The Eternal Female CEO Question…
Since I have been following female CEOs (along with male CEOs) for so long, I’ve always been interested in how women at the top answer the inevitable question: “What’s it like to be a female CEO?” Things have certainly changed since the first female CEO made the Fortune 500 list. By the way, that was Katherine Graham when she was named CEO of the Washington Post back in 1972. In fact, just last week, when the Fortune 500 list was issued for this year, 41 female CEOs were included – a record breaker on many counts.
I think that new female CEOs should expect to be asked what it is like to lead a corporation as a woman and here are a few tips:
Expect the question, prepare a consistent answer
Think about responding with 1) it is an honor, 2) you hope that you will be judged first by what you do at the company, and 3) that said, you understand that being a female CEO can be inspiring to others and you are proud to serve as a role model
Consider how you can pivot towards your company’s engagement with Diversity and Inclusion and how important to you it is to provide opportunities for all
I thought I’d take a look at how some women CEOs answered this eternal question over time and how that is changing, albeit slowly.
Ginni Rometty, former CEO of IBM
Ginni Rometty, the first female CEO in IBM's century-long history, left the helm in April 2020 after serving 8 years. She was chairman, president and CEO and executive chairman after stepping down one year ago. Rometty did not want the world to define her as the first woman CEO of IBM. She wanted to be defined as “a good CEO of IBM.” She reconsidered that sentiment a few years later when she realized that you have to be a role model as a female leader. “You have to remember, you might not like it [being asked what it is like being a female CEO] but you are a role model.“
“The lesson in my story is that please evaluate my work and then judge me. I do not want to be known as the first woman CEO of IBM. I just want to be known as the CEO of IBM,” she said.
Adena Friedman, president and CEO of Nasdaq
Friedman was the first woman to lead a major U.S. stock exchange, Nasdaq, and among the very few female leaders to break into the financial industry’s highest echelons.
She insists that gender shouldn’t define her potential or her success. “At the end of the day, my job is predicated on making Nasdaq an incredibly successful business for the long term. And whether I'm male or female, that's what I'm going to be measured on. That's my report card. Gender doesn’t play a role in the performance of the company.”
“Being a woman has not defined her career,” says Friedman. “But part of her mission at Nasdaq is to create opportunities for more women to succeed in finance.”
Friedman acted on diversity and inclusion in a big way three years into her tenure. Nasdaq launched a new rule focused on disclosing the diversity of boards, so investors could make informed decisions if diversity is an issue they care about. The standard is that at least one woman and one underrepresented minority is on every board that’s listed on Nasdaq. Friedman was quoted in the release saying, “Nasdaq’s purpose is to champion inclusive growth and prosperity to power stronger economies.” Nasdaq also announced a new “Purpose Initiative,” designed to support women and underrepresented minority communities with the resources needed to grow and sustain their businesses.
Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture
Julie Sweet is chief executive officer of Accenture and serves on the company's board of directors. She became CEO in September 2019 and its first female CEO.
“There are three things that I have found were really critical in my first year. Listening, prioritizing, and communicating. I don’t think they’re different for women. It’s really about that first year as a CEO.”
Sweet says Accenture sets goals and measures rigorously. Sweet has pledged to get to a 50/50 male/female workforce across the organization by 2025. She also wants women to hold 25 percent of roles at the managing director level. “And remember, we’re tech. This is not a walk in the park.”
Sweet advocates for diversity, inclusion, and workplace gender parity. Diversity is a priority. "A culture of equality helps everyone. It is not a zero-sum game," she told Forbes.
Lisa Su, president and CEO of AMD
Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and the only female CEO of the semiconductor world.
In an interview when asked what it is like to be a female CEO, Su says she’s “honored by it,” but that it’s more important to her “that when you grade AMD, whether it’s three years from now or five years from now, you grade it on that this was a fantastic set of assets that she turned into something special.”
“When you look at the diversity aspect, clearly we haven’t done enough. As much progress as there has been, there’s still not enough women and underrepresented minorities in leadership positions, and I really believe that’s because the opportunities have not necessarily been presented,” she said. “That is more work for us to do.”
Su is pushing the industry to increase the number of women in the field and has set up learning labs at AMD for students from underrepresented groups to pursue STEM education.
Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of GM
Mary Barra is chairman and CEO of General Motors, the first female CEO in its history. When interviewed, she said she was surprised when asked “What’s it like to be a female CEO?” But she said that the question is really more a reflection on the auto industry.
“I think I missed it early on,” Barra said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Autos. She’s come to understand now that some people need role models who they can identify with to help them see a path to success, a concept she said was foreign to her at first.
Barra says the novelty of her gender seems to have worn off. In the past few years, she has focused most of the attention about her gender into one of her own passions: Promoting science and technology studies for girls and boys. She sees a major shortage of workers with science skills coming up through schools. Her Facebook page shows she is an advocate with STEM groups aimed at women, like the Let Girls Learn program through the Peace Corps, but she also focuses on both genders.
“If I can be a role model for young girls, to pursue engineering careers or math and science, that’s a good thing.
Mary Barra said one of the biggest things she’s learned is how important it is to other people that she’s a woman.
Jen Rubio, president and CEO of Away
Jen Rubio is the co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Away, a direct-to-consumer luggage manufacturer and retailer. Rubio co-founded Away, with Stephanie Korey, and they made headlines after raising $31 million, making it one of the largest seed financed female-backed startups.
In an interview with Fast Company, Rubio said that she is embracing the role of female CEO: “I used to shy away from the female founder narrative, because I thought it took away from my accomplishments as an entrepreneur,” Rubio says. “But I now embrace it because it acknowledges that women have to overcome more to be successful. If sharing my store encourages more women to start companies or overcome obstacles like fund-raising or getting products made, then I’m totally fine with it.”