2024 KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit Report and Speakers

Over the last decade, KPMG has infused itself as part of the DNA for the LPGA and women's golf. Aside from serving as the title sponsor for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and launching its Performance Insights program providing player data and statistics, the company has also championed greater gender equity in business and leadership with its KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit.

As we look back at the impact KPMG has had on the women's game—we also reflect and celebrate the nearly 2,500 executive women who have participated in the leadership programming and network opportunities KPMG has organized to advance women into the C-suite.

“Change requires intentionality. For the past decade, the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit has aimed to positively shift the make-up of corporate leadership in America by supporting and empowering women to ascend to the top executive positions," stated Paul Knopp, KPMG U.S. Chair and CEO. "We are pleased that 69% of past Summit attendees have been promoted since attending the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit including 38% to the C-Suite in leading organizations across the country. We celebrate these women and the progress made while committing to the work ahead of us to further increase representation in the C-suite."

Each year, the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit Study Report provides a valuable source of insight into the success of women in business and leadership. This year’s study examines the progress of women's journeys to the C-suite and the areas that need more attention. Key findings from the 2024 study show that:

73% of executive women say having a C-suite title is a career aspiration and believe the C-suite role is obtainable for them.
78% of executive women report an increase in representation of women in their organization’s C-suite over the last ten years.
68% of executive women report they are part of the succession plan within their organization, which many believe is key to helping women reach the C-Suite.
45% of executive women believe effective succession planning is the key to helping women reach the C-suite.

When surveyed on subjects of representation in the workspace:

81% attribute the progress of C-suite representation to the sponsorship of women in their organization.
61% attribute it to holding leaders accountable for women’s progress throughout the career pipeline.
57% say progress is due to a focus on high-profile and stretch assignments as career accelerators for women.

KPMG has found that a strong majority of summit attendees have seen major changes over the last decade in the overall representation of women in the C-suite. Organizations are being more proactive in supporting women's advancement, and not just a few promotions here and there, but in greater numbers with more frequency.

One executive from the study encourages, "There can be more than one of us at the top. The false idea of scarcity led to a lack of support and created competition. Now we know what was true all along: We can support each other and meet our career aspirations.”

In 2014, only 4.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs were women—today that number has risen to 10.6%.

Other C-suite positions have also seen an increase over the last ten years, showing that now one in four women (28%) hold some kind of C-suite position.

Despite these positive changes, KPMG and the women of the study ask the very important question of, where are the women at the top?

This year's study exposed where women feel challenged comes from believing they would be unable to maintain a healthy work/life balance or would not receive the proper support from management to transition into a higher role. Other responses also reported that they are made to feel as though other top executives question or make assumptions about their skills.

“Top executives make assumptions about women’s skills and capabilities and assume women can only succeed in administrative positions rather than P&L ones, or can only take on smaller roles than men,” said one executive woman. “That needs to change.”

The full report further details ways in which companies and leaders can do more to ensure comfortability as they move to diversify their C-suites through creative strategies such as navigating certain biases with AI. As skills needed for leaders at higher levels shift in an AI-enabled work environment, companies must ensure that technology does not exacerbate social discrepancies and barriers. AI tools must reflect equity and accountability, but those tools should be carefully designed to minimize bias.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a collaboration between KPMG, PGA of America and the LPGA, combines an annual world-class, major golf championship with the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit and KPMG Future Leaders Program – all focused on the advancement and empowerment of women on and off the golf course.

On the theme of growth and development, KPMG has worked to strengthen its Women's Leadership Summit with each passing year. Past speakers invited to Inspire Greatness have included former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Lindsey Vonn, Megan Rapinoe, Annika Sorenstam, and Robin Roberts. “There should be in a great democracy – no lack of opportunity for anyone,” said Condoleezza Rice, 66th US Secretary of State at the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit.

The summit brings together women at the highest level of their respective industries. KPMG has figured out that building a network that nurtures the future while harvesting the excellence of the present proves that strength really does rest in numbers.

This year’s KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit will be held at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 pm PT (12 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET) on June 19. The event will also be live streamed in its entirety at KPMG.com/WomensLeadership.

This year's speakers include:

Geena Davis – Academy-Award Winning Actor; Founder & Chair, Geena Davis Institute
Angela Duckworth – New York Times Best-Selling Author, Renowned Researcher and Academic
Reshema Kemps-Polanco – EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, Novartis U.S.
Paul Knopp – KPMG U.S. Chair and CEO
Kara Lawson - Olympic Champion and Head Coach, Duke Women’s Basketball
Laura Newinski – KPMG U.S. Deputy Chair and COO
Mike Sievert – CEO, T-Mobile
Kathryn Tappen – On-air Personality, NBC Sports and TNT

Celebrating 10 Years Building a Roadmap to the C-suite

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