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I’ve seen a particular graphic making the rounds on the more feminist sides of social media recently: It points out that 80% of the Forbes list of the World’s Most Powerful Women is over the age of 50, proving that women hit their stride and create their greatest impact in life’s second half.
This week, we offered even further proof that women are stepping into their power and influence in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond: Together with Mika Brzezinski’s Know Your Value initiative, we released the third annual 50 Over 50: EMEA list, a collection of founders, CEOs, humanitarians and vanguards across Europe, the Middle East and Africa who are changing the face of science, fashion, finance, and even the Catholic Church.
The 2024 50 Over 50: EMEA includes plenty of figures you’ll likely recognize: U.K-based 66-year-old author Bonnie Garmus, whose debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, has dominated the bestseller charts since its 2022 release; 78-year-old humanitarian and politician Graça Machel, the former Mozambique and South Africa First Lady who helped start Girls Not Brides and is advocating for women’s financial empowerment in Africa; and 57-year-old Rebecca Gomperts, the Amsterdam-based physician who is helping women access abortion medications through Aid Access, the organization she founded in 2018.
There are also plenty of women on this list who you may be learning about for the first time, like Olajumoke Adenowo—the 55-year-old Nigerian “starchitect” who is breaking gender barriers in architecture and design—or 52-year-old Elena Garcia Armada, a Spanish roboticist who founded a company to improve the performance of legged robots and lower-limb exoskeletons that help people walk. You can read their stories, and so much more, all right here!
Cheers!
Exclusive Forbes Profile: A Whole New Shoe Game
Women’s basketball players have traditionally played the sport in men’s sneakers. Now brands like Puma, Nike and Adidas are looking to score with signature shoes for WNBA superstars such as Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Candace Parker. “I don’t think women’s basketball sneakers were available to me [when I was a kid]” Stewart, the star forward for the New York Liberty, told Forbes. Stewart shattered a decade-plus drought in 2022, becoming the first WNBA player to introduce a signature shoe since Candace Parker in 2010.
ICYMI: News Of The Week
For the first time ever, a major U.S. airline will have a female CEO: JetBlue announced Monday that Joanna Geraghty, the company’s president and COO, will succeed Robin Hayes as chief executive. Geraghty’s appointment “is a really important win for women in aviation,” says Emily Wicker, the president of Advancing Women in Aviation Roundtable.
Speaking of new executives: The first nine months of 2023 had the highest rate of CEO turnover ever. And while the search for new leadership is opening the door for more women to take the top job—some 29% of 2023’s new CEOs were female, up from 26% last year—there is one industry that is lagging behind in promoting women to the top job: retail.
Less than 20% of winemakers are women; only 1% are Black. Sarah Hoffman, Kendra Kawala and Zoe Victor are the cofounders of Maker Wine and are actively working to change these statistics.
European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas wants help reversing the historically low voter turnout in the upcoming European Parliament election, and she’s hoping for help from one of the world’s most powerful women: Taylor Swift, who has helped create an impressive surge in voter registration in the United States.
The Checklist
1. Thoughtfully network. The most thoughtful questions you can ask while networking are the ones that are specific to your conversation partner. But if you haven’t had time to tailor your questions, here are four queries that can help you through any conference or dinner party.
2. “STRIP” for financial security. No, this isn’t what you think. TikTok’s money maven Vivian Tu—aka “Your Rich BFF” on social media—talked to Moira Forbes about what everyone can do to get on top of their personal finances this year: Save three-to-six months’ worth of expenses in a high yield savings account; Total your debt and attack the loan with the highest interest rate; make sure you’re saving in a Retirement account like an IRA or 401(k); choose a fund so that you can Invest your savings in the stock market; and above all, Plan for the future.
3. Build your soft power. Navigating sensitive subjects is the key to diplomacy and productive relationships. Here’s how to build your skill set.
The Quiz
Mattel recently unveiled its 2024 collection of “Career of the Year” Barbies, spotlighting ongoing gender inequalities in what industry?
- Professional sports
- Financial management
- Generative AI
- Film
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