23AndMe CEO Anne Wojcicki Among female CEOs protesting Forbes list: NPR

Anne Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of 23andMe, speaks during the TechCrunch Disrupt 2018 Summit in San Francisco in September 201[ads1]8.

Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Anne Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of 23andMe, speaks during the TechCrunch Disrupt 2018 Summit in San Francisco in September 2018.

Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images

" We blew it ."

It was Forbes editor Randall Lane's review on Twitter after his publication published a list of America's 100 most innovative leaders that included only a single woman.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and Tesla's Elon Musk tied for the top spot. The only woman on the list, Barbara Rentler, CEO of Ross Stores, clocked in at 75.

The reaction to the severe shortage of women was swift and sharp.

Replies to Resma Saujani's tweet include politician Stacey Abrams, makeup brand Glossier founder Emily Weiss, Kimberly Bryant in Black Girls Code, Refugee Coffee Company CEO Kitti Murray , Spanx inventor Sara Blakely, Rihanna and Serena Williams.

And in the event Forbes needed more names, dozens of female CEOs – 46 at last, included designer Stella McCartney; Mariam Naficy, Founder and CEO of Minted; and Sarah Leary, co-founder of NextDoor – signed an open letter to Forbes . Written by journalist Diana Kapp, author of the book Girls Who Run The World, the letter asks the magazine to "revise the criteria that determine who makes the cut."

Anne Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of genetic testing company 23andMe, signed Kapp's letter in the hope that it would encourage better representation.

"People are only acutely aware of the importance of diversity," says Wojcicki All Things Tatted . "And when something so obviously missing – an entire population – it really shows up and it gets the attention of everyone now."

And she says that such titles are not just about bragging rights.

"People think of these lists," she says. "They go online thinking about board members or advisors and who it is that can help solve a problem. I think there are real ripple effects when this type of press dominates. It's not just an article. That's how women are generally perceived . "

Wojcicki says she is glad Forbes has admitted errors and is forming a working group to make sure this error is not repeated. But for that reason, she sees this as a problem with supervision.

"It's a little shocking that this actually came through," she says. "I'd like to see their editorial policy on diversity represented at the top as they start to think about & # 39; what are the lists we're going to put out? & # 39;"

When asked who she wanted to add to the list of innovative leaders, she immediately mentioned her sister Susan Wojcicki, one of Google's founders and current CEO of YouTube.

"There are only a huge number of women out there who are phenomenal leaders."