The Great Divergence
#ChooseToChallenge
Welcome to The Chief Brief, where every Sunday I spotlight global, diverse, and innovative female leaders, and the news influencing them to change the world. And there’s always a link to reach out and connect with the women you resonate with. Don’t forget to send me feedback, or stories about the amazing things you, or someone you know is up to. Let’s build an international and connected community.
Happy Sunday!
To kick off the first Chief Brief of Women’s History Month, I’m excited to announce The Chief Brief now has its own club on Clubhouse.
Sign up (shoot me a message if you don’t have an invite), join ‘The Chief Brief’ club, and let’s get the conversations going! See you in Clubhouse!
Let’s talk about
Making International Women’s Day on March 8th impactful again. It sometimes feels like it has devolved from being a forum for women to campaign for equality and progress, to a visibility exercise on social media and a corporate pink-washing marketing opportunity.
We all should take part from the comfort of home in IWD’s #ChooseToChallenge campaign tomorrow, and raise awareness. But global statistics tell us awareness alone doesn’t change reality.
Let’s talk business. When Katherine Graham became CEO of the Washington Post Company, in 1972, she made history by also becoming the first woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She opened the doors for an amazing roster of leaders we know and celebrate.
Today we may cheer the fact we have the most number of female CEOs ever, and that there is no ‘male only’ board in the S&P500, but the fact is that we still lead with ‘Woman/female CEO,’ like it’s something out of the ordinary. And it is. Only 8% of all Fortune 500 companies are led by women. Zoom out from the United States and take a global view and it is an even lower, dismal percentage at the helm of the Fortune Global 500. That’s not much of a gain to celebrate in 41 years.
A McKinsey report from a few years ago really resonated with me. Their research indicates it is not a pipe dream to have more female leadership at every level (not just the C-suite) this decade. To get there, will require strategic change in culture and corporate leadership models. McKinsey points to 3 things leaders can do:
Change the way you evaluate and promote your staff - You may say you appreciate leadership characteristics, such as listening and collaboration, but you’re negating that claim if you are promoting staff primarily on the basis of more traditional types of leadership behavior, such as authoritative decision making, control, and corrective action.
Get better at encouraging dissent - No matter how encouraging you think you are as a leader, become better at recognizing the barriers and trade-offs that women face in reporting problems. Not being penalised for speaking up is just a start. Leaders need to deeply ingrain a sense of inclusion in the corporate culture so everyone feels they have a vested interest to speak up.
Close the introspection gap - Give yourself time for self-reflection. It tends to fall to the wayside in a busy competitive corporate environment. It’s also a tough ask of the traditional command and control leadership styles, because it is messy. Introspection goes beyond simply launching a program, getting updates and figuring out whether to stick with it or not. It means allowing people to stand up for what they believe in. That can make teams uncomfortable, and needs leadership that is patient, empathetic, and has emotional intelligence.
A mind-set change that incorporates these changes, will lead to a culture of inclusion. From parental leave, equality among genders, and work-life balance, many policies needed to make workplaces more equitable, then fall into place naturally. And when people can simply be themselves, they tend to stick around. So, create some impact where you lead. It is afterall the roaring 20’s! Anything is possible.
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Business not as usual
GM’s second battery bet
CEO of the United States’ largest car maker GM is going all in with battery cell tech. Mary Barra has announced GM is “exploring the feasibility of constructing a second, state of the art battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States” with LG’s battery unit LG Energy Solution. She’ll need that plant if GM’s going to meet some aggressive EV targets set for this decade, with diesel/petrol cars to be phased out by 2035. Read more here.
Manufacturing change
Women make up only 20% of India’s manufacturing sector workforce. Metals and mining company Vedanta’s female workforce levels at 20% are at the highest end of that statistic. The company’s strategic approach of offering gender agnostic role descriptions, examinations, placement, and career growth plans has allowed female employees in small town India to take on roles that they wouldn’t normally be considered for. Read more here.
Science
Curing covid to cancer
Sarah Gilbert is at it again! After her revolutionary Covid vaccine formulation with AstraZeneca she is out to solve for cancer! Biotech company Vaccitech has been founded by Professor Gilbert in partnership with her fellow Covid vaccine partner Professor Adrian Hill, and is backed by Google’s venture capital arm. The company intends to use the same technology at the heart of the vaccine to treat non-small cell lung cancer. Read more here.
Scientific investing
Deep science investor Lindy Fishburne on the pandemic’s impact on investing in deep science, how SPACs are changing the biotech landscape, and the seeming democratisation of science itself - it’s a conversation that is as fascinating as the science she invests in. Listen here.
Policy Matters
Gender Monitor
2020-21’s brush with the Covid pandemic has reversed so much of the gain women have made worldwide. You can get a complete picture of just how ugly the picture is for women across the globe from the Gender Monitor dashboard created by UN Women. Below is a snapshot from the dashboard of just how precarious the state of women is.
The great divergence
Gita Gopinath is the International Monetary Fund’s chief economist and she is warning of a great divergence developing in the world due to the pandemic. Emerging and developing countries whose incomes were converging over the past decade with the developed world, are now diverging from it. China and the U.S. are expected to not just bounce back, but surpass pre-Covid economic indicators. But Gita writes that in comparison, more than 150 economies are expected to have per capita incomes below their 2019 levels in 2021. And nearly 90 million people are expected to fall into extreme poverty in 2021. To stop this, Gita warns it will take policy actions on multiple fronts. Read more here.
Have you met
Claire Mack, Champion of greening Scottish power
Claire Mack is the CEO of Scottish Renewables, the industry body representing Scotland’s renewable energy industry. She is responsible for leading the organisation’s work to grow Scotland’s renewables sector, ahead of COP26 in Glasgow this November. Claire also serves as a member of Nicola Sturgeon’s (Scottish First Minister) Energy Advisory Board and the Renewables Industry Advisory Group, co-chaired by Scotland’s Energy Minister.
Debjani Ghosh, The face of Indian Tech
Debjani Ghosh is the fifth President and first women to head India’s National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM). The association represents India’s $180 billion tech sector. Before joining NASSCOM, Ghosh was the first woman to lead Intel India and the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT). A woman of many firsts, In 2020, Debjani was recognised by Vogue as the Tech Leader of the year 2020.
On the move
In France
Cécile Cabanis, Danone’s former CFO has joined the company’s board as vice chair. She is also a member of the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Supervisory Board and Chair of its Audit Committee. Danone is currently under pressure for management changes by investors, with Emmanuel Faber being replaced as CEO and taking on Danone’s Chairmanship.
Dr Sophie Biguenet has been appointed Chief Medical Officer at Abivax, a clinical-stage biotechnology company modulating the immune system to develop novel treatments for inflammatory diseases, viral diseases, and cancer. She brings 25 years of research and drugs to market experience to the role.
In the U.K.
Pippa Glucklich has become CEO and Partner at Media agency Electric. Pippa was previously UK CEO of Publicis Media agency Starcom. More recently, she was CEO of Amplifi UK, the media investment arm of Dentsu.
In Hong Kong
Fan Cheuk Wan will be taking on the role of HSBC’s chief investment officer of Asia for private banking and wealth management. This is part of the banking giant changes to its global wealth unit, creating regional chief investment officers.
In Australia
Olivia Thornton has become the first female CEO in Cricket ACT’s 99-year history. Cricket ACT is the governing body of cricket in the Australian Capital Territory. Olivia’s been a professional player, coach and administrator. One of those roles was as Cricket ACT’s High Performance Manager.
In the United States
Colleen Haley has been appointed CEO of mobility company, Quality Metalcraft/Experi-Metal Holdings Corporation (QMC-EMI), a provider of stamping and joining assemblies for the automotive, commercial vehicle, aerospace and defence industries. Colleen previously was Group VP of Operations for Parker Hannifin, a Fortune 250 company.
Caught my eye
#FreeNazanin
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran on spying charges, has been freed this Sunday morning, after five years. But her husband has been told a new court case against her is scheduled for next Sunday. Read more here.
No love lost
Love Island South Africa is getting slammed for having a predominantly white cast (7/10 cast members are white). In a country where 80% of the population is black, the backlash has been fierce. Read more here.
Tsunami of trouble
New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern’s shown she is quick to react to terror attacks and has controlling a pandemic down to an art. But what about earthquakes measuring 7.2 on the richter scale, followed by Tsunami alerts? Turns out, she’s quick no matter the disaster. She immediately ordered those on the stricken east coast to move inland until the Tsunami risk abated, and managed a a quick citizen check by “Aunty” on Instagram too.
Safari CSR
Pandemic scupper your holiday plans? An African safari on your bucket list? How about a safari from home, becoming a virtual ranger at South Africa’s Kruger National Park, and helping support the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit, an all-female troop working to put an end to the poaching of endangered animals? Samsung is partnering with Africam to make that all possible. The company’s video and phone tech will work to enhance Africam’s ability to stream from the depths of the African bush. Read more here.
Pregnancy Test ‘Predictor’
Margaret Crane created and patented the first ever home pregnancy test called the ‘Predictor’ in 1967. She wanted women to have the power to know about their own bodies. The men weren’t happy, but women loved the product. But Margaret never got a dollar for it, nor the acknowledgement. Read more here.
Sporty Stuff
Boxing history made
Claressa Shields made history as she outclassed competitor Marie-Eve Dicaire in their light-middleweight title fight this weekend. A unanimous points victory meant she became the first fighter (male or female) to be undisputed champion in two divisions in the four-belt era. Read more here.
Must watch
Tonight: CBS Presents Oprah with Meghan and Harry
No matter which side of the ‘should they/shouldn’t they have’ debate you fall, Oprah’s bombshell interview with Harry and Meghan will hit the airwaves tonight. And we are guaranteed a literal blitz of headlines that will follow.
Here’s where and when you can watch the much-hyped tell-all interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, if you so choose. If you do tune in, let me know what you think!
United States: March 7th CBS, 20:00 ET (or online Hulu LiveTV, YouTube)
United Kingdom: March 8th ITV 21:00 GMT (online Tuesday at ITV Hub)
Australia: March 8th Network 10 19:30 AEST (or online on 10 play)
New Zealand: March 9th Three 19:30 NZST (or online on Three Now)
Tip of the week
This Women’s History Month - Let these ladies help you
Visibility: Can’t get ahead if you’re not seen!
Salient MG specialises in go-to market and executive visibility strategies and programs for companies and their executives. Hit up founder and CEO Erin (Mack) McKelvey and her team to get a headstart on yours!
Money: It is important ladies!
Figure out how best to manage your money, with the always on point Saijal Patel! That’s what her Toronto based company Saijelle does best, so get in touch.
Mind & body: Keep it in balance!
Adriene Mishler knows how to destress you, get your kundalini awake, and give you a workout you’ll remember at the same time! Yoga with Adriene will get you feeling the dopamine!
(P.S: I’m not paid to feature these amazing women, they’re just great at what they do!)