You can read their stories-in their own words-below.įrom Birchbox’s Katia Beauchamp, who had a complicated pregnancy and negotiated deals from the hospital for months on end, to WEX’s Melissa Smith, the public company CEO who set the precedent for how to reveal a pregnancy to shareholders, these women are shaping the realities of early motherhood and leadership for the next generation.Ĭourtesy of The Wing Lauren Kassan, co-founder and COO, The Wing And whether female leaders decide to share such tales is a deeply personal decision.įortune reached out to a number of female founders and CEOs who’ve had babies while running their companies to see if they had experiences they wanted to talk about. Is the story of what it’s like for a founder to fundraise while visibly pregnant, step back from work earlier than she planned due to complications, or give birth in the midst of a pivotal moment for her company relevant to the story of what she’s achieved as business person? That depends on who you ask.

valuations of at least $1 billion) this year have founders younger than 40.

And consider this: More than half of the 10 female-founded companies to achieve unicorn status (i.e. Yes, male founders still outnumber their female counterparts, but the gap is narrower than what we’ve seen more established industries. Factor in the reality that the average Fortune 500 chief executive is 58, and it’s no surprise that we haven’t exactly seen a C-suite baby boom.īut as the tech industry-and specifically, VC-backed startups-have transformed the face of the economy, that’s changing. First, just a handful women become chief executive of a major corporation: This year’s Fortune 500 included 33 female CEOs-a shockingly low number that nevertheless constituted a record high.

The reasons we’ve seen so few female CEOs become new moms while holding the most visible jobs in corporate America aren’t complicated. But in the world of big business, leaders who just happen to give birth while occupying the corner office has remained-not unheard of-but certainly relatively rare.

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