This article investigates the development of the share of women CEOs and chairpersons in knowledge intensive industries in Sweden from 2000 to 2010. The Swedish national development, covering all limited companies with a CEO, is compared to case studies of the biotech and the ICT industries, with differences in female participation in the highly educated key workforce. The results indicate an increased female representation over time on the national level, but with differences between industries, which can be related to a combination of national political pressure for increased gender equality, and industry specific differences in education level among men and women in the key workforces of the industries.