Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Hillary is tweeting up a storm, new gender discrimination suits prepare to hit the courts, and Janet Yellen deletes a key word. Now, a question for you: What woman would you put on the $20 bill? Have a great Thursday.
EVERYONE'S TALKING
• So sue me. It's been a busy week for gender discrimination lawyers. Chia Hong, a former Facebook employee, is suing the social networking company, alleging sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and racial discrimination. Hong, who was fired from Facebook in 2013, is being represented by Lawless & Lawless, the same firm that's representing Ellen Pao in her suit against Kleiner Perkins. Meanwhile, Swiss drugmaker Novartis is facing a $110 million class action lawsuit that alleges that a U.S. division has routinely denied female employees equal pay and promotion opportunities. This comes just five years after Novartis was hit with a jury verdict for more than $250 million over similar claims. Both companies dispute the allegations.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
• Speaking of Ellen Pao... Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist Randy Komisar says there was nothing inappropriate about the book of erotic poetry he gave to former colleague Ellen Pao. Komisar says his wife bought the volume based on the author's interest in Buddhism. Fortune
• Tweets from Hillary. Hillary Clinton has been using Twitter to inject herself into the daily political conversation. So far this week, she's tweeted about the GOP budget, the delay in confirming Loretta Lynch, Congress' failure to pass a fund for victims of human trafficking, and more.
• The Fed signals. A Fed statement released yesterday dropped a prior assurance that it would remain “patient” before raising interest rates, causing speculation that we may see a rate hike by midyear. Still, Fed chair Janet Yellen counseled against overreacting: “Just because we removed the word 'patient' from the statement doesn’t mean we’re going to be impatient.” New York Times
• Who gets your vote? The campaign to get a woman on the $20 bill by 2020 continues. Feminist activist Gloria Steinem, environmentalist Rachel Carson, novelist Gish Jen and several other prominent women weigh in on who they would choose for Jackson's replacement. Who's your pick? Let me know at kristen_bellstrom@fortune.com. New York Times
• Bye bye, Beijing. Yahoo is pulling out of China. The tech company will lay off between 200 and 300 employees and shutter its Beijing research center. The layoffs are the latest in a series of cost-cutting measures by CEO Marissa Mayer. WSJ
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Deirdre Latour has been named chief communications officer at GE. She was senior director of external communications at the company.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
• Snapchat vs. Facebook. When Emily White was hired as COO of Snapchat, observers "expected [her] to be the resident grownup," much the way Sheryl Sandberg played that role at Facebook. So, why didn't it work out that way? According to Wired, much of the explanation comes down to the differences between Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.
• Threats in Japan. Japanese police are investigating death threats to the United States ambassador, Caroline Kennedy. The drama coincides with First Lady Michelle Obama's first visit to Japan. New York Times
• Sorel woos women. Bootmaker Sorel sold more than $166 million worth of footwear in 2014, up nearly 30% compared to the previous year. Why the spike? The company revised its strategy to "make this about women, women, and women," says president Mark Nenow. Bloomberg
• Cutting corruption? In the wake of massive protests calling for her impeachment, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff announced a series of anti-corruption measures. AP
• Seeking smarts. Nancy Dubuc, chief executive of A&E Networks, says her management style is built on trust. And when it comes to hiring, Dubac says she relies on intuition. Her number one rule? "I’ve always hired people who are smarter than me." The New York Times
Share today's Broadsheet with a friend:
http://fortune.com/2015/03/19/the-broadsheet-March-19th/
ON MY RADAR
Fashion's bold new future has no gender Racked
French Parliament debates weight standards for fashion models New York Times
New American Apparel ad banned for being too racy Fortune
Gender balance benefits workplace, but gap remains CFO
New feminist Thor is selling way more comic books than the old Thor Fusion
QUOTE
The idea of being indignant that somebody else wants to be treated the same as you is kind of remarkable to me. I think history has shown that people on the side of equality and progress are right in the end.
Filmmaker Shannon Sun-Higginson
