Pro-choice.

• Author: Kinney, David
• Position: UP FRONT

I had considered writing about the time I saved Hunter S. Thompson from getting busted when the father of gonzo journalism whipped out a joint in a bar frequented by off-duty Miami vice cops. But the prospect of doing two columns in a row on dead men so depresses me that, rather than ponder the mysteries of life or lack thereof, I'll try to tackle a thornier question: What is it that women really want?

Before I'm accused of being too in touch with my inner pig, let me point out that this is the crux of this month's cover story, probably one of the most difficult pieces we've ever put together. The problem with making the paucity of women CEOs a BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA story is that there's nothing peculiar to North Carolina about it.

Yes, only one of the 14 Fortune 500 companies based in the state has a woman CEO. But there are only eight on the national list, and one of them--Hewlett-Packard's Carly Fiorina--has been booted since it was published last fall. For you stat fans, that means 7% of North Carolina's Fortune 500 CEOs are--is--female, compared with 1.6% nationwide. (And that's with Carly counted; without her, it's 1.4%.)

A woman running a major corporation is a rarity, not only in this socially conservative state but across the country. And what has held them back has not been all that testosterone at the top. "None of the women I talked to complained about ever being discriminated against because of gender," says Senior Editor Ed Martin, who wrote the story. "Maybe that's because the kind of women who succeed don't face this kind of discrimination or can work around and overcome it."

Discrimination, in all its guises, exists, of course, but an even bigger factor is...