Good morning, Broadsheet readers. Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good has another oil spill on her hands, while GM’s Mary Barra is busy writing letters. Read on to learn how to get more women into the C-Suite. Have a great Wednesday!
EVERYONE'S TALKING
• 20 women who are changing the world. To celebrate Marie Claire's 20th anniversary, the magazine's editors put the spotlight on 20 women and girls who are making waves in their respective fields. Melinda Gates, Chelsea Clinton, Goldman Sachs Foundation President Dina Powell and Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards are among the women featured on the list. Their stories are all unique, but the women do have one goal in common: Create more opportunities for women and girls. Marie Claire
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
•Lynn Good battles another oil spill. The Duke Energy CEO is now dealing with an accident that spilled as much as 8,000 gallons of fuel oil into the Ohio River. The spill poses no risk to people living around the area, but Duke Energy's reputation remains on the line. The largest U.S. utility owner is still recovering from a 39,000-ton coal ash spill in North Carolina earlier this year. Bloomberg
•TJX sees profits soar. The retail sector is slumping, but the parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods on Tuesday reported that profits are up nearly 8%. Customer traffic also is climbing, which represents a huge feat for CEO Carol Meyrowitz. WSJ
•Mary Barra sends 1.9 million letters. The CEO of GM urged nearly 2 million owners affected by the recent ignition switch recall to get their cars repaired. The Detroit automaker has recalled more than 16.45 million vehicles this year due to the defect. Detroit News
•Rent The Runway co-founder: We're not in the business of renting frilly dresses. Jennifer Hyman tells Fortune that her company is working to build "one of the most sophisticated technology companies in the United States," adding that she would like to inspire more women to become entrepreneurs. Fortune
•Sallie Krawcheck: The queen bee is dead. The era of just one woman rising up the ranks in senior leadership and being held up as an example is no more, says the founder of global professional women's network Ellevate. "The days of just one seat at the executive table for the female are over" and it's great for business, writes Krawcheck. LinkedIn
•Only one woman makes top-earner list in Japan. Nicole Seligman, president of Sony Corporation of America and Sony Entertainment Inc., is the lone woman, among execs at Nikkei 225 companies, to earn more than $978,000, according to Bloomberg. Seligman is American, which highlights the obstacles women in Japan face in climbing the corporate ladder. Bloomberg
• Portugal is losing the race to get women on boards. Just 5% of corporate board members in Portugal are women. Norway is the European leader with 40% female representation on boards after imposing a quota in 2003. Bloomberg
• Women get their game on. Female gamers make up 48% of the game-playing public and developers are starting to pay attention. WSJ
BROADVIEW
Want more women in the C-Suite? Start with the supply chain
Before taking over as chief executive of General Motors, Mary Barra served as the automaker's executive vice president of global product development, purchasing, and supply chain. The leap to the top job seems logical, but compared to her peers, Barra stands relatively alone. There just aren't that many women at the top of the supply chain heap to begin with.
Women account for 37% of students enrolled in university supply chain courses, but only 5% of top-level supply chain positions at Fortune 500 companies are filled by women, according to SCM World, a research firm that studies corporate supply chains. In comparison, women hold 15% of all executive officer positions at Fortune 500 companies.
Getting more women atop supply chain management is a major part of getting more women into the C-suite, says Beth Ford, executive vice president and chief supply chain and operations officer at Land O’Lakes. The role provides an ambitious executive with a window into every business unit, and is increasingly becoming important for innovation and strategy, she added.
“This field has transformed. It is a critical role in the C-suite of any business,” Ford says. “The representation of women in this area is not where it needs to be. At the same time, it could be viewed as tremendously exciting. The opportunities are there for women.”
Click over to Fortune.com to read my full story.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
•The motherhood penalty becomes the fatherhood bonus. Working dads have an advantage over working moms when asking employers for flexible hours to take care of their children, according to new research. The researchers also found that fathers are more likely to be viewed as "likable" after making the request. Quartz
•Can you be a feminist housewife? Economist Kate Bahn says yes. After years of looking down at women who stayed home, Bahn became a stay-at-home wife herself and it opened her eyes to the cost-benefit analysis. "It makes more financial sense for the lower-earning partner – more likely to be the woman – to take time off to take care of children," she writes. Guardian
•Why workplace diversity efforts struggle. Minorities, including women, often are perceived to be less competent and likable, even in their own eyes. Creating a work environment that encourages colleagues to interact outside of the office could help buck the trend. Fortune
•Startup founder tells girls to skip school and go straight into tech jobs. Online coding school Treehouse is working to fix the gender gap within tech. CEO Ryan Carson thinks getting middle school and high school-aged girls to skip college and start coding in the real world might be the answer. Fast Company
ON MY RADAR
Mo'ne Davis becomes first Little Leaguer on Sports Illustrated's coverSports Illustrated
9 tips for success from Cinnabon's Kat Cole Time
Catcalls are NOT flattering, despite what this writer says NYPost
Anne Archer: Women in Hollywood are doomed Daily Beast
Malaysia needs more women to get back to work Bloomberg
The many sides of Joni Mitchell WSJ
QUOTE
How did I muster up the courage to go after my dreams? Through a daily practice of developing my internal compass, cutting out the noise of external validation and focusing on investing in myself<em>. </em>This practice of investing in self is key in getting more young women to consider technology opportunities.
Victoria Song, a venture capitalist, tells <i>the Wall Street Journal</i> how she started her career as a VC.
