The World’s Most Powerful Women: May 6

Good morning, WMPW readers! A German energy exec makes a comeback, women are underrepresented on U.K. tech company boards, and, if she gets the chance, Melania Trump is expected to be a traditional FLOTUS. Want to share some news about a powerful woman? Get in touch, at: laura.cohn@gmail.com or @laurascohn. Enjoy your weekend!

THE BIG STORY

German widow makes corporate comeback

When German exec Regine Stachelhaus left her HR job at the world's largest investor-owned electric utility in 2013 to take care of her ill husband, industry observers thought they'd heard the last of her. But Stachelhaus, who was the third woman to make the top ranks of a DAX 30 firm, is back in the fray. She sits on boards of four public companies, a university, and a foundation. In Germany, women hold fewer than 20% of such seats. Stachelhaus says women have a tough time in her country. "When they succeed, other executives ask, 'Who helped them?'" she says. "When they fail, they say, 'We expected that.'" She's shown them.Fortune

EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

Truant in tech

While women have made it onto the boards at FTSE 100 companies, they're underrepresented in the U.K.'s tech industry. In London, only one in four tech firms has a woman on its board.

Guardian

Failing to be flexible

Amanda Fone, chief executive of F1 Recruitment, says to thrive, U.K. companies need to be more imaginative and do a better job of offering flexible working conditions. To prove her point, she cites an analysis of help-wanted ads in the Guardian showing that just 147 of roughly 12,500 jobs were part-time positions.

PR Week

Wishing women would run

Female lawmakers at a meeting in Jordan highlighted the wide gender gap in global politics, noting that 80% of lawmakers and 95% of world leaders are men. To close the chasm, they urged more women to run for office and pressed for gender-equality laws.

Yahoo

ASIA-PACIFIC

Segregation of the sexes

In Australia, Perth has pink female-only parking, and the government has raised the idea of women-only cars in its public transport system. Such measures, in practice in certain parts of Europe, are an attempt to make women feel safer. But what do you think of such policies? Tell me your view.

Guardian

Back to bricks

Falguni Nayar, CEO of online beauty retailer Nykaa, is looking to expand by launching 30 brick and mortar stores. Nayar, a former investment banker, will keep her website to tap the massive growth in India's online market.

Business Standard

THE AMERICAS

Interviewing Hillary's aides

Aides of Hillary Clinton, including Huma Abedin, have been interviewed by the FBI regarding the use of a private email server to manage official State Department business. The probe is focusing on whether Clinton's use of such a server put classified data at risk.

Wall Street Journal

Girl power in the U.S. Senate

Come November, nine states will have female Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate on their ballots. That's nearly a record.

A traditional FLOTUS?

Melania Trump would likely be a traditional first lady if her husband wins the U.S. election. Here's why.

Fortune

Franchising estate sales

Simone Kelly, founder of Grasons Company Estate Sale Services, hopes to build up her business with a nationwide franchise. Kelly, who had 11 franchises last year, predicts she will have 300 in the next four years. That would allow revenue, an estimated $920,000 this year, to surpass $9.8 million in 2020, she says.

New York Times