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Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Victoria’s Secret’s CMO leads its rebrand, writers remember Janet Malcolm, and a new study quantifies the consequences of bias. Have a productive Monday.
– Patent pending. What are the consequences of bias? It can sometimes be hard to quantify, but new research gives it a shot.
A new study in the journal Science follows the thread from who is awarded patents to what gets created. Researchers from Harvard Business School, IESE Business School, and McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management examined both how many patents are awarded to men and women—and what those patents are for.
Their analysis finds that women are more likely than men in the biomedical field to come up with new medications and technologies for women’s health. But men still receive a greater share of patents—which means society is likely missing out on inventions that could greatly improve women’s health and lives.
“If [women] are patenting less, what sort of inventions might we be missing?” coauthor Rembrand Koning says he wondered while reading about investor reluctance to discuss a smart breast pump.
ReportsSTAT News: “Although the percentage of biomedical patents held by women had risen from 6.3% to 16.2% in the last three decades, men still significantly outnumber women as patent holders and, in turn, health- and medicine-related inventions more often address men’s health. If there was gender parity, there would have been 6,500 more female-focused inventions during the time the researchers studied, according to their findings.”
That’s a pretty clear consequence of bias: 6,500 missed opportunities, and that’s only in biomedicine. This study shows the real world results of inequity and the cost of not rooting it out.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet, Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women, is coauthored by Kristen Bellstrom, Emma Hinchliffe, and Claire Zillman. Today’s edition was curated by Emma Hinchliffe.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Brains behind the rebrand. As Victoria's Secret rebrands from its Angels to female empowerment, CMO Martha Pease will be behind the new strategy. "We’re going to look at new customers," she says. "And that will drive the demand that new customers will have for our brand." Bloomberg
- Journalism legend. Janet Malcolm, the legendary journalist and New Yorker writer, died at 86 last week. She was known in part for her book The Journalist and the Murderer with the maxim that every journalist "knows that what he does is morally indefensible." Writers pay tribute to her legacy here: New Yorker
- Prosecutorial conduct. Laura Codruta Kövesi is head of the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office, recently formed to police and monitor the use of EU funds by individuals and companies. Kövesi already has 300 cases on her plate and plans to hire 50 more investigators. WSJ
- Online identity. The Internet and social media opened up new conversations and ideas to Iraqi women. But many still stay anonymous online because of patriarchal norms in their offline lives. In this piece, three Iraqi women share how and why they keep their identities secret on the Internet. Rest of World
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Flying Fish Partners managing partner Adriane Brown joins the board of KKR. Sharethrough promoted Jillian Kranz to SVP of revenue. Cape Privacy named Luisa Herrmann-Nowosielski head of product. Instacart hired Uber global head of marketing for the rides business Laura Jones as VP of brand and marketing. Coca-Cola VP and general manager of water Celina Li joins Ocean Spray as chief commercial officer and general manager, international and ingredients.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- French politics. The headscarf or hijab is once again at the center of political debate in France after a major party dropped its backing of local candidate Sara Zemmahi for wearing her head covering in a campaign ad. In this story, French Muslim women share what the hijab means to them—and why it shouldn't be political. Washington Post
- Left out no longer. Last week was the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the groundbreaking reporting on failed U.S. policy in Vietnam. Linda Amster was research supervisor at the New York Times and worked on the project for weeks—but her name was omitted from its credits. Now, she's getting her due. Washington Post
- Call to action. Sunday was World Refugee Day, and Mercedes Gutierrez, head of social impact communities at IKEA Retail (Ingka Group), argues that business must do more to help refugees around the world. "When you look at a refugee, what do you see?" she writes. "A neighbor, a customer, a potential coworker? If you don't, you could be missing a key ingredient to your company's success." Fortune
ON MY RADAR
The women erased from the story of no-knead bread Eater
Young men in South Korea feel victimized by feminism Economist
50 reasons to love Joni Mitchell's Blue New York Times
PARTING WORDS
"A reminder that we’re free. We’re here with a purpose."
- 2019 Miss Juneteenth Kennedé Wallace on what it means to win the pageant title
