Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Texas’s governor categorizes health care for trans kids as child abuse, Hello Sunshine acquires the Home Edit, and two little words are crucial to getting more women of color in the C-suite. Have a thoughtful Thursday.
– Two little words. While solving systemic racism and sexism is a lofty goal for companies, there are plenty of smaller roadblocks along the way that prevent women of color from advancing to the C-suite, and are well within a company’s power to address—like who gets crucial, financially-tied leadership experience at work.
Operational oversight of a company’s profit and loss, commonly referred to as P&L, is a key benchmark for C-suite potential. Unfortunately, many women of color rarely get the opportunity to take on this responsibility, barring them from corner office roles. P&L responsibility is characterized as having ownership of how a company’s resources are allocated in an effort to drive revenue. An executive with P&L oversight can attribute aspects of a company’s positive financial performance to their work and, conversely, is at fault when those financial results miss the mark. In essence, leading a P&L function is a critical component to climbing the corporate ladder.
But women often miss out on gaining P&L experience. Just 31% percent of women say they have P&L experience, compared to 71% of men, according to research by Seramount. Of the 31% of women who have P&L experience, 74% are white and just 26% are women of color.
“In many organizations, we’re steered toward supporting roles like chief of staff,” says Celeste Warren, VP of global diversity and inclusion at Merck. “Some of those roles should be good launching points for going into the operational roles, but a lot of times they’re not.”
Merck is participating in a new program run by the organization Paradigm for Parity, which aims to close this very gap. Over the next six months, high-potential women of color in the first five to 10 years of their careers will learn the ins and outs of a P&L role. Each candidate is running a company through an online simulation, receiving executive coaching and connecting with mentors. Companies like CVS Health and Bank of America have put forward 17 employees to take part in the initiative. Paradigm for Parity CEO Sandra Quince says companies are increasingly asking themselves: “How are we developing our women to be ready to take on these roles?”
It’s an approach to career development that supplements some of the hard skills many leadership trainings lack. “There are programs we have for building leadership capabilities,” Warren says. “But we don’t have anything specifically designed for women of color for development into these operational roles.”
Marquisha Smith, a VP who manages the North American market at the human resources firm LHH, is one of the program’s participants. She already oversees a market that makes up 70% of her company’s business, and is at a pivotal point in her career where she is taking on more P&L responsibility. “When I think about positions I’ve applied for in that past, I just did not have this level of financial acumen and it held me back from being able to jump into those positions,” she says. “This program, and its specific focus, have got me questioning: What’s next? Do I want to jump into the next role?”
Paradigm for Parity hopes that in 18 months, the women who are now learning the P&L ropes (or simply getting a refresher) will have advanced into operational roles. As Quince puts it: “These women will walk away confident they can take on these roles. Not only that, they’ll be qualified to do so.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- On the front lines. In the eight years since the last major crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the role of women in Ukraine's military has drastically increased. Today, women make up 15% of Ukraine's military personnel and will likely serve in combat roles as Russia invades. Wall Street Journal
- Rapid response. Michigan congresswoman Rep. Rashida Tlaib will respond to President Joe Biden's State of the Union next week on behalf of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, namely the Working Families Party. She's expected to urge Democrats, especially the party's centrists, to act with greater urgency. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the GOP response. Washington Post
- Hello, Home Edit. Hello Sunshine, the Blackstone-backed media business founded by actor Reese Witherspoon, is acquiring the lifestyle brand The Home Edit, founded by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. It's not a new relationship; Hello Sunshine produced The Home Edit's Netflix series. This is Hello Sunshine's first acquisition since its own deal with Blackstone's entertainment business, newly named Candle Media, last year. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Witherspoon's company says it will grow the business through "additional content and commerce offerings." The Hollywood Reporter
- Trans kids in Texas. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed state agencies to investigate gender-affirming health care for trans children, like puberty-blocking medication and gender reassignment surgery, as "child abuse." Parents of trans kids call the actions of the states' politicians "shameful." Washington Post
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Maria Ressa, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who serves as cofounder and CEO of the Rappler in the Philippines, joins The Atlantic as a contributing writer. Calpers (or the California Public Employees' Retirement System) named Nicole Musicco chief investment officer. Razorfish promoted Lisa Zandy to EVP, managing director and west business lead. Compliance startup Secureframe hired Seema Kumar, former Salesforce marketing VP, as COO. Longtime media exec and television producer Candi Carter joins media ecommerce business Knocking as chief content officer.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- Trial by jury. The trial of Brett Hankison, the former police officer involved in the botched raid that led to Breonna Taylor's death, began yesterday. Hankison is the only officer facing criminal charges, but he's not charged with Taylor's death. Instead, he faces three counts of wanton endangerment for endangering a couple and child who lived next door. Kentucky assistant attorney general Barbara Maines Whaley told jurors the case wasn't about Taylor's killing. Guardian
- Back in action. Queen Elizabeth II met virtually with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday, after her COVID diagnosis (and a false rumor of her death). The 95-year-old monarch's engagements are still canceled as she suffers from what Buckingham Palace says are mild symptoms, but she is taking up "light duties" including her responsibilities as head of state. CNN
- Bank freeze. Barclays is freezing a multimillion-pound payout to former CEO Jes Staley as a U.K. regulatory probe investigates his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bank suspended the "vesting of all of Staley’s unvested awards." He resigned as CEO in November. Fortune
ON MY RADAR
San Francisco police crime lab ends policy allowing investigators to match victim rape exam DNA to unrelated crimes San Francisco Chronicle
Meghan Markle's Oprah interview dress named fashion museum dress of the year Vanity Fair
How Colombia's feminists decriminalized abortion: With help from their neighbors New York Times
PARTING WORDS
"I've never in my life thought of myself and the word legend in the same breath. I guess I am one."
-Rita Moreno, on the cover of Town & Country's "O.G." issue.
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