January 28, 2020
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Good morning, Broadsheet readers! MacKenzie Bezos ditches some of her Amazon stock, Prince Andrew won’t cooperate with the FBI, and Melinda Gates shares the details on a new investment. Have a fantastic Tuesday.
– Melinda’s vision takes shape. When Melinda Gates announced last year that she would commit $1 billion to achieving gender equality, we wondered what exactly that kind of investment would look like.
This morning, Fortune ’s Maria Aspan has the details on one of Gates’ first projects. The billionaire philanthropist will invest $50 million to build “inclusive tech hubs” in Chicago and two other yet-to-be-named cities.
Call it the next Silicon Valley—but, hopefully, with a level of inclusivity rarely found in the original.
“As the tech industry continues to expand beyond Silicon Valley to other areas across the country, we have the opportunity to reimagine what the sector could look like,” Gates wrote in a LinkedIn post. “If these emerging tech hubs are supported to prioritize women’s representation and inclusion as they grow, they will be better positioned to tap into the full range of local talent, while also helping create a blueprint for closing the industry’s gender gap nationwide.”
As part of the effort, Gates’ firm Pivotal Ventures will work to increase the percentages of women who graduate with computing degrees and who get hired into (and retained/promoted at) tech jobs and increase the amount of venture capital invested in startups with at least one female founder.
The project fits within Gates’ three priorities for her pledge: dismantling the barriers to women’s professional advancement; fast-tracking women in “sectors with outsized impact on our society,” including technology, media, and public office; and mobilizing to create external pressure on companies and organizations in need of reform.
Read more about Gates’ venture here. As part of the $1 billion commitment, she has already made investments of undisclosed amounts in an accelerator focused on elder care and in a fund focused on creating more opportunities for American women to run for office. We’ll have to watch and see where the other $950 or so million goes.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
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- Share-ing the wealth. After her divorce, MacKenzie Bezos signed the Giving Pledge, promising to donate more than half of her $37 billion fortune. According to recent regulatory filings, she's already reduced her Amazon stock by $400 million, retaining 19.5 million shares in the company—although it's not clear if she transferred, sold, or gave away the shares. Bloomberg
- A complex legacy. In the Broadsheet's sister newsletter raceAhead, Fortune's Ellen McGirt grapples with the loss of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, as well as with the complex nature of grief for a public figure of his stature. Ellen also wrestles with the 2003 sexual assault allegation against Bryant (he settled out of court). "He had become a role model of a different type, a symbol of outsized Black achievement at a time when it still feels necessary to claim credentials like his for the community," she writes, "but for some, his legacy is more painful." Fortune
- A split decision. A 5-4 Supreme Court decision yesterday allowed the Trump Administration to proceed with a rule making it easier to deny immigrants admission to the United States based on low income and expectations that they would use public assistance programs. All of the court's liberal justices, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, voted against the decision, although none expanded on their reasoning. New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood said that the administration's definition of a "public charge" is "a stark departure from a more-than-century-long consensus." Wall Street Journal
Content From Deloitte
Cyber everywhere
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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- Not-so-princely behavior. The FBI has asked to interview Prince Andrew for its continued investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. But the prince has offered "zero cooperation" with the bureau, a U.S. attorney said. When he stepped down from public royal duties as a result of his friendship with the late convicted sex offender, Andrew at the time said, "Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required." New York Times
- Surprise return. When Away co-founder Steph Korey decided to return to her role as CEO—after stepping back in the wake of a Verge report into her management style, her team of executives at the luggage company was caught off guard. Employees found out about the news through a New York Times article announcing her return, and HR chief Erin Grau resigned as a result. An Away spokesperson declined to comment in this piece. Recode
- Marital spat. Louise Linton disagreed with her husband, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who had said that activist Greta Thunberg should "go and study economics in college" before calling for divestment from fossil fuels. Linton posted on Instagram, writing "I stand with Greta on this issue," but later deleted the post. NBC News
ON MY RADAR
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The woman shaking up the diamond industry The New Yorker
It's time for black women to take off the corporate mask Zora
Toni Morrison's profound and unrelenting vision The New Yorker
PARTING WORDS
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"They say it’s better to take action and ask permission later."
-The Goop Lab executive producer Shauna Minoprio on getting Netflix to agree to show women's vulvas on screen during the episode "The Pleasure Is Ours"
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