First , the good news . News organizations -- including CNN , The New York Times , The Washington Post and Bloomberg -- are asking : Where are the women ? They 've noticed that President Obama 's nominees for his national security team and Cabinet , including Secretary of State , Defense , Treasury , and Director of the CIA , have excluded the talent of potential female appointees . As co-founders of the Women 's Media Center , whose purpose is to make women more visible and powerful in the media , we want to say thank you for noticing . Now , the bad news . President Obama is n't answering . He would n't have been re-elected without 55 percent of the women 's vote , something he earned by representing women 's majority views on issues , yet now he seems to be ignoring women 's ability to be not only voters , but leaders . Fortunately , there are still possibilities . A second-term President Obama still has time to demonstrate his commitment to equality in a different but equally important area of the federal government , the agencies that have oversight of the media and telecom industries . Media companies have some of the most powerful resources at their disposal in shaping attitudes and culture . But media culture , from our TV shows to advertising , is often deeply sexist and normalizes roles that limit everyone . There is a powerful `` bully pulpit '' effect to having women at the head of these agencies . Four important agencies regulating media include the Federal Communications Commission , the Federal Trade Commission , the U.S. Department of Justice 's Antitrust Division and the Commerce Department 's National Telecommunications and Information Administration . One slot has already been filled by a man . On January 3 , William J. Baer was sworn in as assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division . Erin Burnett : White men to fill Obama 's cabinet . That could leave three . We say `` could '' because it 's not yet 100 % clear that the heads of the FTC or FCC will be stepping down , though top appointees do shift around in a president 's second term . For instance , there has already been speculation that Lawrence E. Strickling , assistant secretary for communications and information , which manages the National Telecommunications and Information Administration , is in the running for FCC chair . Why not an equally logical woman 's name ? Karen Kornbluh , who has just returned from serving as U.S. ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development , was one of six women called qualified by the National Journal . Others named as possible FCC chairs were FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel , Clinton administration FCC executives Susan Ness and Cathy Sandoval and Obama adviser and communications expert Susan Crawford . Obama 's Cabinet shaping up to be a boys club . We 're glad to say the FCC has had black chairmen . William Kennard , for example , made a top priority of closing the digital divide for African-Americans and for Americans with disabilities . It 's unfortunate that there have not been more , though we live in a diverse country in which white Americans are about to become the minority . Never in the 80 years of the FCC has a woman of any race or group been its chair , though women have been the nation 's majority for a long time . Then there 's the Federal Trade Commission , which has broad oversight over everything from price fixing at the gas pump to whether Google is a monopoly . It includes the Bureau of Consumer Protection , which monitors false and deceptive advertising . Women still have most of the purchasing power in households . According to GfK MRI 's Spring 2011 Survey of the American Consumer , 75 % of women are the primary shoppers for all household products . Women are more likely to have the expertise for such decisions in the interest of consumers and also to be affected by those decisions . As we step into 2013 , America 's media are still largely run by men . Women hold only 6 % of all TV and radio station licenses . It 's long past the time to close the gender gap in our nation 's leadership and in the media and telecom industries ' leadership especially , where in 2011 only 28.4 % of TV news directors were women , according to the Women 's Media Center 's 2012 Status of Women in the U.S. Media report . We thought President Obama wanted women in his inner circle . Right now , the makeup of that inner circle looks nothing like the country .
Robin Morgan , Robin Morgan , Glora Steinem : Obama short on women appointees . They say women helped him win , he must show he sees them as leaders , not just voters . They say media companies shape attitudes . He should name women to head FTC , FTC . Writers : Media is run largely by men . Time to close the gender gap in America media leadership .