8 Women Among the Top 100 Paid CEOs

Advertising Disclosure: When you buy something by clicking links on our site, we may earn a small commission, but it never affects the products or services we recommend.

Image Not Available

The good news is women have cracked the top 20 when it comes to CEO compensation.

Yahoo! chief executive Marissa Mayer earns more than $42 million per year when stock and option awards are included, according to Equilar’s Top 200 Highest-Paid CEO Ranking for 2015. That makes her the 14th-highest-compensated CEO of either gender.

Equilar’s rankings reflect both cash compensation and stock and option awards. Cash compensation includes base salaries, cash bonuses and other perks.

The bad news is Mayer is one of only eight women who made the top 100, and one of only 13 women who made Equilar’s list at all. That means female CEOs comprise just 8 percent of the top 100 highest-paid CEOs.

Mayer — the highest-paid female CEO — makes a bit more than one-quarter of what the highest-paid male CEO earns: Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav rakes in a total compensation of about $156 million, compared to Mayer’s $42 million.

The women who made the top 100 are:

1. Marissa Mayer, Yahoo!

  • Cash compensation: $2.1 million
  • Stock and option awards: $39.9 million
  • Overall CEO rank: 14th

2. Martine Rothblatt, United Therapeutics

  • Cash compensation: $2.1 million
  • Stock and option awards: $29.5 million
  • Rank: 24th

3. Carol Meyrowitz, TJX Companies (which include T.J.Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods)

  • Cash compensation: $6.2 million
  • Stock and option awards: $17.1 million
  • Overall CEO rank: 54th

4. Meg Whitman, Hewlett-Packard

  • Cash compensation: $6.1 million
  • Stock and option awards: $13.5 million
  • Overall CEO rank: 72nd

5. Indra K. Nooyi, PepsiCo

  • Cash compensation: $13.6 million
  • Stock and option awards: $5.5 million
  • Overall CEO rank: 81st

6. Phebe N. Novakovic, General Dynamics

  • Cash compensation: $6.1 million
  • Stock and option awards: $12.9 million
  • Overall CEO rank: 83rd

7. Virginia “Ginni” M. Rometty, IBM

  • Cash compensation: $5.5 million
  • Stock and option awards: $12.5 million
  • Overall CEO rank: 93rd

8. Marillyn A. Hewson, Lockheed Martin

  • Cash compensation: $9 million
  • Stock and option awards: $8.9 million
  • Overall CEO rank: 97th

Like this story? SHARE it on Facebook!

Get smarter with your money!

Want the best money-news and tips to help you make more and spend less? Then sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter to receive daily updates of personal finance news and advice, delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our free newsletter today.