Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Valentina Zarya (@valzarya) here. The U.S. Defense Secretary wants to let women into combat, TaskRabbit COO and HP Inc. director Stacy Brown-Philpot shares her advice for snagging a major board seat, and we wrap up the news from this week’s Fortune MPW Next Gen Summit. Have a fantastic Friday.
EVERYONE'S TALKING
• Women on the front lines. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that the Pentagon will open all combat jobs to women. But before we start celebrating, it must be noted that simply opening these roles to women will not to lead to a fully integrated military—and many senior officials still need to overcome doubts about the change. New York Times
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
• Violence by women. The tragic mass shooting in San Bernadino is particularly unusual in that one of the shooters was a young mother. According to the Washington Post, only 4% of mass shooters are women. Washington Post
• Hillary on the Billboard. Hillary Clinton has penned an essay paying tribute to female musicians in Billboard's 'Women in Music' issue. She points out that women in music—like in any other industry—have had to fight for their successes. "The trailblazing women executives who are celebrated in these pages aren't just leading the music industry—they're transforming it," she writes. Billboard
• Getting on board boards. How does one go about landing a board seat when only 15% of public company board members are women? TaskRabbit COO Stacy Brown-Philpot, who is the board of HP Inc., gives this tip: Express your interest to everyone you meet. Fortune
• A makeup sale? Avon Products, led by Sheri McCoy, is nearing a deal to sell its struggling North American business to a private equity firm. But a group of activist investors are trying to block the deal, saying there are other ways to fix the iconic direct-sales company. Fortune
• How Aileen picks allies. Aileen Lee, founder and partner of VC firm Cowboy Ventures—and the woman who coined the term "unicorn" to describe billion-dollar startups—explains how she decides which founders to work with. "You have to get under the hood and spend some quality time with someone to understand what they’re really good at. If you don’t, then you’re only going to back extrovert, Type A people who are really good at selling." New York Times
• A designer American dream. Fashion designer Rachel Roy is known for dressing the likes of Michelle Obama and Kim Kardashian. But her first job in fashion wasn't nearly so glamorous, she told Fortune MPW Next Gen Summit attendees. It was a retail job at the local mall, which she started at 14—the age at which her father, an immigrant from India, expected her to start contributing to the family’s expenses. Fortune
• Rousey vs. Holm II. UFC president Dana White confirmed that Ronda Rousey will get a rematch against Holly Holm, following last month's shocking defeat. Time
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Starcom MediaVest CEO Laura Desmond has moved into a new role, chief revenue officer, at ad giant Publicis, Starcom's parent. Carnegie Mellon University professor Lorrie Cranor has been named the Federal Trade Commission's new chief technologist.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
• Anti anti-bias training. Unconscious bias training is the hot new thing in Silicon Valley, but Laura Mather, CEO and founder of Unitive, isn't buying it. “Studies have shown that unconscious bias training doesn’t change behaviors,” she told Fortune MPW Next Gen attendees. Fortune
• A vote of confidence? The Yahoo board's current deliberations, which started Wednesday and will continue today, aren't just about whether the company will sell its core internet business. They're also a test of the directors' loyalty to CEO Marissa Mayer. WSJ
• The problem with 'pipeline'. The conversation about the lack of women in STEM fields often focuses on a “pipeline problem"—or the lack of girls and young women studying these fields. But the term itself is problematic. The Atlantic
• Honesty is the best policy? Kat Cole—who famously rose from Hooters waitress to president of Cinnabon—talked to CNN anchor Poppy Harlow at the MPW Next Gen Summit and explained her strategy to deal with America's fast food backlash: Be honest with your consumers about who you are. Fortune
• Reclaiming a music empire. Lydia Harris' story is eerily similar to that of Empire protagonist Cookie Lyon. A co-founder of now-defunct Death Row Records—the music label that launched the careers of hip hop legends Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur—Harris is still fighting for her place in history. After a much publicized 2008 lawsuit against Death Row co-founder Suge Knight, Harris is starting fresh with a new record label of her own. Vanity Fair
Tune in to Fortune Live today and every Friday at 3 pm ET at Fortune.com. Fortune Live is hosted by Leigh Gallagher and will feature interviews with U.S. soccer star Abby Wambach, Instagram COO Marne Levine, and 23andme co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki.
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ON MY RADAR
5 women quashing preconceptions about Islam on social media Wired
How Jane Vonnegut made Kurt Vonnegut a writer The New Yorker
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey: Laughing matters when leaning in New York Times
Pantone’s new colors of the year are a nod to gender equality Quartz
QUOTE
Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn’t like it. And then I took it off. Backstage.
<em>Star Wars </em>actress Carrie Fisher, on explaining to young fans why she wore the infamous Princess Leia bikini in <em>Return of the Jedi</em>
