Source: Marketing Dive | Written by: Robert Williams

The higher pay for female marketing executives compared to their male counterparts may reflect the growing number of women who work in marketing at bigger companies whose revenue and salary packages are often higher than at SMBs. Large companies are more likely to have performance-based compensation that includes year-end bonuses, the CMO Council notes. Its study also found that digital marketing skills are key, with CMO salaries rising alongside higher levels of performance.

The report supports other research indicating that major advertisers are hiring women as CMOs more often. The percentage of female CMOs at the 100 most advertised brands rose to 43% last year from 36% in 2018 and 28% in 2017, according to executive search firm Spencer Stuart. The percentage of female CMOs who were new to the job rose to 48% last year from 44% in 2018 and 38% in 2017. The trend may indicate that more women will be hired as CMOs in the years ahead as companies look to diversify their leadership.

Anecdotal reports of big companies that have hired or promoted women as marketing leaders support the CMO Council's report. For example, consumer packaged goods (CPG) giant Unilever promoted Conny Braams into a new role as chief digital and marketing officer in January 2020. She previously oversaw the company's Middle Europe operations. Kimberly-Clark, another mass marketer of CPG goods, this week named Zena Arnold as chief digital and marketing officer. She previously worked at Google, Kellogg and Procter & Gamble. The appointments are another sign that women not only are in leadership roles at big companies, but also that digital marketing has become more important.

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