With the beginning of a new year, defense giant General Dynamics’ new CEO, Phebe Novakovic, became the 21st woman Fortune 500 CEO, a first. Novakovic, along with Marilyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin’s recently appointed CEO, are the first women to lead the two defense firms. Three other notable tech companies with women at the helm are IBM and engineer Ginni Rometty, Hewlett Packard with (former P&Ger) Meg Whitman, and Yahoo with Marissa Mayer.

It’s exciting to see that women are starting to reach the top in industries other than the traditional areas of retail and beauty. Still, Catalyst points out that 21 women out of the top 500 companies makes for only 4.2% of the total CEO ranks. And unfortunately, the numbers in the second 500 are no better – women make up only 4.2% of the CEOs in the Fortune 1000.

But just like women have made historic progress in politics, with 20 women in the United States Senate this year, we will continue to advance in the corporate world as well!