Good morning, Broadsheet readers. A tobacco CEO has banned smoking in her own offices and GM CEO Mary Barra posted better-than-expected results in the wake of the automaker’s recall. Read on for an exclusive interview with Melinda Gates on why she is focusing on investing in women and girls. Have a great weekend!
EVERYONE'S TALKING
• Madeleine Albright burns Conan O'Brien. The late-night comedian wrote on Twitter that he was going to dress up as "slutty Madeleine Albright" for Halloween. The former Secretary of State's response? "I'm considering going as a hunky Conan O'Brien - but that might be too far fetched." NYMag
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
• Tobacco CEO wants people to quit smoking. Tobacco giant Reynolds American announced yesterday that it will ban smoking in its offices. CEO Susan Cameron told Fortune earlier this month that she wants to transform the tobacco industry by giving people choices to reduce the harm caused by smoking. “People should quit,” she said, adding that her company is investing in alternatives like e-cigarettes and gum. Fortune
• Duke Energy CEO: 'I don't think of myself as a powerful woman.' Lynn Good leads the largest utility company in the U.S., but she still doesn't view herself as powerful. But when asked what it's like to be one of the few women leaders in the energy sector, she said: "It doesn't make me uncomfortable. I don't even really think about it to be honest with you." NPR
• Twitter’s general counsel talks adversity. Vijaya Gadde grew up in a small town in Texas and said her family was among just a handful of Indians. The KKK had a significant local presence, and Gadde's dad needed their permission to go door-to-door and sell insurance. The discrimination inspired Gadde to become a lawyer because, "no one messes with lawyers,” she said at Fortune‘s 40 under 40 event on Thursday night. Fortune
• Recalls in the rear view? General Motors announced higher-than-expected sales in North America last quarter as Mary Barra's embattled auto giant works to rebound from its recall scandal. "We have real work to do and we are on it. We are changing behaviors to truly value every interaction," Barra said on an earnings call. Fortune
• Best employee perk for women? Nothing. "Yes, you can pay to freeze my eggs, but I can pay for that myself if you just pay me more," Draper Fisher Jurvetson operating partner Heidi Roizen wrote for Fortune's MPW Insider. Instead of giving pregnant women parking spots and other benefits, companies should focus on creating perks that help men and women equally, she added. Fortune
BROADVIEW
Melinda Gates on scalable ways to invest in women
For Melinda Gates, investing in women is not just good for corporate businesses. It’s good for growing economies around the world.
At Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit earlier this month, the lauded philanthropist spoke about the importance of investing in women and girls around the world. “It’s not enough to just talk about women and girls,” Gates said. “We have to be willing to stand up and say, ‘I’m willing to fund some of these things.'” In a follow-up interview with me this week, Gates expanded on her talk at the Summit and explained why she is focusing her efforts on supporting women and girls around the country.
Edited excerpts:
When was the moment that you realized helping women and girls was essential to global development?
When I first began focusing on family planning, it became clear that if you want to make life better for a community, you should start by investing in its women and girls. When I talk to women, a universal desire is to bring every good thing to our kids. Women tend to spend their resources on their families—prioritizing things like healthcare, nutritious food, education and all the building blocks of a thriving society. The way I think about it is that when we invest in women, we invest in the people who invest in everyone else. So when we match their commitment with our own, great things are possible.
You said on stage that we are not helping women and girls enough around the world “at scale.” What did you mean by that?
What I meant is that we—as a global community—have learned a lot of different ways to help women in a lot of different places. Of course, the instinct now is to scale up these solutions and get them to absolutely everyone—but that’s not always a simple process. It’s important to recognize that gender roles vary across cultures, and women’s lives and circumstances are so different. So helping women and girls at scale means spreading proven interventions that work—like family planning tools and financial services—but it also means working with women and men to develop solutions based on their own unique needs and preferences.
You also said that you don’t get a “do-over” with your kids. What are some things you do to ensure you get it right the first time around?
Bill and I are lucky in that we both had really good examples to look up to in our own parents. Both of us grew up in really loving, supportive households that put a lot of emphasis on giving back, and that’s something we’ve tried to replicate for our own family. But honestly, sometimes it’s just the simple stuff. My own mom made a point to have a glass of iced tea with me after school each day so we could talk about what was going on in my life—what I was struggling with and excited about. I’ve tried to provide that same kind of support to my own kids, which sometimes means sharing a snack after school and sometimes means things like going to soccer games. My oldest, Jenn, just started college, and I’m on the phone with her as much as she’ll let me.
Click over to Fortune.com to read my full interview with Gates.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
• The parent trap. An employee’s parental status, not gender, can trigger negative treatment from an employer, according to a recent study. The negative finding actually has a silver lining: It shows it's time to make flexible work policies a workplace issue, not a women's issue. The Weekly Wonk
• The bizarre history of women's clothing sizes. In 1983, the U.S. Department of Commerce withdrew its commercial women’s clothing size standard. Since then, the trend of "vanity sizing" has skyrocketed among American retailers. “We went from size 16 being a model in the ’40s to 12 in the ’60s. Marilyn Monroe was a 12 in the ’60s, which would now be a size 6," a source told Time. Time
• Online harassment is an epidemic. And young women are feeling the brunt of it, according to a new study out by the Pew Research Center. A quarter of women ages 18-to-24 have been sexually harassed online, and 26% have been stalked online. Fortune
ON MY RADAR
What small businesses get wrong about maternity leave Businessweek
Ebola puts Liberian entrepreneurs' lives on hold Fortune
What is takes to manage diverse groups Fast Company
Is there really such a thing as a trophy wife? NPR
Wendy Davis is losing. But she was always going to lose Vox
QUOTE
Trust your own voice and trust your own instincts. When I went to business school and started thinking about what kind of leader I wanted to be, I worried a lot about whether my management and leadership styles were close enough to what I saw others doing. But when, over time, I developed the confidence to stop trying to emulate others and to lead in a way that felt comfortable and true to me, it made all the difference. So trust yourself and trust your own voice. Women speaking up for themselves and for those around them is the strongest force we have to change the world.Melinda Gates' advice for young women.