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Broadsheet

The Broadsheet: February 20th

By
Deena Shanker
Deena Shanker
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By
Deena Shanker
Deena Shanker
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 20, 2015, 8:03 AM ET

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Marissa Mayer shows off Yahoo’s mobile success and Afghanistan’s first lady challenges us to do better. Tell me something interesting atdeena.shanker@fortune.com.

EVERYONE'S TALKING

•Mayer mobilizes. For all of the negative press Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer seems to get, she still deserves credit for her success in the mobile sector. Yesterday, Mayer hosted the company's first-ever mobile developer conference, unveiling new app-enhancing products — and casually mentioning the $1.2 billion in mobile-related revenue the company brought in last year. But the real shocker wasn't about Yahoo. It was about us: Mayer said consumers spend an average of 177 minutes each day on their smartphones. USA Today

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

•Truths and dares. In an interview with Fortune's Nina Easton, Afghanistan's first lady Rula Ghani dared pretty much everyone to change their perspectives. Ghani, a trained journalist who speaks five languages, said Islamic fundamentalists should remember the strong women in their own histories, and the world should see Afghani women as peacemakers working to improve their day-to-day lives.  Fortune

•Calling all researchers. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it's taking proposals for studies on different ways to handle campus sexual assaults. As the Chronicle of Higher Educationpointed out, it's not the first time — and doesn't guarantee any actual change.

•Locked and loaded. Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson called the government's new drone export policy a "win-win." Her company builds the Hellfire missiles found on General Atomics' Predator and Reaper drones. Reuters

•Out of luck. Thailand's first female prime minister, the now deposed Yingluck Shinawatra,faces a possible 10-year jail term. Yesterday, the country's attorney general charged Yingluck with negligence for taking part in a scheme involving rice subsidies alleged to have cost Thailand billions of dollars. Yingluck denies the charges. Reuters

•Kleiner Perkins hits back. Accused of gender bias and retaliation by former employee (and current Reddit CEO) Ellen Pao, Kleiner Perkins this week filed a brief stating its defense. Kleiner contends that the $300,000 to $380,000 that Pao was paid between 2008 and 2011 was more than her male colleagues' compensation. Biz Journals

•No easy task. Can Marine Le Pen reshape the French National Front's image? The anti-immigration, anti-European leader is toning down the rhetoric of her party, once known for its anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories. Some see her as a presidential candidate for 2017; others see her as a "political joke," according to the Times. NY Times

•Moving ahead.23andMe funder and CEO Anne Wojcicki took a step forward in her struggle with the FDA, which had banned her DNA-testing startup from marketing its services to consumers. The agency cleared 23andMe to offer testing for a rare genetic disorder called Bloom syndrome. NY Times

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• Fifty shades or black and white?  In her column for Fortune, Roxane Gay explores whether a mentor-mentee relationship should ever become romantic. Her answer? Nope.  Fortune

• Real talk. Columnist Ann Friedman offers 22-year-olds advice for the real world. "Don’t wait for permission to put your ideas out into the world."Fortune

• Happy anniversary, second-wave feminism! This week marks 52 years since the publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminist Mystique.TIME

• Women CFOs rule. A new study found that female CFOs were less likely than males to engage in risky tax-avoidance measures that could lead to corporate fraud. Moreover, gender-balanced boards had relatively fewer SEC violations. The Atlantic

• Say goodbye to Hollywood. Lingerie retailer Frederick's of Hollywood is reportedly planning to close 31 stores. The company, which has been in business since 1947, filed for bankruptcy in 2000 and went public in 2006. Fortune

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ON MY RADAR

Chief, and Novelist, Helps to Fix Britain's Troubled Markets NY Times

Is it a rut, burnout, or worse? Decoding work stressFast Company

Why powerful people are rarely punished appropriately Fortune

Cartoon Network to reboot 'Powerpuff Girls' The Wrap

Two new studies add to scrutiny of gynecology tool WSJ

The last Jewish mother on television Tablet

QUOTE

Better to tell the story yourself than to let someone else tell it for you and tell it poorly.

Day Street Books executive editor Carrie Thornton to Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon on why she needed to write her new memoir,
About the Author
By Deena Shanker
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