Mar 9, 2020 - Economy & Business

Facebook board nears gender parity with two new directors

Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Facebook has added two new members to its board: Nancy Killefer, a former government official and longtime McKinsey executive, and Tracey T. Travis, the chief financial executive of The Estee Lauder Companies.

Why it matters: The additions double the number of women Facebook directors and make the board 40% female. Despite significant progress in recent years, women still hold just 20% of board seats globally in publicly traded companies.

Flashback: Facebook drew criticism when it recently added Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to board, a friend and perceived ally of CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Go deeper: California's "woman quota" law seems to be working

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Axios
Updated 19 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 4:30 p.m. ET: 21,020,216 — Total deaths: 761,393— Total recoveries: 13,048,303 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 4:30 p.m. ET: 5,289,323 — Total deaths: 167,948 — Total recoveries: 1,774,648 — Total tests: 64,831,306 — Map.
  3. Health: CDC: Survivors of COVID-19 have up to three months of immunity —Fauci believes normalcy will return by "the end of 2021" with vaccine — The pandemic's toll on mental health.
  4. Business: How small businesses got stiffed — Unemployment starts moving in the right direction.
  5. Cities: Coronavirus pandemic dims NYC's annual 9/11 Tribute in Light.
  6. Politics: Biden signals fall strategy with new ads.
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Alexi McCammond
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Harris: "Women are going to be a priority" in Biden administration

Sen. Kamala Harris at an event in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In her first sit-down interview since being named Joe Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris talked about what she'll do to fight for women if elected VP, and how the Democrats are thinking about voter turnout strategies ahead of November.

What they're saying: "In a Biden-Harris administration women are going to be a priority, understanding that women have many priorities and all of them must be acknowledged," Harris told The 19th*'s Errin Haines-Whack.

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Sara Fischer
2 hours ago - Technology

Facebook goes after Apple

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

Facebook is seeking to force a face-off with Apple over its 30% in-app purchase commission fee, which Facebook suggests hurts small businesses struggling to get by during the pandemic.

The big picture: Facebook has never publicly gone after Apple, a key strategic partner, this aggressively. Both companies face antitrust scrutiny, which in Apple's case has centered on the very fee structure Facebook is now attacking.

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