This piece was originally featured in HR Executive
Tara Flickinger, Partner, ON Partners
Executive Summary
Data from ON Partners’ Women’s Report shows measurable progress in executive pay parity at the SVP, CFO, and technology leadership levels. While full parity remains distant for many women, gaps at senior levels are narrowing, and in some cases reversing. These shifts have meaningful implications for retention, succession planning, and how boards approach retained executive search and c-suite executive search. Pay parity is no longer just a headline about representation, but increasingly reflected in compensation design and long-term leadership strategy. This shift is reshaping the executive pipeline for the better.
The World Economic Forum estimates it could take more than a century to reach economic parity in North America. While this remains a significant challenge, data from ON Partners’ Women’s Report, drawing from more than 1,000 senior-level search engagements, suggests a more encouraging shift at the top.
At the Senior Vice President level and in CFO placements, women are now earning compensation on par with, and in some cases exceeding, their male counterparts. In fact, within the technology sector where leadership has historically skewed male, women in CTO and CITO roles have ranked among the highest earners over the past two years.
This shift moves the conversation beyond fairness. It is reshaping retention, strengthening succession durability, and influencing long-term executive search strategy.
How Does Executive Pay Influence C-Level Executive Search?
Compensation at the top shapes both retention and succession durability.
When expanded responsibility is matched with equitable compensation, advancement signals long-term sustainability rather than short-term sacrifice. When it is not, retention risk compounds — particularly at the CEO level, where women’s average tenure remains 5.2 years compared to 7.9 for men.
Executive mandates today are broader than ever. Leaders are navigating AI integration, investor scrutiny, geopolitical complexity, and operational transformation simultaneously. As role scope expands, compensation alignment becomes essential.
In 2025, nearly 40% of ON Partners’ mandates were C-suite executive searches; environments where compensation architecture, equity participation, and succession durability are central to the board discussion. Decisions made at this level influence not only the individual placement, but the credibility and stability of the broader leadership team.
Pay parity in this context is not an abstract metric. It is a governance decision.
Is Pay Parity Strengthening the Executive Pipeline?
While the broader workforce has not yet reached full parity, there’s no doubt that movement at senior levels is meaningful:
- Executive women (VP and above) earned $457,000 on average versus $486,000 for men, narrowing from $36,000 to $29,000 year over year.
- Women now represent roughly 25% of SVP placements, with average base salaries of $311,000 compared to $303,000 for men.
- Women account for just over 20% of CFO placements, with average total compensation of $450,000 compared to $440,000 for men.
- In CTO and CITO placements, top earners over the past two years have been female executives.
Parity is strongest in roles that feed directly into the C-suite. SVP and CFO positions remain among the most common pathways to CEO succession. As compensation alignment improves at these levels, the durability of the future leadership bench strengthens accordingly.
Bonus and sign-on compensation gaps remain, often tied to negotiation dynamics. The broader direction is clear: parity at the top is strengthening.
What Does This Mean for the Next Generation of Women Leaders?
Compensation at the top shapes who chooses to pursue leadership tomorrow, setting an example that spreads across the organization.
When rising leaders see expanded responsibility met with equitable pay, executive advancement appears sustainable rather than symbolic. That perception influences retention years before someone enters the formal C-suite pipeline.
Parity also strengthens sponsorship. Leaders who feel valued are more likely to mentor and advocate for emerging talent, reinforcing representation over time.
For organizations evaluating why they should use an executive search firm for succession planning, the answer increasingly includes compensation benchmarking, leadership assessment, and structural alignment; not simply candidate identification.
How Does Retained Executive Search Support Compensation Equality?
Many organizations ask, what is retained executive search, and how does it differ from traditional recruiting models?
At its core, retained executive search is a consultative advisory model. Compensation benchmarking, leadership assessment, and succession modeling occur before candidate engagement begins. That sequencing matters, particularly in c-suite executive search, where compensation design influences retention, internal equity, and investor confidence.
At ON Partners, insights drawn from senior-level searches across public and private companies — including leadership mandates at NVIDIA, Samsung, and Walgreens — inform how we advise boards on retained executive search, c-suite executive search, and technology executive search.
In technology executive search especially, role scope has expanded rapidly. CTOs and digital leaders now carry enterprise-wide mandates tied to AI integration and transformation strategy. Without structured benchmarking at the outset, organizations risk misalignment between responsibility and reward.
Retained executive search creates discipline around:
- Role scope calibration
- Equity participation design
- Performance metrics
- Succession implications
In 2025, our median time to close was 106 days, allowing for rigorous market mapping and compensation alignment without reactive market escalation.
That structure reduces bidding volatility, protects internal pay equity, and ensures compensation reflects impact rather than urgency.
Pay parity at senior levels does more than address imbalance. It strengthens enterprise resilience. When compensation aligns with scope and performance expectations, organizations retain leaders longer, stabilize succession pipelines, and reinforce credibility with investors and stakeholders.
In that sense, progress in pay parity is not simply about equity. It is about durability, ensuring that the leaders shaping strategy today remain positioned to drive performance tomorrow.
