can anyone tell why A is wrong?

I also chose A.

cans wrote:can anyone tell why A is wrong?

Parallelism issue.

E maintains the parallelism ..

The question is: That the new managing editor.....than that she is a woman

I'll go for E

This is a question that tests two things
1. Meaning
2. Parallelism

We are comparing the rise of a person from the a lower ranks to a leadership position to the fact that it is less uncommon for a woman to achieve such a feat.

A. her being a woman - -meaning error (being suggests a transient state, we can avoid being here.)
B. being a woman is ---plain bad
C. her womanhood ----meaning error (womanhood is nonsensically compared to a landmark achievement)
D. that she was a woman (was? she probably still is a woman)
E. that she is a woman CORRECT - THAT AND THAT PARALLELISM + CORRECT MEANING

That the new managing editor rose from the publications soft news sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than her being a woman.

A. her being a woman
B. being a woman is
C. her womanhood
D. that she was a woman
E. that she is a woman

That the new managing editor rose from the publications soft news sections to a leadership position is more of a landmark in the industry than that she is a woman

E is parallel

IMO:E