The Broadsheet: July 14th

EVERYONE'S TALKING

•Tobacco CEOs talk merger. Reynolds American plans to acquire Lorillard in a merger that would bolster the No. 2 tobacco firm as it grows in the electronic cigarettes market. The move also could open up some growth opportunities for Britain's Imperial Tobacco Group, a global competitor that likely would buy up smaller brands divested in the merger. Reynolds American CEO Susan Cameron and Imperial CEO Alison Cooper are both veterans of Coins2Day's  Most Powerful Women lists. Coins2Day

•Lockheed's Marillyn Hewson looks abroad for buyers.  The defense contractor is hoping to capitalize on growing global demand for sea surveillance with a new transport aircraft called the SeaHerc. The move should help Lockheed Martin obtain 20% of the company's total revenue from non-U.S. Buyers, Hewson said. WSJ

IN THE HEADLINES

• Mylan to buy Abbott drug assets in $5.3 billion deal.  The generic drugmaker helmed by CEO Heather Bresch announced Monday that it will buy part of Abbott's specialty and branded generics business outside the United States. The deal will bring Mylan's total drug portfolio up to more than 100 products but, more notably, it will allow the company to reduce its U.S. Tax bill. Reuters

• Women to Wall Street: Are you listening?  While some firms like Merrill Lynch promotes a "gender-agnostic" approach to investing, others like Barclays are pitching financial strategies that are specific to women customers. There may not be agreement across the industry about which strategy works best, but it is clear that women often handle their finances differently than do men and, perhaps, there is a resulting dearth of female investors. NYTimes

•It will take 75 years for women to achieve equal pay. An Oxfam report out today urges the G20 to act on the gender pay gap when it meets in Australia later this year. “This gap between women and men reflects a fundamental and entrenched form of inequality afflicting G20 countries," says Oxfam's Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.Oxfam

• MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Travel + Leisure  editor-in-chief Nancy Novograd is leaving the Time Inc. Publication after 21 years. Novograd plans to travel (for fun!) And write a book about women and power... Elana Drell Szyfer, a former SVP of Global Marketing for Estee Lauder, is the new CEO of Laura Geller Beauty, a 21-year-old beauty brand. Know a women at your company who is moving up or moving on? Email me at [email protected]

BROADVIEW

How Yahoo's sexual harassment case changes the discussion

On Friday, former Yahoo software engineer Nan Shi (a woman) filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Maria Zhang, a senior director of engineering at company. 

Shi's suit is the latest in a string of harassment lawsuits to come out of Silicon Valley. Two weeks ago, former Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe sued the mobile dating app Tinder in Los Angeles on grounds of sexual harassment and abuse. 

Critics were quick to claim that Wolfe's case is an example of Silicon Valley's male-heavy culture rearing its head in the worst way. Yet, as I pointed out a couple weeks ago, part of Wolfe's problem may have nothing to do with gender at all. It is clear that tech startups often suffer from a poorly managed office culture that can allow such instances of abuse to go on without repercussion. As Ellevate Network's  Sallie Krawcheck told us last week, Silicon Valley is filled with companies from "a young, go-go industry with a lot of money sloshing around and a lot of young people in it and people only beginning to learn how to conduct themselves in a business setting. " 

Yet with this most recent case coming out of Yahoo, it appears that even well-established tech companies still can suffer from cultural growing pains. Yahoo's workforce, like much of the tech industry, is still predominately male. As Shi's lawyer said in a statement, "You'll see more sexual harassment cases in Silicon Valley because of the male-dominated culture," acknowledging that this case is different because it involves two women. 

In the wake of Wolfe's lawsuit, Tinder CEO Sean Rad immediately denied all the claims against him and the company. This week, it will be interesting to see how Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and her executive staff handles the situation differently. My hunch is that Yahoo's response will show more restraint until the company figures out all the facts. 

What did I miss? Email me at [email protected] with your thoughts. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

•Angela Merkel embraces the selfie.  After Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup finals, the German Chancellor posed for multiple selfies with German player Lukas Podolski. The photos prompted a slew of other people asking for the same shot. Surprisingly, the typically serious world leader started snapping selfies left and right. Bustle

•Lifeway CEO: My family turned $116 into $110 million.  When it comes to CEO success stories, Julie Smolyansky may very well be in a category of one. When she was 27, Smolyansky took over her father's kefir business and has since grown its annual revenue from $12 million to just over $100 million. Her advice? Work hard and treat your employees like they are family.  Bizwomen

WHAT I'M READING

Maureen Dowd calls Chelsea Clinton's $75k speaker fee "unseemly"NYTimes

Diane Sawyer issues on-air correction over Israel-Palestine mistakeWaPo

Is betting on women CEOs a smart financial move?Fiscal Times

How one college handled a sexual assault complaintNYTimes

Why Burberry's new CEO may be worth $17 millionQuartz

Quote

There's something primal about sport that doesn't exist anywhere else - when you have a moment like scoring a winning goal in the World Cup championship, you are allowed to release this feeling, this emotion, this response that is not elicited anywhere else.

U.S. Soccer player Brandi Chastain explains why she ripped off her shirt in joy after scoring the winning penalty in the 1999 Women's World Cup.