Why One Diverse Candidate Isn’t Enough: Broadsheet for June 24

EVERYONE'S TALKING

• Why one isn't enough. There's a magic number when it comes to diversity efforts: more than one.

In a new piece for Politico, civil rights attorney Cyrus Mehri applies what he's learned helping organizations like Coca-Cola and the NFL assemble diverse job candidate pools to the Democrats'  2020 lineup. The female and minority candidates are at an advantage in this election cycle—versus 2016's Hillary-only field, for instance—because they are not alone, he writes:

"A single diverse candidate faces an enormous headwind—and a tiny chance of being picked for the job in the end. In contrast, when interviewers take the time to interview multiple diverse candidates in a fair and competitive process, the dynamic shifts norms and expectations, and creates a situation in which a diverse candidate is much more likely to end up winning the position."

Research backs this up—to an incredible degree. A 2016 study published in Harvard Business Review found there's statistically zero chance of a woman behind hired if she is the only female finalist for a job. Her odds skyrocket when she's joined by another woman. The same is true for people of color.

"Companies were 79 times more likely to hire a woman and 194 times more likely to hire a person of color when the finalist pool included more than one woman or minority," Mehri writes. It turns out, instances of two or more diverse candidates upend a company's tendency to want to maintain its status quo, which is likely mostly male and mostly white.

As Mehri writes, it's asking a lot of one single woman to break the ultimate glass ceiling; "but collectively, the half dozen women running for the nation’s highest office can do it." Politico

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

• Carroll's claims. Author and columnist E. Jean Carroll came forward on Friday to accuse President Donald Trump of sexual assault in the 1990s. Carroll, 75, is one of at least a dozen women to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct; her allegation is included in a new memoir that was excerpted by New York magazine. Trump says he's never met Carroll (despite a photograph showing them together) and argues that her account was fabricated for the purpose of selling books. Fortune

• WeSue. A former HR executive for WeWork has accused the co-working space of gender discrimination, claiming that an overwhelming number of large pay packages went to male execs. Lisa Bridges says WeWork put her on leave and moved to fire her when she raised the issue. The complaint comes as WeWork gears up for its IPO. WeWork says Bridges' claims are meritless. Wall Street Journal

• 'Female Viagra.' The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a drug that's known as 'female Viagra.' Vyleesi, developed by Palatin Technologies and licensed to Amag Pharmaceuticals, is the second FDA-approved drug aimed at women's sex drive; the first was Addyi. Drugmakers have been trying to cultivate the market for years, given Viagra's blockbuster success among men in the late 1990s. Associated Press

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• The queen of racy romance. Judith Krantz, the author of steamy romance novels, died on Saturday at age 91. The former Good Housekeeping editor-turned-publishing and television sensation eventually garnered record-breaking advances, but also spent a great deal of time defending the entertainment value of her work, which was regularly panned by critics. “It’s not Dostoevsky,” she said to The Washington Post in 1986. “It’s not going to tax your mental capacities. It’s not ahhrtt.” All told, her 10 novels sold more than 80 million copies worldwide. Washington Post

• Banner day. Sunday is being called the 'greatest day' for women's sports in Australia, and, indeed, the list of achievements is impressive: Ashleigh Barty won her third tennis tournament of the year to become Australia's first No. 1 ranked player in 16 years; Australian surfer Sally Fitzgibbons clinched the sport's No. 1 ranking; an Australian crew won gold at the Rowing World Championship; and golfer Hanna Green, ranked 114th in the world, recorded a shock victory at the Women's PGA Championship in Minnesota, becoming the third Aussie woman ever to win a golf major. BBC

• Maeve's mission. The New York Times has the story of Maeve DuVally, a transgender woman who transitioned earlier this year while working at Goldman Sachs. In doing so, she tested "just how tolerant and accepting a big American bank could be." New York Times

• Plot twist. One reason Pixar's new Toy Story 4 is so great? Its Bo Peep character, voiced by Annie Potts, is the rare female hero who's "more than just a distaff rehash of old male ones," and her journey in the sequel "doesn't feel secondary," writes Slate's Inkoo Kang.  Slate

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ON MY RADAR

Commentary: Why focusing on diversity numbers won't really make companies more inclusive Fortune

Women's World Cup: Who's up for a big payday?
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Meet Dr. Marijuana Pepsi: The woman who defied critics and wrote her dissertation on unusual names Washington Post

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