Women of Color in U.S. News Leadership 2023

Today’s unprecedented moment for women of color who’ve become key leaders in traditional and online media signals what many hope is a cultural shift in America’s newsrooms.

Many of these women are rising to power amid new flashpoints in the nation’s relentless reckonings over racial and gender equality — and, for some, amid hostilities they’ve faced in newsrooms. Often, these women are succeeding White men, who have historically held the industry’s top jobs.

This transformation is reflected, for example, in a fast-tracked Latina editor heading newsroom development at the nation’s No. 1 newspaper. In a Black Pulitzer Prize winner being deputy publisher of the largest newspaper in the nation’s second most populous state. In a Native woman leading the oldest and largest news operation centering Indigenous communities in the United States and abroad.

This Women’s Media Center’s “Women of Color in U.S. News Leadership 2023” report spotlights 20 of these dynamic leaders and their strategies for creating more inclusive newsrooms and expanding definitions of what constitutes news — and, as a result, attracting new audiences whose trials and triumphs, concerns and curiosities increasingly are a part of the 24/7 news cycle.

As these women help chart a future for and boost the viability of American journalism, they are building a more diverse pipeline toward rank-and-file and C-suite positions alike. They are encouraging everyone — especially women — to bring their authentic selves, knowledge, experiences, and perspectives to the job.

Having women of color in these critical, decision-making, shot-caller positions does much to show others that “if you can see it, you can be it.”

Press release: Women of Color Executives Push to Diversify Newsrooms and News Coverage - Women’s Media Center Spotlights 20 History-Making Executives of Color