It's unlikely that it's coincidental that the article is a diversity story about someone who runs a company in the diversity field in a news outlet that is currently running a diversity campaign. Also, sexism in SV is topical so her coming from the Bay area probably helped.

I might be being too cynical but I doubt it. I mean, it's the BBC. They hardly needed to cross the Atlantic to find blonde women who dye their hair to avoid unwarranted attention. In fact, I know a Swedish lady, who worked for the BBC for a while, who does this regularly.