Information technology's glass ceiling is cracked, but not broken. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 31 percent of computer and information systems managers are women. That means there are simply too many talented women in IT management for the proportion of female CIOs to remain at just 9 percent.

And since companies seek CIOs who also have business experience, companies can draw from the many women who are general managers or lead other functions such as finance and operations. Whether they will do so depends less on the availability of qualified women and more on overcoming stereotypes about women as leaders.