Chapter 5, "Axes of power: Examining women's access to leadership positions in the news media", by Carolyn M. Byerly and Katherine A. McGraw examines how and to what extent women have made their way into the reporting and management levels within the profession of journalism, and whether their presence in the higher ranks of the newsroom hierarchy is associated with a larger amount of women-oriented news content. Although women have made significant strides as reporters and news presenters, the advancement to management and governance roles – the positions of power – has been significantly slower. Looking cross-nationally, the authors test the critical mass theory while also considering the extent to which national development, indicators of women’s status, and the numbers of women practicing journalism might affect women journalists’ place in newsroom hierarchies of the 59 nations they examine. The research is based on the largest global-level study to date on women’s occupational standing within the news industry, the Global Report on the Status of Women in News Media, led by Byerly (2011) for the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF).