Follow the Leader: Virginia Rometty, Marissa Mayer, and Sara Blakely
Femme-O-Nomics follows the ups — and downs — of today’s female captains of industry. Here is the latest on Virginia Rometty, Marissa Mayer, and Sara Blakely.
Rometty’ Salary Less than Predecessors – LA Observed
With a base salary of $1.5 million, IBM Chairman, President, and CEO Virginia M. Rometty is receiving less than the male CEOs who performed the same job before her, prompting Mark Lacter of the LA Observed to ask: Why is she paid less? Citing a report written by Michelle Leder on Footnoted, the salary of IBM’s female CEO is $500,000 shy of what former CEO Louis Gerstner was receiving in 2000. Her immediate predecessor Samuel Palmisano, on the other hand, was receiving $1.8 million when he handed the reins of power to Rometty last year. The figures don’t take into account the entire compensation and benefits package of these business leaders so it is not a complete picture of their earnings. Still, it cannot be denied that a discrepancy as far as base salaries exists and this makes Leder wonder: “If women like Rometty aren’t even being paid what their male counterparts are for the same job, what hope is there for the rest of us?”
Marissa Mayer to Reduce Yahoo Workforce - SFGate
When she became CEO of Yahoo! in July, Marissa Mayer knew that the embattled company has retained more people than what it needs. So it’s not surprising that she will have to do the tough job of downsizing its more than 18,000 workforce. But Nicholas Carlson, writing for the Business Insider (story reprinted on SFGate) has inside information that the female CEO is not going to fire everyone at once. Rather, sources say that it’s going to be done “very surgically, very carefully.” In Korea, 200 jobs were already eliminated last month. Employees assigned to the Yahoo! Mobile Blog may also need to start looking for new employers as the company has announced that the platform is soon to close shop. Next on the list: Mayer plans to downsize on the number of web developers that the company has. Unless they learn how to build apps for mobile, they will be the next to kiss their Yahoo! jobs goodbye.
Spanx Opens First Standalone Retail Store - BrandChannel
And Sara Blakely just continues to keep Spanx spanking. The shapewear brand that has made her the youngest self-made billionaire on the Forbes list has originally been sold only in department stores, boutiques, and online shops but now fans can browse the various Spanx offerings in its first retail channel located in Tysons Corner Center in Maclean, Virginia. Two other retail stores are set to open this fall in addition to their first boutique located in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Dale Buss of the BrandChannel reports. The opening is timed just right as Blakely does not only have the cash to operate her first retail shop but also now has various lines to offer customers, including Spanx for men, swimwear, and apparel. Blakely envisions the Spanx store to “be a place where everybody knows your name … and your bra size.”
Category: News In Review
