The Fortune 500 ranks the largest U.S. public companies by revenue; the 500 companies on the list represent $18 trillion in revenue, more than two-thirds of U.S. GDP. The list is a microcosm for American business writ large, so the share of firms led by female CEOs sheds light on gender diversity in executive leadership beyond just this elite cohort.

This year, 52 companies out of 500 are led by female CEOs. That’s an 18% increase from 44 this time last year. Twelve CEOs were hired to their jobs within the past year, a rate that reflects the rapid pace of executive turnover post-pandemic.

The rise of female CEOs signals an understanding among companies and boards that female and diverse leaders are an asset at this particular moment. As Julie Sweet, the chair and CEO of Accenture, says she advises corporate leaders: "The era of A.I. is requiring companies to reinvent every aspect—we call it total enterprise reinvention," she says. Diverse leaders, who also tend to hire more diverse teams that support business innovation, are especially well-suited to that challenge. "Diverse leaders have had to continuously reinvent and adapt at a personal level throughout their careers. They're resilient, adaptable, and have to be pioneers."

Female CEOs join or exit the group of Fortune 500 leaders one of two ways: first, when an existing Fortune 500 company hires, fires, or retires a new chief executive; secondly, when a company's revenue boosts it onto the Fortune 500 or kicks it off. (The revenue threshold for this year's Fortune 500 is $7.2 billion.)

Several of the 12 new female chiefs this year were internal hires promoted to the CEO job within the past year, including Cummins CEO Jennifer Rumsey, American Electric Power CEO Julia A. Sloat, Reliance Steel & Aluminum CEO Karla R. Lewis, ADP CEO Maria Black, Parker-Hannifin CEO Jennifer A. Parmentier, Fidelity National Information Services CEO Stephanie L. Ferris, and Opendoor CEO Carrie Wheeler. Becoming a Fortune 500 CEO is a specific goal some executives set for themselves; for others, it's a byproduct of their career trajectories. Wheeler was CFO when Opendoor, a real estate technology company, joined the Fortune 500 for the first time last year. She was promoted to CEO in December, and says, "I'm just focused primarily on executing—but it's lovely to be on the list. The focus is just making sure that we're driving the business forward."

Others were external CEO hires, like Fannie Mae CEO Priscilla Almodovar, a JPMorgan Chase alum who most recently worked at the affordable housing organization Enterprise Community Partners; and Lumen CEO Kate Johnson, the former president of Microsoft U.S.

Mary Dillon, the well-known former CEO of Ulta Beauty, began her second stint running a Fortune 500 company last fall when she became CEO of Foot Locker. Gina R. Boswell took over from Sarah Nash as the leader of Bath & Body Works. Elizabeth Burr became the interim leader of Rite Aid following the January exit of CEO Heyward Donigan. And Sue Gove has spent the past few months overseeing the bankruptcy of Bed Bath & Beyond—which, for now, is still included among the Fortune 500.

CEOs who no longer appear on this year's list of female Fortune 500 chiefs include former Gap Inc. CEO Sonia Syngal, whose two-year tenure running the retail giant ended last summer, and former Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass, who left the struggling retailer for a role that puts her in line to take over Levi's, which is not a Fortune 500 company.

Clorox, the cleaning products business, fell off the Fortune 500. CEO Linda Rendle is still running that business but is no longer included among this group.

Once again, CVS Health is the largest company, by leaps and bounds, to be led by a female CEO, Karen Lynch. The $322.5 billion company ranks No. 6 on this year's Fortune 500; the second-highest-ranking business led by a woman is Mary Barra's General Motors, ranked No. 21 with $157 billion in annual revenue.

Few women of color lead Fortune 500 companies. Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Roz Brewer and TIAA chief Thasunda Brown Duckett remain the only two Black female CEOs among this cohort. Other Fortune 500 leaders who are women of color include Fannie Mae's Almodovar, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and Yum China CEO Joey Wat.

As companies look to the future, women leaders' skill sets are in demand. Women CEOs exhibit greater humility than a general group of CEOs, along with equal risk-taking, assertiveness, and persistence, according to research by consulting firm Korn Ferry. Such traits can be identified as early as execs' late twenties. With the right attention to the CEO pipeline, the Fortune 500 could "double that percentage" of female CEOs from 10% to 20% in three to five years, says Jane Stevenson, global leader for the succession practice at the firm.