Fortune names Insider's Alyson Shontell editor-in-chief

Fortune announced Tuesday that Alyson Shontell, the current co-editor-in-chief of Insider's business division, will become its next editor-in-chief effective Oct. 6.

Why it matters: Shontell will be Fortune's first female editor-in-chief in its 92-year history.

• Fortune’s former editor-in-chief, Clifton Leaf, is stepping down from the role. Deputy editor Brian O’Keefe has served as acting editor-in-chief in the interim.

The big picture: Dozens of newsrooms have been appointing women to top roles in the wake of the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements — both of which addressed issues around inequality and empowering overlooked communities.

• AP earlier this month announced that its D.C. bureau chief, Julie Pace, would be its new executive editor.
• The Washington Post named Pace's predecessor at AP, Sally Buzbee, as its first female top editor in its 144-year history earlier this year.
• Other major newsrooms, like Vox, ABC News and MSNBC have announced new female leaders in the past year, joining companies including USA Today which already has women leading newsroom leaders. Several other major outlets, like Fox News and the New York Times, have women as CEOs.
• Axios last week announced Sara Kehaulani Goo, an alumna of The Washington Post and NPR, as editor-in-chief, and Aja Whitaker-Moore as executive editor. Sara Goo succeeds Nicholas Johnston, who was promoted to publisher. Aja Whitaker-Moore moves up to Goo's post.

Be smart: Women have also gone on to start more media companies in the past few years.

• Jessica Lessin launched The Information, a subscription-based business and technology outlet, in 2013. Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora last year co-founded The 19th, a publication focusing on women's issues.

Go deeper: Women take press lead in Biden era