Sheryl Palmer

She’s Making Room for Women in an Industry Dominated by Men

When Sheryl Palmer became the CEO of Taylor Morrison in 2007 amid a massive recession and housing market collapse, it wasn’t the easiest time to head a home-building company. But Palmer deftly steered Taylor Morrison through the worst of the crisis and then through a successful IPO in 2013. Now, the company boasts operations in 20 markets across the country and has become one of the top-performing stocks in the sector, outpacing the S&P 500 for the last five years. In 2024 alone, the company raked in $7.8 billion in home closings revenue. The only woman chairman and CEO of a publicly traded homebuilder, Palmer has proven that women can succeed in male-dominated industries like construction. Over the last decade, the company increased its number of women holding construction roles by 887%. Women now make up 44% of Taylor Morrison’s workforce — four times the industry average — and half of its board of directors.

By Audrey Goodson Kingo