Good morning, Broadsheet readers! New report reveals employer-funded childcare can be paid for out-of-pocket, England's men's-only clubs face criticism and consider policy changes, and new COO to lead National Women's Soccer League It turned out “we're going to run it like a business.”'
– This is the main topic. It was published a few years ago, luck A story about former Bumble executive Sarah Jones Simmer. Her cancer diagnosis made her want to achieve the career milestone of becoming a CEO. Jones Simmer has been her CEO of weight loss startup Found for the past two and a half years. Earlier this month, she announced she was stepping down from that position.
now, luck We first reported that Jones Simmer has been appointed to a new role as COO of the National Women's Soccer League. She will become the fast-growing league's first business-minded COO, supporting Commissioner Jessica Berman. Jones Simmer will start the job next month as the San Diego Wave are sold for a league-record $120 million and celebrity-backed Angel City FC is reportedly looking for a new owner. We enter an exciting and complex time for the league. Owners and new franchises are popping up everywhere from New York to the Bay Area.
“I don't really have that epiphany of, 'This is a rocket ship that I have to get on,'” Jones Simmer told me. “But that’s definitely how I felt.”
Provided by National Women's Soccer League
In many ways, this role is reminiscent of what she did at Bumble from 2017. There, she held the title of COO and then chief strategy officer while scaling Bumble and preparing the dating app business for an IPO in 2021. “I joined Bumble because mobile dating was exploding,” she says. “What the NWSL is facing is similar. Interest in women's sports is growing rapidly…and I feel like we're stepping into a really interesting tipping point.”
She said her top priority will be to “help the league run like a business,” from making more data-based decisions to running meetings more effectively. However, leagues are more complex than most businesses, with stakeholders such as owners and players. “The league is building the infrastructure for all these teams to play,” she says of the NWSL's role in the sport's rapid growth.
Becoming a CEO has been a career goal for Jones Simmers, but she says this move into the COO role is the right choice for her now. “I think I can be a better COO for her because I've been sitting in that seat and I understand what it is to advance that vision,” she says. And what the league needs more of now is not just vision, but operational efficiency. “So many people want women's sports to succeed,” she says.
emma hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The broadsheet is luck'A newsletter for and about the world's most powerful women. Today's issue was edited by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
Also featured in the headline
– Care costs nothing. Providing benefits like on-site child care and child care benefits to employees with children means they are “paying for their own costs,” according to a new study from Boston Consulting Group and the nonprofit Moms First . Researchers have found that paying for these resources reduces employee absenteeism, attrition, and tardiness, which can offset the cost of funding in the first place. Axios
– Boys Club. British women and the British press are pressuring London's exclusive Garrick Club, whose members include actor Benedict Cumberbatch and Britain's deputy prime minister, to reverse its long-standing policy of banning women from membership. is being applied. Pressure came to a head after the club's membership list was exposed in a Guardian report earlier this month, and Garrick is now hosting a closed-door meeting to decide whether to vote on the change. new york times
– At the top of the ballot. Democrat Marilyn Lands won Tuesday's special election for a seat in the historically conservative Alabama state Legislature, thanks to a campaign focused on reproductive rights and in vitro fertilization. Lands' victory in the deeply conservative state, which has a near-total ban on access to abortion, is a key indicator of how important reproductive autonomy will be in the 2024 election. politiko
– Unicorn found. According to Defiance Capital's Unicorn Founder DNA report, nearly one in five U.S. and U.K.-based unicorns, or companies valued at $1 billion or more, were founded by women between 2013 and 2023. It is said that The report describes this as a departure from the days when all unicorns were founded by men, but the top 20 U.S. venture capital firms now invest in male founders at their own seed stage. It is also clear that there is a tendency to like it. tech crunch
– Marginal profit. GoBankingRates found that while there are only 40 cities in the United States where women earn more than men, these cities all have particularly low median salaries for both men and women. One such city is Jacksonville, North Carolina, where the median annual salary for women is $32,000, compared to $27,000 for men. luck
Mover and shaker: Eventbright CEO Julia Hearts Executive chair will be added to her title.King Arthur Baking Added Her Company Dennis Beckles and grace zunchic to the board of directors.Glenn announced Tamar Yehoshua As president of products and technology.Mesa takes office Patricia Yue As Chief Human Resources Officer.the name faithful Amanda Scipione As the person responsible for global diversity. Zendesk has been adopted shana simmons As its Chief Legal Officer. Mathilde Colin Resigns as CEO of Front. Instacart CMO Laura Jones The online dating giant has reached an agreement with Elliott Management to join Match Group's board of directors.
on my radar
Body acceptance advocate receives apology from WeightWatchers CEO: 'I felt relieved' today
Before Caitlin Clark ruled women's basketball, she ruled these men's basketball wall street journal
The Carol Burnett Show inspired her career in comedy.Kristen Wiig is currently appearing on a TV show with her hero vulture
parting words
“I feel like people might say, 'Look what she's doing at this age!' If she can do it, so can I.”
— Actress Jane Fonda talks about continuing her climate change advocacy even at age 85
This is the web version of The Broadsheet, a daily newsletter for and about the world's most powerful women. Sign up to get it delivered to your inbox for free.
