Fortune Most Powerful Women

At the #FortuneGlobalForum in Riyadh, the newly appointed Syrian Minister of Social and Labor Affairs, Her Excellency Hind Kabawat, spoke out on the future of a nation emerging from nearly 14 years of civil war under a new administration. The country’s only female minister, Kabawat described her passionate appeals to Syria’s new president — and to the international community — to make sure that her status as Syria’s only female minister ends soon, with more women joining her. The veteran diplomat, a former nonresident fellow of the Atlantic Council’s Syria Project, has assumed a central role in Syria’s transitional government. “First of all, quotas are so important,” she said. “If you don’t have quotas, women always will be excluded. So we need to put quotas in from the beginning.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eQkif6SS

One of my favorite quotes from this week's episode of Fortune's #LeadershipNext, where we are joined by Brené Brown? "We're sh*t at being deeply human right now. We can't stand each other." Check out the podcast to hear why, as well as her takes on AI, the current administration and how organizations can thrive in this really challenging time. 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/exPG58XB

The #Fortune500 lost two female CEOs last week—and, as it happens, both were among the very few women of color to lead F500 companies. Fannie Mae replaced CEO Priscilla Almodovar amid the Trump administration’s overhaul of the mortgage giant. She was the only Latina to lead a Fortune 500 company (and No. 74 on the 2025 Most Powerful Women list). SAIC changed its leadership, and CEO Toni Townes-Whitley is no longer in her position. She was for most of her tenure one of two Black female CEOs in the Fortune 500–for the past month-and-a-half, she’d been one of three. (She was No. 95 on the MPW list.) While not owned by the federal government, as an IT defense contractor SAIC is also closely tied to the executive branch. Is it an unfortunate coincidence, or a harbinger of a broader trend? You can read more in my piece from #MPWDaily / Fortune this morning https://lnkd.in/gBNkFv7x #womenceos

At the #FortuneMPW Summit, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, said that women talking about their financial independence shouldn’t be taboo. “Financial independence is what gives you the freedom of choice, and I think in this day and age we all need to be able to have our autonomy.” ⁠ “As women, when we support each other, we are not simply supporting each other’s lives, we’re supporting each other’s legacies,” she added. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eqGfCVUT

My 18-year-old self wouldn’t believe me if I said that one day I would be joining these incredibly accomplished leaders -- Dr. Sharmila Makhija MD MBA, Catherine Owen Adams, Paula Schneider and moderator Emma Hinchliffe --on a panel at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women!    We discussed how the Future of Health isn’t just about new technologies or best practices—it’s about recognizing and designing for the unique needs and preferences at every stage of life. I think Fortune captured the important takeaways from our panel discussion in this article: https://deloi.tt/42SSRbg   I’m grateful for opportunities like this to amplify these important conversations. Progress begins by acknowledging the gaps and opportunities to fill them and go beyond what we even think is possible.   Let’s keep this conversation and momentum going! Lara Abrash, Amy Shaw Feirn, Lauren Bonn, Amber Stack

American workers are clocking into their jobs in incredibly uncertain times: Economists fear a recession is on the horizon; the government seemingly imposes new policies every day; and AI continues to automate more human roles. This constant change has thrown many lives out of balance—and author, researcher, and professor Brené Brown told Fortune that instability wreaks havoc on workers’ mental health. “If you’re leading people, you probably know people are not okay,” Brown said onstage during the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., last week. “Folks are still going into Costco with an automatic weapon because they’re out of Cheese Whiz,” she stressed. “People are emotionally dysregulated, distrustful, and disconnected.” Read more from #FortuneMPW here: https://lnkd.in/gf7z_Gcd

“Say yes more often, even if you don’t know where the path is going to lead you.” We asked the following business executives at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit to share the leadership advice they live by: ➡️ Workday Chief Marketing Officer Emma Chalwin ➡️ Gates Foundation former chief operating officer and chief legal officer Connie R. Collingsworth ➡️ Microsoft Chief People Officer and EVP Amy Coleman ➡️ Walgreens former CEO and Interim President and Chair Emerita of Spelman College Roz Brewer ➡️ Airbnb Chief Financial Officer Ellie Mertz ➡️ Land O'Lakes, Inc. President and CEO Beth Ford Learn more about the #FortuneMPW community here: https://lnkd.in/eew2F589