Experienced Women Leave C-Suites for Startups as They Hold Just 29% of Top Roles

1 articles · Updated · Forbes · Aug 18

Women with 20 to 30 years of experience are increasingly leaving senior corporate jobs for consulting, fractional executive work and businesses they control themselves, recruiters and recent leavers say.
29% of C-suite seats are still held by women, unchanged since 2024, while McKinsey’s 2025 survey found 84% of senior women were seeking promotion versus 92% of senior men amid weak sponsorship and support.
2024 data show women started nearly half of all new U.S. businesses, up 69% from 2019, and women-owned firms grew 12% from 2022 to 2025—almost twice the pace of men-owned businesses.
Brandy Morton said three fractional clients could nearly double her former salary; she now serves five clients across six brands and rejected a full-time counteroffer to keep that model.
Companies risk losing institutional knowledge and leadership skills as senior women depart, with Gallup estimating replacement costs at 150% to 200% of annual salary before broader client and mentoring losses.

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Are rigid corporate structures accidentally funding their own competition by driving top female executives into independent consulting?

Could the rapid rise of the fractional executive permanently destroy the traditional full-time C-suite role?

What happens to corporate innovation when the most empathetic and experienced leaders walk away to work for themselves?

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