151 soon after steven r appleton the ceo of micron died in a singleengine plane crash this past spring there was some impolitic grumbling should top executives have to disclose risky pastimes like amateur aviation dont shareholders deserve to know when theyre staking their trustand 747sized salariesin people who harbor the curious urge to fly their own planes as jacob weisberg once described the dangerous brain condition thats almost epidemic in some superrich quarters maybe after all ceos are said to be indispensable thats how they amass their nine figures their bodies become in some sense the corporate body donald trumps company is tied to his pompous comportment and gilded hair the same is true for ted turners robust outdoorsiness or richard bransons ambitious athleticism shareholders may be within their right to know if that body is in a precarious position after initially dissembling steve jobs in 2004 finally disclosed to apple employees that he was seriously sick with a pancreatic tumor as he grew thinner and frailer observers speculated about his health and took the measure of his contributions to his company this process ended up being essential to setting up the orderly succession that has kept apple running smoothly since his death but a metastatic tumoror a jfk jr flight hobbycan kill a person it seems reasonable to demand transparency about the insurability of a ceo however reasonableness on this subject points to absurdity in a more recent piquant case namely the suggestion that companies should disclose a peculiarly female health condition when announcing female ceos that health condition pregnancy marissa mayer former google it girl took charge of yahoo last week three hours after the yahoo press release went out the 37yearold revealed that she was six months pregnant im assuming the news didnt shock mayers google office mates she had mentioned the pregnancy to yahoos board when they came calling and they didnt mind but is her delicate condition really shareholderworthy information pregnancy lest anyone still wonders is actually not an illness its a sign of health and a significant contributor to it but thats not really the point no oneeven scolding observers like francine mckenna in forbesreally believes that pregnancy in a healthy woman even one over 35 poses risks to the mother and under sec rules companies dont have to disclose an employees pregnancy except under certain kinds of investigations but the truth is that corporate america as well as political america which is to say america has long been awed by womens bodies and frightened by their effects on the workplace consider the caseswell outside of the kingdom of saudwhere womens bodies at the office are described as distracting or otherwise a hindrance to productivity and thats usually secretaries and interns it should be no surprise that people are unhinged at the thought of the corporation depending on the inner workings of a womans mind and body in the top job what if they get um those weird headaches or their