Shareholder activists are increasingly targeting chief executives and women CEOs are paying a disproportionate price, reveals a new study.
The latest report from The Conference Board, using ESGAUGE data, finds that women CEOs in the Russell 3000 are more than twice as likely to face campaigns calling for their removal or criticising their leadership. Between 2018 and 2025, women accounted for 16% of CEO-focused activist campaigns, despite representing only 6% of Russell 3000 CEOs.
This gendered scrutiny comes amid a wider surge in shareholder activism. Campaigns across the Russell 3000 have more than tripled since 2018, peaking at over 400 in 2024 before moderating to roughly 300 in 2025.
CEO ACCOUNTABILITY
“Since the pandemic, campaigns have accelerated amid heightened market volatility and scrutiny,” said Matteo Tonello, Head of TCB Benchmarking and Analytics and coauthor of the report. “CEOs are now held directly accountable for missteps, ESG controversies or lagging performance – making rigorous reviews, succession planning and active board engagement essential.”
The report, produced in collaboration with Russell Reynolds Associates and the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance, draws on public disclosures filed through 31 October 2025. Activists have become far more willing to challenge the authority – and the job security – of corporate leaders. From 2018 to 2025, they launched 127 campaigns aimed at ousting or replacing a CEO, climbing from just 5 in 2018 to 39 this year.
“The CEO often becomes a symbolic focal point,” said Brian Campbell, Leader of The Conference Board Governance & Sustainability Center. “Calls for leadership changes are usually tied to broader campaigns for board representation or strategic redirection.”
HARSHER SPOTLIGHT FOR WOMEN CEOS
Women, however, are facing a distinctly harsher spotlight. In 2025, they accounted for only 8% of Russell 3000 CEOs but represented 15% of CEO-targeting activist campaigns, making them twice as likely to be challenged as their male counterparts.
Researchers point to well-documented biases in performance perception: boards dismiss female CEOs at similar rates regardless of how well their companies perform. Male CEOs, however, are significantly more protected when financial results are strong. Activists may also believe, consciously or not, that women are easier to pressure or more receptive to demands an idea that relies on entrenched gender stereotypes around cooperation and influence.
SHIFTING BOARDROOM DYNAMICS
Shareholder activism reached an all-time high in 2024, with 411 campaigns – triple 2018 levels. But the momentum has slowed in 2025 as markets stabilise and some activists recalibrate strategies.
“The US activism environment is maturing and becoming more complex, characterised by new players, evolving tactics, and shifting boardroom dynamics,” said Richard Fields, Head of the Board Effectiveness Practice at Russell Reynolds Associates. “Boards should stay vigilant through vulnerability assessments, active engagement, clear disclosure and tested preparedness plans.”
The introduction of universal proxy cards in 2022 was expected to tilt proxy fights in favour of dissident investors. The rules allow shareholders to select a mix of company-backed and activist-backed nominees on a single ballot. But the effect has been more muted than many anticipated. Of the 57 proxy fights launched in 2025, only 8 went to a vote. Companies prevailed in 5 of those contests, while activists secured partial gains in 3.
“Institutional support continues to tilt outcomes toward credible incumbents,” said Matteo Gatti, Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. “Director qualifications, refreshment practices, and sustained engagement remain decisive.”
ACTIVIST INVESTORS
Once a booming feature of the activist playbook, exempt solicitations – communications allowing investors to share voting recommendations without engaging in a full proxy solicitation—are now cooling off. Volumes jumped from 109 in 2018 to 380 in 2024, but fell to 239 in 2025, mirroring the broader slowdown in activism. Their uses remain diverse:
- 68% urged support for shareholder proposals, particularly around governance or sustainability.
- 20% encouraged votes against management proposals, including director elections and executive pay.
- 9% opposed shareholder proposals, often targeting ESG measures derided as politically motivated or inconsistent with fiduciary duty.
“Activist investors have become far more sophisticated in their communications,” said Umesh Chandra Tiwari, Executive Director of ESGAUGE. “They now deploy digital storytelling, multimedia campaigns, and carefully crafted governance narratives to rally institutional investors and shape public opinion.”
BIAS IN THE BOARDROOM
The disproportionate targeting of women CEOs is likely to intensify debate about bias in the boardroom and the pressures facing underrepresented leaders. It also adds a new dimension to the conversation around corporate governance at a moment when activism is becoming more ubiquitous, more professionalised and more strategic.
Boards, the report suggests, will need to bolster oversight, ensure robust succession planning, and remain proactive in their engagement with shareholders, particularly as the corner office becomes a hotter battleground.
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