Think about what a CEO is. They’re the face of a public company, the main ambassador to the public, the media, investors, to the employees. CEOs often have very significant technical and product expertise, but they all must be capable of being the IMAGE of a company. So it should not be too surprising that many CEOs rise to that position partially based on our biases.

Biases can be based their literal physical image was covered by OP, but a Harvard Business Review paper i once read found interesting correlations between CEOs and their names: One syllable, “familiar” sounding names are overwhelmingly more common in male CEOs vs the general frequency of those names in the population. We feel more relatable to Bill/Steve/Jeff than we do to a Stephen/William/D’Brickashaw. What about female CEOS? 3 or more syllable, classic sounding names are overwhelmingly more common among female CEOs than in the general population because of unconscious perception that a woman is more serious and competent if her name is Barbara or Jennifer or Eleanor.

Males in executive management have an advantage over other males if they are perceived as being likeable and friendly; Executive males must try to fight against the bias people have against them (that they’re Type A douchebags). Females in executive management have an advantage over other females if they are perceived as more competent and professional; executive women must fight against the bias people have towards businesswomen (that they’re just their to look pretty and add diversity, or that they aren’t to be taken seriously).