C-Suite: Are Women Leading Sustainability in Tech?
Women remain underrepresented at every stage of the corporate pipeline and make up just 29% of C-Suite positions according to McKinsey’s 2024 Women in the Workplace report.
In technology, this number is even lower at just 25% according to Women in Tech.
But for one C-Suite position in particular, these numbers are very different: the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO).
Of the 60 CSOs at Davos in 2023, 60% were women according to Fortune’s Peter Vanham.
McKinsey’s Diversity Matters Even More report found that leadership diversity leads to better financial performance and is associated with holistic growth ambitions, greater social impact and more satisfied workforces.
“If you look across the board, there's a lot of CSOs who are women, but it's not a woman or man thing — this is existential,” said Christina Shim, CSO at IBM, on the Women in Sustainability panel at Sustainability LIVE Climate Week NYC 2024.
“This is everybody. It's all our communities. It's all our families. It's everybody, all our businesses.
“The only way that we're ever going to make the progress we need to is by creating business value. It's cost cutting and revenue generating as a growth enabler if you allow it to be part of your business.”
The Women in Sustainability panel is returning at Sustainability LIVE London 2025 with women in leadership at RELX, Kearney, Dassault Systèmes and Currys.
Get your tickets to hear from the leaders making real change.
Challenges for women in sustainability
“Our roles are more of an influencer role — I don't have a thousand people on my team running sustainability around the company,” Christina explains.
“It is a small group and what we have to do is tentacle out and make sure that we are touching every function and business unit in the company.
“Especially with sustainability being increasingly important in how we think about our businesses, it is challenging when you're not necessarily in every room to make sure that you have influenced all the discussions.”
Jennifer Motles, CSO at PMI, says: “There are a lot of women in sustainability, but there are still so many barriers for women to actually be able to compete and thrive in equal ways because there's so much of the system that does not make it easy.
“It's important to have awareness of the privilege that we have in the positions that we hold, just by the fact that we are representing our companies in a leadership role.
“It means that you are bringing representation and paving a road that is wide enough that others can work with you.”
Women in sustainability in 2025
At Sustainability LIVE London 2025, four women leading in sustainability will take to the stage:
- Márcia Balisciano, Chief Sustainability Officer, Global Head of ESG and Corporate Responsibility at RELX
- Angela Hultberg, Global Sustainability Director at Kearney
- Dr. Philippine de T'Serclaes, Group Chief Sustainability Officer at Dassault Systèmes
- Moira Thomas, Group Sustainability & ESG Director at Currys
Get your tickets to hear how they navigate being a woman at the top.
About Sustainability LIVE London 2025
Sustainability LIVE London returns to the Business Design Centre on 9 and 10 September 2025.
The event will bring two days of thought-provoking debate, networking and innovation alongside hands-on high-level workshops.
An exciting line-up of new and familiar names will be welcomed to the stage, bringing new insights, strategies and innovations, as well as the opportunity to revisit evolving perspectives for its attendees.
Get your tickets now to network with the biggest and best in the field.
