A popular feature of Glamour magazine is its “Dos and Don’ts” section, featuring snapshots of women’s fashion choices. As editor-in-chief of the venerable magazine, Cindi Leive ’88 is a definite “do”—not only for her fashion and business savvy but also for her commitment to better inform women through the pages of the lifestyle magazine. In a publication that seems to tout appearance over substance, Leive takes pride in Glamour’s rich history of advocacy for women.

“Glamour was the first magazine to put an African American woman on its cover, to write about abortion rights, and to address its female readers from the viewpoint of working outside the house,” says Leive, who lives in Manhattan. And since 1990, the magazine has sponsored the “Glamour Women of the Year” awards, honoring women who have made significant contributions to the worlds of entertainment, business, sports, science, politics, and philanthropy.

“I want women to have a 360-degree view of their own lives, not just the part involving guys and dating,” says Leive, who assumed the top position at Glamour in May 2001, at the age of 35, making her the youngest editor-in-chief in the magazine’s 64-year-old history. In 2002, she was named by Crain’s New York Business as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 Executives” in New York. Before returning to Glamour, where she had previously worked for 11 years, she was editor-in-chief of Self magazine.

With a circulation of 2.2 million (including newsstand purchases), which concentrates among women 18 to 45 years old, the magazine’s focus, says Leive, is to help women in their quest for personal happiness.

“Post-Sept. 11, it’s more important to women who might have previously only defined themselves by their job or relationship to get to a more soulful level. But we also know they’re still interested in jobs, fashion, and beauty.

“Every day, I hear women who have six-figure incomes, great families, and jobs talk about hating their thighs. I want the magazine to shake them. There are enough sexists and Neanderthals to get in our way. We don’t need to do it to ourselves,” she says. “We’re telling readers that they can do whatever they want with their lives.

“We have a mission of aggressive self-acceptance. When we showed full-figured models throughout our ‘body-love issue,’ we got hundreds of letters from readers saying they literally wept as they saw their own body type for the first time in a magazine.”

The magazine shakes its readers by getting them to take charge of their health.

Leive cited a reader who had a suspicious mole checked out after reading a story on melanoma in Glamour. Turns out it was cancerous but caught early enough to be treatable. Another woman recognized the signs of pre-eclampsia in her pregnant sister after reading about the symptoms in the magazine and got her the treatment she needed. In response to the many articles on quitting smoking, readers tell the magazine they finally had the push they needed to quit.

Attending the fashion shows is probably the most glamorous part of Leive’s job. “That’s when you trot out your designer clothing,” says Leive, who is wearing a Gucci suit but also has garments from Old Navy in her closet. “Sadly, it’s a big fat rumor that designers send us their clothes to wear.”

Shaping the magazine and impacting women’s lives is “a thrill” for Leive.

“It’s a dream job to reach 12 to 13 million women each month,” says Leive, referring to the standard industry research number of people who read the magazine.

Leive, who manages a staff of 80; a multimillion-dollar budget; and an infant daughter, Lucy, born last November to her and her husband Howard Bernstein, a film producer, says her favorite part of the job is reading the mail.

“We get 1,000 pieces of reader mail each week. It ranges from the mundane to the global. It makes me respect women even more. They’re funny, honest, and sometimes pissy. They make you respect their fierce intelligence,” she says, “and are a great source for getting story ideas.”

—Audree Penner