Belgium lags behind on female CEOs, while CEO pay has risen faster than general labour costs over ten years 

The findings come from the annual study on the remuneration of listed companies CEOs by the Executive Remuneration Research Centre at Vlerick Business School. Professor Xavier Baeten and Senior Researcher Marthe Van Hove analysed remuneration data for the 2025 financial year. The Belgian dataset covers all companies in the Bel 20, Bel Mid and Bel Small, while the European benchmark is based on the Stoxx Europe 600. The figures were extracted from remuneration reports using a large language model developed with Deloitte. 

Only three female CEOs across 66 Belgian listed companies 

Belgium performs poorly on female representation at the top. At the end of 2025, only three of the 66 Belgian listed companies studied had a female CEO - just 4.5%. In the Stoxx Europe 600, the share of female CEOs stood at 9.6%, a sharp increase from 3.2% in 2016. 

The European sample does have an important nuance. After controlling for factors including company size, profitability and country of listing, the study found no statistically significant effect of gender on any component of CEO remuneration such as base salary, short- and long-term variable remuneration, or total remuneration. In other words, it found no evidence that female CEOs earn significantly less than male CEOs. 

Median remuneration rises in the Bel 20 but falls in the Bel Mid and Bel Small 

Median total remuneration, including fixed salary, short-term bonus and long-term remuneration, amounted in 2025 to €3,249,518 in the Bel 20 (€3,092,587 in 2024), €1,109,705 in the Bel Mid (€1,293,480 in 2024) and €735,338 in the Bel Small (€941,191 in 2024). 

Over the 2016–2025 period, median gross total CEO remuneration rose by 47.9% in the Bel 20, 46.7% in the Bel Mid and 31.2% in the Bel Small. By comparison, gross hourly labour costs in Belgium increased by 24.9% between 2016 and 2024. 

The decline in the Bel Small should be interpreted cautiously because the composition of the index has changed. Among the 15 companies included in the analysis in both years, the median increase was 5%; nine recorded an increase and six a decrease. 

ESG criteria continue to gain ground in CEO bonuses 

Almost all Belgian companies combine financial and non-financial criteria to determine the CEO’s short-term bonus. In 2025, 100% used financial criteria and 90% non-financial criteria. Financial criteria carried the greatest weight on average: 61%, compared with 39% for non-financial criteria (such as employee and customer satisfaction). 

ESG criteria have become further embedded in bonus setting. In 2025, 80% of Belgian listed companies included at least one ESG criterion in the short-term bonus, up from 59% in 2023 and 53% in 2016. Emissions and climate criteria in particular saw strong growth: 25% of Belgian companies used such a criterion, compared with 8% three years earlier. On this point, however, Belgium still lags behind the European benchmark, where 37% of companies include a climate criterion in the short-term bonus. 

The most common financial criteria include accounting measures such as profit, cash flow and EBITDA (81% of companies) and revenue-related indicators (58%). Among non-financial criteria, measures relating to the company’s own workforce are the most common (39%), followed by climate criteria (25%) and criteria relating to consumers and end users (19%). 

Transparency on benchmarking remains limited 

Companies often benchmark CEO pay against a reference set known as a peer group.  Yet only 13 of the 66 Belgian companies studied, 19.7%, names the peers they use. Among those that disclose their peer group, the median number of peers is 15 companies; the middle half use between 12 and 20 comparators.