Thelander PC Digest: January 2024

How are Life Science Male and Female CEOs Compensated Differently?

In March 2023, we looked at the gender pay gap for life science CEOs. Almost a year later, we are sharing new data from the J.Thelander Platform, which looks at the number of female CEOs in life sciences and investigates how the gender pay gap is panning out for privately held life science companies in 2024.

First, let’s take a look at CEO compensation by gender for life science companies with financing below $50 Million and then see how it compares to 2022. 

According to our data: 

• Women make up 22% of CEOs of private life science companies who raised less than $50 million in total financing, which includes biotech, diagnostics, and medical devices.
• At the median, women earn 5% less in total cash than their male counterparts. That number jumps to 10%, when looking at the maximum total cash earned by women and male CEOs.
  • These numbers could indicate a tightening in the gender pay gap within the healthcare industry at the highest levels. Although, there’s a notable gap in equity for women founder CEOs.
• Female founding CEOs still earn 14% less in equity, at the median, than their male counterparts, which can add up significantly depending on the value of the company over time. 

How does this compare to 2023?
Total cash has increased across the 25th, median, and 75th percentiles for all CEOs. However, the gender pay gap has persisted across total cash and founder/non-founder equity. 

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