Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Japan gets its first female minister of defense, the Fox News investigation spreads, and Apple says it has no pay gap.
EVERYONE'S TALKING
• Think different? Apple's latest workforce diversity stats, released yesterday, tell a story that's starting to sound very familiar: single-digit progress toward gender parity and still a long way to go. The paucity of women is particularly notable in leadership, which is just as male-dominated as it was last year, writes Fortune's Valentina Zarya.
There are bright spots, though. In fiscal 2016, the tech giant made notable progress on hiring women, who now account for 37% of new hires, up from 31% in 2014 (underrepresented minorities, meanwhile, still account just 27% of new hires). Apple also revealed the results of its pay equity study, saying that it has no gender pay gap. While that's great news, hopefully the company will keep in mind that closing a wage gap isn't just something you can just tick off your to-do list; it requires constant vigilance.
What's your take on workforce diversity reports and wage gap studies? Are they helping close the gender gap in Silicon Valley (and elsewhere)—or just providing other opportunities for companies to pay lip service to inclusion? Let me know at kristen.bellstrom@fortune.com. Fortune
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
• Mayer on the cover. Marissa Mayer appears on the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek just a week after Yahoo announced that it was selling its core business to Verizon. While the CEO is not exceedingly forthcoming in the accompanying Q&A, she does address the criticism she's received about her parenting choices: "I don’t really feel like I chose not to take a maternity leave; it was just a fact of life. I had healthy children. I had a company that needed me. I found ways to make that work." Bloomberg
• Fox drama. The investigators looking into sexual harassment accusations against Roger Ailes are now examining whether other executives knew about the former Fox New CEO's alleged bad behavior and failed to act on it. New York Times
• On defense. Tomomi Inada has become Japan's first-ever female defense minister. Despite having been in Parliament for a relatively short 11 years, she has already been mentioned as a possible future prime minister. WSJ
• Don't ask, don't tell. This week, Massachusetts became the first state to make it illegal for employers to ask interviewees about their salary history. The law is intended to keep companies from basing new hires' pay on what they previously made—ideally stopping employers from perpetuating the gender pay gap. Fortune
• A good look for Birchbox. Birchbox, which has been struggling to reach profitability—and has gone through two rounds of layoffs this year—just caught a break: The Katia Beauchamp-led startup raised a new $15 million investment from its current investors. Recode
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Jill Gregory has been promoted to SVP and CMO of NASCAR.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
• She didn't break the app store. Remember when people were predicting that Kim Kardashian's mobile game would rake in more than $200 million in its first six months? Today, the app is a case study in the fickleness of the gaming world: its revenues are roughly a fifth of what they were at the peak of its popularity. Fortune
• The edge of Glory. Britney Spears has announced that her next album, Glory, is due out Aug. 26. The collection became available for pre-order via Apple Music at midnight last night. Entertainment Weekly
• #OscarsSoIsaacs. Cheryl Boone Isaacs has been re-elected to her fourth term as president of the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the Oscar-granting group’s board of governors. Hollywood Reporter
• Mom jokes. Comedian Ali Wong talks about going on stage while pregnant, getting encouragement from Chris Rock, and incorporating motherhood into her stand-up material. NPR
Share today's Broadsheet with a friend:
http://fortune.com/newsletter/broadsheet/
Looking for previous Broadsheets? Click here.
ON MY RADAR
Where are all the high ranking GOP women? Washington Post
The U.S. women's soccer fights for gold in Rio—and equal pay at home CNNMoney
Olympic opening ceremony to scrap allegedly racist skit with Gisele Huffington Post
Watch out ladies: Your period-tracking app could be leaking personal data Washington Post
QUOTE
On the one hand, I am—or I was—ambitious. On the other hand, if I was having a great love affair or something, I’d say, I don’t want to do anything else. I mean, searching for personal happiness was more important.
Barbra Streisand, on why she turned down some plum roles early in her career
