of how much work remains.