Melinda Gates Puts $250 Million More To Covid Relief | Simone Biles’s Advice For Staying Mentally Fit | And More

Plus: how will female leaders fare in a post-pandemic world?

It has been quite the week here at ForbesWomen. On Tuesday, we released the 17th annual list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. It’s a ranking that’s always pretty inspiring, but in a year that’s been so hard for so many, it was almost cathartic to work on a package that let us take stock of who came into power this year (like ByteDance China CEO Kelly Zhang and UPS chief Carol Tomé), which political leaders had the best Covid responses (New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern) and precisely why voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams deserves to be among the top 100.

Then, yesterday, we held the Power Women’s Summit (virtually, of course). The day was filled to the brim with inspiring speakers, including Olympic gold medalist and Under 30 alum Simone Biles, who talked about how she stays mentally fit, and entrepreneurs Tory Burch and Meena Harris, who discussed the importance of getting women access to capital--and embracing ambition.

“Reflecting back on that not only my experience as a woman of color, but also as a parent, we sort of have no choice but to be ambitious, right?” Harris said. “It is, by definition, being a woman daring to be successful in a male-dominated world. That is ambitious.”

Cheers to that!
Maggie

P.S.: My favorite advice on the site this week came amid an intimate summit fireside chat between author Glennon Doyle and actress and entrepreneur Tracee Ellis Ross during Wednesday’s summit. “Good enough can be good enough,” Ross said. It was one of many great insights on how to embrace your voice and your originality.

ICYMI: Stories From The Week

Gates Foundation co-chair Melinda Gates (No. 5 on the Power Women list) announced Thursday morning the foundation would commit an additional $250 million to strengthen global efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic. This brings the foundation’s total Covid response funding to $1.75 billion. On Wednesday, Gates talked about the vaccines and also why the fight for equality starts at home.

Starbucks will promote board Vice-Chair Mellody Hobson (No. 94 on the Power Women list) to chair in March, which will make her the only Black woman to lead the board of directors for an S&P 500 company. Hobson spoke on Wednesday about the need to bring the civil rights agenda into the boardroom.

Last week, the female-founded at-home testing kit startup Everlywell announced a $175 million Series D round of funding, which brings the company’s total capital to more than $250 million and gives it a valuation of $1.3 billion. 

In earlier stage funding news, Meet Cute founder Naomi Shah has raised $9.25 million in funding to disrupt the news-dominated podcast industry with a new category of diverse romantic comedies.

In the November, Delaware elected Sarah McBride to be a state senator--and America's highest-ranking openly transgender elected official. McBride opened up to ForbesWomen about the power of her new seat at the table.

One of the brightest stars to emerge from this year is Kenya-based social media sensation Elsa Majimbo. Discover how she rose to global superstardom by being strategic, and what she has in common with Beth Harmon, star of "The Queen's Gambit.”

Check List

#1: Communicate your needs. This is important no matter who you are or what role you’re in, but it’s doubly important if you’re managing a chronic illness while trying to grow your career.

#2: Protect your intellectual property. If you want to self-publish a book, get your financial and legal ducks in order before starting the process, says Thomishia Booker, a self-published author who is now working with Netflix on a series celebrating Black voices.

#3: Get to the point. When writing work emails, be direct and listen to The Elements of Style: omit needless words.

Across Forbes