Forbes Editor Admits ‘Opportunity Missed’ After Blowback Over Innovators List With 1 Woman Out of 100
Forbes has been panned for having only one woman on its recent list of 100 innovators
Lindsey Ellefson | September 9, 2019 @ 8:35 AM
Last Updated: September 9, 2019 @ 8:53 AM
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Forbes editor Randall Lane responded to a weekend’s worth of criticism for the magazine’s lack of female representation in its list of 100 innovative leaders, saying that he understands the criticism before explaining the publication’s methodology behind its rankings.
“While I enjoy a subjective list as much anyone, the kind where you sit around a room debating and adding and culling, the vast majority of Forbes lists are data-driven exercises, where we determine a methodology, crunch the numbers and let the chips fall where they may,” Lane wrote on Sunday in a post titled “Opportunity Missed: Reflecting On The Lack Of Women On Our Most Innovative Leaders List.”
“In the case of the new innovative leaders ranking, we’ve been honing its methodology for years, through our Most Innovative Companies list, in partnership with professors at BYU and INSEAD, who have pioneered the idea of an ‘innovator’s premium’ – publicly-traded companies valued at a number beyond what their mere financial performance justifies.”
Anger built online Thursday when the list, topped by a first-place tie between Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, was released. Only one woman, Ross Stores’ CEO Barbara Rentler, appeared in the list, landing in the No. 75 spot. As of Monday morning, the page attached to her name still doesn’t feature a photo.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves. It’s 2019 and America’s Most Innovative Leaders is 99 MEN AND ONE WOMAN? Un-bloody-believable. Did no one at Forbes query this? Where were @forbeswomen?” ad consultant Cindy Gallup wrote on Friday.
In explaining the methodology of the list’s creation, Lane wrote, “This pool ultimately proved the problem: women, as we all know, are poorly represented at the top of the largest corporations (just 5% of the S&P 500) and fare even worse among growing public tech companies. In other words, for all our carefully-calibrated methodology, women never had much of a chance here.”
“In the past, when a list lays bare larger cultural issues, we’ve created learning moments,” he continued, noting, “In this case, we should have similarly used this moment to delve into the larger problem of women ascending to CEO. We own that.”
Ultimately, Lane wrote, that the methodology was flawed when “at a minimum when it came to being more expansive with who was eligible to be ranked,” and a “rethink of America’s Most Innovative Leaders” is being added to the task list at Forbes.
Rentler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
10 Films Directed by Women to Check Out This Fall, From 'Frozen 2' to 'Little Women' (Photos)
After years of criticism over the lack of gender diversity among directors in Hollywood, studios are finally starting to hire more women. 2019 is the first year that all major studios are releasing at least one film directed by a woman, and this fall's slate has plenty of women contributing movies, from animated blockbusters to potential Oscar contenders. Here are 10 to look out for.
Lorene Scafaria - “Hustlers” (Sept. 13)
The writer of “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” will direct this crime dramedy for STX based on Jessica Pressler’s New York Magazine article “The Hustlers at Scores.” The film features a cast led by Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez in a true story about a team of strippers who seduced and stole from Wall Street’s elite after the 2008 recession.
STX
Jill Culton - “Abominable” (Sept. 27)
September usually has an animated feature on the release slate, and this year’s offering comes from DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio with Jill Culton’s tale about a Shanghai girl who goes on an adventure to help a Yeti return to Everest. Culton, who directed “Open Season” for Sony, left and returned to “Abominable” during its development.
DreamWorks Animation
Kasi Lemmons - “Harriet” (Nov. 1)
Every weekend in November will have a film made by a woman hitting theaters, starting with Focus Features’ biopic starring Cynthia Erivo as the famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Kasi Lemmons, who directed Samuel L. Jackson in “Eve’s Bayou,” is working here with a cast that includes Janelle Monae and “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom Jr.
Focus Features
Alma Har’el - “Honey Boy” (Nov. 8)
Next is a film that left Sundance utterly speechless. Alma Har’el, a longtime commercial director who has fought bias in the ad industry, directs longtime collaborator Shia LaBoeuf in “Honey Boy,” a film written by LaBoeuf as an unflinching examination of his life as a child actor. LaBoeuf stars as a character based on his abusive father.
Amazon Studios
Elizabeth Banks - “Charlie’s Angels” (Nov. 15)
Having previously directed “Pitch Perfect 2,” Elizabeth Banks is bringing “Charlie’s Angels” back to the big screen, and also starring as this incarnation's Bosley to a new team of Angels (Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska) in a Townsend Agency that has expanded worldwide.
Sony
Marielle Heller - “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (Nov. 22)
November 22 will be the big weekend. Marielle Heller, who last year directed Melissa McCarthy to an Oscar nomination in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, helms this biopic based on the friendship between writer Tom Junod and Mister Rogers, played by Tom Hanks.
Sony
Jennifer Lee - “Frozen II” (Nov. 22)
On the same weekend, Jennifer Lee will team up once again with Chris Buck to bring Anna and Elsa back to the big screen. “Frozen” catapulted Jennifer Lee into the top tier of animators, and last year she was named the new creative head of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Disney
Melina Matsoukas - “Queen & Slim” (Nov. 29)
But while “Frozen II” will be a family delight, Melina Matsoukas will be bringing something much darker. Written by Lena Waithe, “Queen & Slim” stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as a couple who must go on the run after they shoot a police officer during a traffic stop gone wrong.
Universal
Chinonye Chukwu - “Clemency” (Dec. 27)
Alfre Woodard stars in this year’s Sundance U.S. Dramatic Jury Award winner that also looks like a strong awards season contender. Director Chukwu became the first black woman to win that prize with this tale about a prison warden who oversees inmates on death row. .
NEON
Greta Gerwig - “Little Women” (Dec. 25)
Another likely awards season contender from Gerwig, still riding high from her “Lady Bird” Best Director nomination, this is the eighth feature adaption of the Alcott literary classic. The murderer’s row of a cast includes: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Meryl Streep and Timothée Chalamet. Get ready for this one to be talked about for months.
Sony
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From Heller to Gerwig and beyond, the opportunities for female filmmakers to shine are growing
After years of criticism over the lack of gender diversity among directors in Hollywood, studios are finally starting to hire more women. 2019 is the first year that all major studios are releasing at least one film directed by a woman, and this fall's slate has plenty of women contributing movies, from animated blockbusters to potential Oscar contenders. Here are 10 to look out for.
STX
