The World’s Most Powerful Women: August 9

I thought great moments of female athletic prowess belonged to the individual women involved. But the Huffington Post reports that media outlets are covering the Rio Olympics in a way that suggests otherwise.

The HuffPo notes that NBC sportscaster Dan Hicks set off a Twitterstorm when he said Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu’s husband and coach, Shane Tusup, was “the man responsible” for her world-record-setting gold medal win in the 400-meter individual medley. Hicks later told the Associated Press that Hosszu herself credits Tusup for her confidence, but added: “with live TV, there are often times you look back and wished you had said things differently.”

Nevertheless, the incident reminded me of the recent coverage of the DNC. As Coins2Day‘s Kristen Bellstrom reported, newspapers including the Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post marked Hillary Clinton’s historic nomination as the first woman to lead a major American political party by putting a photo of Bill Clinton on the front page.

So, as HuffPo suggests, the Tribune should have come up with a better headline than, “Corey Cogdell, wife of Bears lineman Mitch Unrein, wins bronze,” to announce her accomplishment in women’s trap shooting. When a woman does something noteworthy, she deserves the credit—let’s leave her husband out of it.

@laurascohn

EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

Still stifled in Saudi
Speaking of the Olympics, I've noted that Saudi Arabia sent four women to compete to Rio, double the number it sent to the London Games four years ago. But Quartz reports that female athletes still face "significant discrimination" in Saudi, citing a new Human Rights Watch report.
Quartz

Where women aren't

In a boost to British PM Theresa May, who has called the pay gap between the U.K.'s top executives and average workers "irrational," a new report shows CEOs of FTSE 100 companies saw their incomes rise by 10% last year. The report, by the High Pay Centre, also revealed that none of the earners in the top 10 were women.

BBC

Teflon Merkel

Is Angela Merkel in trouble? Despite media reports that the future of the German chancellor is in doubt following last month's violent attacks by migrants, the BBC parses the polls and reports that more than two-thirds of Germans don't believe her controversial refugee policy caused the incidents.

BBC

THE AMERICAS

Ivanka's issue

The company that is licensed to design and distribute Ivanka Trump-branded clothing, G-III Apparel Group, does not offer its employees paid family leave and only allows 12 weeks of unpaid leave, the Washington Post reports. The Post says the revelation clashes with Trump's personal brand, which focuses on being a champion for working women. A spokesperson for Trump says she does not own G-III, adding that Trump's own company offers eight weeks of paid leave and flexible working hours.

Coins2Day

Susan Collins abandons Trump

GOP Senator Susan Collins will not vote for Donald Trump. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, Collins writes that Trump "does not reflect historical Republican values nor the inclusive approach to governing that is critical to healing the divisions in our country." The senator joins a series of high-profile Republicans, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman, No. 7 on Coins2Day's Most Powerful Women list, who have recently said they won't vote for the Republican candidate.

Washington Post

Mad Women

Following the high-profile resignation of Saatchi & Saatchi boss Kevin Roberts, amid comments that the gender debate in advertising was over, a former ad woman says there's a good reason why there are so few women at the top of the business. Jane Maas, who wrote a book called "Mad Women," says there aren't many women at the helm because they're prioritizing their families—by choice.

Guardian

Serena says

Serena Williams offered some sound advice to Cate and Bronte Campbell, the Australian sisters who swam to Olympic relay gold over the weekend—and will likely go head-to-head later in the Games. "Once they get out of the pool, family first," said Williams, who should know, given that she has gone up against her own sister for years on the court.

Australian Women's Weekly

ASIA-PACIFIC

China's easy riders

Women have become the go-to customers for superbike makers in China. Companies such as Ducati Motor Holding and Harley-Davidson are expanding their product lines to draw in women, who view the bikes as a symbol of empowerment.

Bloomberg

Vaulting into history

Dipa Karmakar, the first female gymnast to make the Olympics from India, likes to perform a wild vault called the Produnova, which American gymnastics star Simone Biles says is too dangerous. Have you watched her do it? My heart skips a beat every time.

Wall Street Journal

Bringing in big banks

Yuriko Koike, Tokyo's new female governor, says she wants to make her city a financial hub again. To get things started, she plans to create a commission with tax authorities, bank associations, and foreign financial institutions to determine how she can draw in the big players. "I am doing it for real," she says.

Nikkei Asian Review