America's highest paid female CEO used to be a man

Earlier this week, Martine Rothblatt graced the cover of New York Magazine as the new highest paid female CEO in America.

But this isn't your regular story of female success. Why?

Because Rothblatt - the CEO of United Therapeutics, a $6 billion biotech firm - was actually born as Martin Rothblatt, and lived as a man until 1994 when she underwent sex reassignment surgery.

But it's not the transgender aspect of this article that has me interested, it's the fact that Rothblatt - who says she doesn't care whether you call her a "he" or a "she" - must have the most incredibly unique experience of being a person in a powerful position, both as a man and a woman.

Rothblatt made $38 million last year in her role as CEO, putting her at the top of America's highest-paid 200 bosses - yet, she's probably someone you've never heard of.

Her company, which she founded to find a treatment for her daughter after she diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (Rothblatt has four children with her wife, Bina, whom she has been married to for 33 years, since she was still a man) is gaining some serious credibility and spotlight.

New York Magazine wrote:

“It’s like winning the lottery,” Rothblatt said happily, about seeing her name atop the list, during one of the meetings I had with her this summer. But Rothblatt could not be less interested in establishing herself as a role model for women. “I can’t claim that what I have achieved is equivalent to what a woman has achieved. For the first half of my life, I was male,” she said.

Yet it's precisely the gender issue which is garnering so much attention. Her recent cover whipped up a bit of controversy after some transgender activists took issue with the magazine's portrayal of her wearing a suit.

But Rothblatt doesn't believe in gender. She believes in people.

In her 1995 book The Apartheid of Sex she wrote:

“There are five billion people in the world and five billion unique sexual identities. Genitals are as irrelevant to one’s role in society as skin tone. Hence, the legal division of people into males and females is as wrong as the legal division of people into black and white races.”

And yet, the business world - and really, most of the world - doesn't follow the 'progressive' way of thinking Rothblatt does. We know that, because women are still struggling to be heard in the boardroom and are still fighting for things like equal pay.

And while the NYT article doesn't delve into that side of her story too much, Rothblatt told Yahoo Finance of her struggle as a man, and then a woman, in the workplace:

“One of the unique insights I have is a huge appreciation for all of the privileges I received as a man."

“As the oldest son I was expected to do great things… but so many times it’s the oldest son that gets that encouragement and not the oldest daughter. Those things kind of percolate and when all is said and done, only 11 of [the 200 highest paid] CEOs are women because of that.”

She also doesn't think people believe that men are smarter than women, but says there is a “pervasive hangover from thousands of years of patriarchy,” in the modern workplace.

Read the full New York Times article here.

Image: Wikipedia