The wisest insights we heard from women leaders in 2022

Allyson Felix on Today show.
Allyson Felix was one female leader who shared insight and advice with Fortune this year.
Nathan Congleton—NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! MacKenzie Scott unveils a new website, colleagues honor Nancy Pelosi with her new portrait, and we look back at what we heard from women leaders this year.

-Words of wisdom. Over the past year, it’s been my pleasure to bring you insights in the Broadsheet from some of the smartest, most interesting women across corporate America and around the world.

Before we break for the holidays, I thought it would be worthwhile to look back at some of the lessons these women have left us with this year. Below are words of wisdom that CEOs, founders, and world leaders shared with us in 2022:

“I’d love to see the most unusual, improbable people ascending to the top. Let’s give them the tools to move ahead.” — former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi

“It’s important for other women, for Black girls, Black boys to see us in those positions. But I think I can still be visible as to what’s possible.” — Alto Pharmacy CEO and former Amazon SVP Alicia Boler Davis on choosing to run a startup rather than a Fortune 500 company

“I was able to show women we can bet on ourselves and do things outside the box in a nontraditional way.” — Olympian Allyson Felix, founder of the shoe brand Saysh

“We can learn from the past—and we must learn from the past. But that should not necessarily guide us. If the past had to guide us, there wouldn’t be female founders. Most of you wouldn’t be here.” Gloria Steinem, speaking to a room full of founders just before the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade

“Mothers especially, and wives, feel that they can understand.” — First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska on the war in Ukraine

“We do need to normalize [motherhood and work], but we need to normalize it for women everywhere—in the workplace, in the boardroom, and every day.” — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on changes she’s seen since she welcomed a child while in office

“Know that you are worthy and deserving, and your voice is required and necessary.” — TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett

“’You don’t have to be me, you don’t have to be your father. But whatever you do in this life, be your best self.'” — King Center CEO Bernice A. King, quoting advice from her mother, Coretta Scott King

Thank you for following along with us this year! The Broadsheet will break for the holidays and be back in your inboxes on Jan. 4, 2023. Have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe

The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Subscribe here.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- Giving tree. MacKenzie Scott revealed a new website that reports the details of her $14 billion in donations to 1,600 nonprofits. The website, called Yield Giving, will allow organizations to submit themselves as candidates for her philanthropy. Fortune

- Bank holiday. Citigroup, led by CEO Jane Fraser, is trying to compete for talent by offering more flexible working options than its Wall Street peers. In its latest effort, the bank will allow its employees to work from anywhere in their home country for the last two weeks of the year. Bloomberg

- Cambridge history. Harvard named Claudine Gay its 30th president, making her the first Black person to lead the university. A social scientist who studies political behavior, Gay will begin her tenure in July. Boston Globe

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Heidi Nicoll joined Tomorrow Health as VP of talent management. Copper promoted CMO Carrie Shaw to CEO. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

- Painting history. A portrait of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was unveiled this week ahead of her retirement as the House Democrats' leader. Pelosi's colleagues, from President Barack Obama to fellow House speakers, honored her before the portrait was set to be hung in the Capitol. New York Times

- Dangerous consequences. A new report found that maternal and infant death rates are higher in states that have banned or restricted abortion. The rate of death, by any cause, for women of reproductive age was 34% higher in anti-abortion states. CNN

- Severe sentence. Three men involved in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were sentenced to prison terms of seven, 10, and 12 years. The men were convicted of providing material support for a terrorist act through their membership in a paramilitary group. Associated Press

ON MY RADAR

Wherefore art thou buccal fat? Jezebel

Elizabeth Taylor's campaign against AIDS Vanity Fair

I think I found Kyrsten Sinema's side hustle Slate

PARTING WORDS

"What’s she gonna do, sue her daughter?"

—Alexandra Pelosi on her new documentary about her mother, outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

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