The World’s Most Powerful Women: May 19

May 19, 2016

Good morning, WMPW readers! Justine Thornton has penned a piece about how hard it is to be a political spouse, one of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram has been found, and Hillary Clinton made roughly $6.5 million last year from her book and speeches. Want to pass on some news about a powerful woman? You can find me on Twitter at @laurascohn. Have a terrific Thursday!

THE BIG STORY

Sympathizing with Sophie

I was disheartened this week when Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of Canada’s prime minister, was criticized for saying she needed more staff to cope with the demands of public life. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. Justine Thornton, wife of former U.K. opposition leader Ed Miliband, has written a piece in The Guardian that sheds some much-needed light on what it’s like to be a political spouse. She writes it’s “harder than it looks.” She recalls a time she was on her way to an event and her dress split in the car. “I had two minutes to try to mend it before the car stopped in front of about 150 television cameras,” she writes. “Doing my job as a barrister in court has never been as stressful.”Guardian

EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

Boosting a brand

Sabina Belli, CEO of the Kering-owned Pomellato jewelry brand, wants to double revenues and boost the global position of her company’s unique pieces. Odds are the marketing muscle of a big luxury company like Kering, which took a majority stake in Pomellato three years ago, will help.

Business of Fashion

Gaining a voice

Emmy award-winning filmmaker and activist Deeyah Khan has launched an online magazine about women and girls of Muslim heritage called “sister-hood.” The non-profit project, funded by Khan’s independent media and arts production company and a grant from a Norwegian foundation, aims to “spotlight” the voices of Muslim women.

Al Jazeera

Back home

One found, 218 to go. A Nigerian girl who was kidnapped by Boko Haram more than two years ago was found by Nigerian soldiers and has been reunited with her family.

New York Times

ASIA-PACIFIC

Shedding light on human trafficking

This is an inspiring story. Filipina street photographer Xyza Bacani, whose moving shots of human trafficking are being shown in a Hong Kong exhibition, went from serving as a domestic worker to gain fame as an artist after a Magnum Fellowship in New York.

South China Morning Post

Lifting kids

Suparna Gupta, a former advertising exec who founded the organization Aangan Trust, is working to improve living conditions for impoverished children in India. Her group provides staff training and hopes to introduce an app to gather information that its volunteers would use to instill safety measures for kids.

Live Mint

THE AMERICAS

Correcting reports

Theranos, the company led by Elizabeth Holmes, told regulators it withdrew two years of results from its Edison blood-testing devices. The Wall Street Journal reports the company sent patients and physicians tens of thousands of corrected blood-test reports. A spokeswoman said Theranos has taken “comprehensive corrective measures.”

Wall Street Journal

Paying Hillary

Hillary Clinton took in roughly $5 million from book royalties and $1.5 million for six speeches last year. Turns out that on the speaking circuit, a prospective president earns a bit more than a former one. Her husband Bill received $5.25 million for 22 speeches.

NBC News

Money from Meg

Meg Whitman doesn’t mind getting in the weeds. The CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise is playing a big part in analyzing the merits of startup companies applying for the $100 million in funding that’s up for grabs at HP’s venture capital division.

Live Mint

When art becomes reality

Actress Robin Wright, who plays a ruthless first lady in the riveting Netflix series “House of Cards,” asked to be paid the same as co-star Kevin Spacey. As she tells it: “I was like, ‘You better pay me or I’m going to go public.’ And they did.” Right on, Robin!

Fortune