The downside of publicising your female CEO appointment

Female CEO appointments received three times the amount of media coverage as male appointments, which led to a 2.5% discount in stock trading, research has shown.

Although media attention celebrates the achievements of female CEO’s, and showcases their rarity, the market does not appreciate the coverage.

Female CEO appointments that gained a lot of media attention on the day of the announcement led to, on average, a 2.5% discount in stock trading in the immediate aftermath, according to Ned Smith, co-author of the study and Associate Professor of Management and Organisations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Female CEO appointments that did not receive a high amount of media coverage led to positive market returns, averaging about two per cent.