The document analyzes media coverage of female CEOs compared to their male counterparts, highlighting that female CEOs receive twice the media attention, with coverage often focused on topics like work/life balance and appearance. It cites examples from interviews with notable female leaders who emphasize the value of diversity and their leadership experiences. A qualitative and quantitative review of Fortune 500 CEO features reveals gender-based differences in media focus, with male CEOs more frequently discussed in relation to business strategy.

1. THOUGH A SMALL GROUP,
FEMALE CEOS ATTRACT A LOT OF ATTENTION
PER CEO,
FEMALES
RECEIVE 2X
THE AMOUNT OF
MEDIA COVERAGE
OF FORTUNE 500 CEOS ARE FEMALE
TOP TOPICS COVERED
MALE
BUSINESS STRATEGY
COMPANY VISION
FINANCIALS
EXPERIENCE AS
A ‘WOMAN’ LEADER
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
BUSINESS STRATEGY
MOST TALKED ABOUT WARDROBE IN THE
C-SUITE? MARK ZUCKERBERG.
BUT OVERALL FEMALES STILL RECEIVE
2.2X MORE COVERAGE ON APPEARANCE
INTERVIEWER:
How do you approach your leadership style as a woman?
MARY BARRA, GM:
I’m here because 20 years ago at GM people valued diversity…And
when you look at all the other women leaders at GM … [they] are in
very significant positions…not something I did, that’s something
leaders before me did.
BUSINESS INSIDER INTERVIEW, NOVEMBER, 2015
BUSINESS STRATEGY
IS A MORE FREQUENT
TOPIC FOR MALES
MALE FEMALE
67% 47%
NUMBER OF TIMES WORK/LIFE BALANCE
IS LIKELY TO BE DISCUSSED IN COVERAGE OF
FEMALE VS MALES CEOS
FORTUNE, BRAINSTORM TECH CONFERENCE, JULY 2015
CARREEN WINTERS
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND PRACTICE LEADER, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
T. 201.964.2410 | CWINTERS@MWW.COM
FOR MORE INFORMATION,
PLEASE CONTACT:
METHODOLOGY: Qualitative review of topics and tonality in profiles/features of female CEOs in top tier business
media in 2015; Quantitative analysis of topics in profiles/features of Fortune 500 CEOs (males and females) in top tier
business media YTD 2016
A comprehensive review of feature and profile coverage of Fortune 500 CEOs
reveals differences in the interest and focus of media coverage based on gender:
= 5 CEOS
FEMALE
INTERVIEWER:
You’re running YouTube and raising a family,
so how does that work?
SUSAN WOJCICKI, YOUTUBE:
Well, let’s see you’re pretty busy… but you know I love my kids, I
love work – I love creating things – I love raising kids and building
products – I love doing both.
FEMALE
MALE