“Good morning, Broadsheet readers,” Fortune reporter Caroline Fairchild greets her audience from their inboxes every weekday morning.
“There are six giant tech companies that still refuse to share their employee diversity data, and Serena Williams just got some revenge,” she continues in one recent issue of Fortune’s newsletter on women leaders and the hot-button issues that matter to them.
Caroline launched The Broadsheet in 2014, capitalizing on the popularity of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women franchise, which she also contributes to. The objective of the newsletter— whose name is a tongue-in-cheek nod to print journalism, a broad audience, and of course, broads—is to give access to what the top women in business are thinking about, and bring readers to the conversation. Topics run the gamut from finance to entertainment, and invariably, women in tech.
“I don’t think that there is a top exec who I interview, regardless of industry, that isn’t thinking about this problem that we’re facing in tech and computing, and getting more women into the pipeline and leadership positions.”
Caroline thinks that the best way to make a real difference is to talk about it, report the issues, and get people to think about it in new ways. And it’s crucial not only to bring more men into the discussion, but to ensure male executives are committed to making the decisions and investments that lead to change.
She cites Intel CEO Brian Krzanich’s recent $300 million pledge to develop more diversity in tech as proof that we are at a tipping point. And she adds that it is imperative to call the issue what it is, which is a business dilemma.
“If we don’t fill up the pipeline, if we don’t figure out ways to sponsor and promote women and see executive ranks expand, business performance is going to suffer. And the more we can make the conversation about that, the more we’re going to see the Intel CEOs of the world… standing up and saying ‘This is not just the right thing to do. This is the right thing to do for the business.’”
Caroline believes that business leaders need to understand that workforce diversity must reflect the diversity of their client base, or ultimately risk their companies’ continued success.
We couldn’t agree more, and we’re proud to introduce Caroline Fairchild as the emcee for our 2015 Women of Vision Awards Banquet on May 14.