The World’s Most Powerful Women: August 8

Valentina Zarya here, filling in for Claire this week.

Over the weekend, Britain’s working women lost one of their most tireless champions. Dame Helen Alexander, a renowned businesswoman who made history by becoming the first female president of the Confederation of British Industry, passed away on Saturday. She was 60 years old.

To say Alexander had an illustrious career is an understatement. She was chief executive of The Economist Group (the parent of the magazine of the same name), and a board member or advisor to Northern Foods, British Gas parent Centrica, Rolls-Royce, Bain Capital and the British arm of Huawei, among others.

But she was perhaps best known for her work on behalf of the U.K.’s female workers. She and GlaxoSmithKline chairman Sir Philip Hampton joined forces to undertake the independent Hampton Alexander Review, which looked at increasing the representation of women in senior business roles. Last year, she and Hampton urged FTSE 100 companies to pledge to raise the share of women on their boards from 27% to 33% by 2020.

The Economist published a beautiful obituary in Alexander’s honor on Sunday:

Her success owed much to a leadership style that lacked fireworks and did not seek fame, but deserved more recognition, for both its humanity and effectiveness. Helen relied on a quiet wisdom: listening not lecturing. No name was ever forgotten, no thoughtful personal gesture was too small. For all the fashionable fascination with big strategy, she was unerringly sensible and, where need be, decisive: nothing foolish would happen on her watch. She treated her colleagues with respect, set an example of discipline and solid values (the diary always cleared time for family), and in return inspired confidence.

–@valzarya

EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

Saudi's new delivery serviceA Saudi Arabian airport has launched a new service that takes female domestic workers arriving from abroad straight to their employers' homes. The Riyadh Airports Company service has been met with mixed responses from Saudi Twitter users. While some say the company saves them from having to search the busy airport for their employees, others see it as objectifying workers. The service's name roughly translates as "she will come to you."BBC

Sorry doesn't cut it

South Africa's deputy education minister Mduduzi Manana has been accused of assaulting a woman at a nightclub for calling him "gay." Manana apologized "to the victim, her family... and all South Africans" and said that he hoped to speak to her personally to "address the harm that has occurred." Violence against women is increasingly becoming a concern for the African country.

BBC

THE AMERICAS

Wanna be Ivanka?

Ivanka Trump's brand is on the hunt for someone to run the company's social media accounts. According to the job posting, the company is searching for someone who can navigate multiple social platforms and communicate using Trump's voice—even though Ivanka herself stepped down from her company in January.

Fortune

McEnany reps the RNC

On Monday, U.S. news commentator Kayleigh McEnany announced she was quitting her job at CNN and taking on a mysterious new role. That role, it turns out, is spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, a U.S. political committee that leads President Trump's Republican Party. According to Politico, she is "expected to be a major presence on television for the [party]."

CNN

Fatherly gets funding

Fatherly, a New York City-based media startup with the aim of making parenting into as much of a passion point for men as, say, sports or comedy, has raised $4 million in venture funding. While this isn't exactly news about powerful women, the fact that the site has attracted a 2.5 million followers on Facebook and a web audience of 3.5 million monthly unique visitors, bodes well for moms who want to become one.

Fortune

ASIA-PACIFIC

Nikki on North Korea

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called the UN's newly approved sanctions on North Korea "a gut punch" to the country and warned of possible military action should the regime continue its aggressions. The resolution—proposed by Haley and unanimously approved by the Security Council Saturday—targets North Korea's primary exports, including coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood.

CNN

Jumbo sexism

A restaurant in Hangzhou is under attack from residents for offering discounts for women depending on their cup size (the bigger the bust, the greater the discount). The posters offering the discount have since been removed, but the restaurant's general manager has defended their sales strategy, pointing to the jump in sales. This is not the first time that a restaurant in China has offered discounts based on appearance. In January 2015, a restaurant in Henan rewarded diners it deemed "good-looking."

BBC

Flying while female

Thirty-year-old Anny Divya is the youngest female commander of a Boeing 777 aircraft in the world. The Indian pilot finished her training at age 19 and immediately began working for Air India. Though she has over a decade of flying experience, a common refrain she hears from her cockpit is, "She's such a young girl to be flying such a big plane!"

CNN