Can Uber U-turn?

• Readers respond. Yesterday, Kristen asked what you thought about the New York Times story on the backlash against gender equality in Silicon Valley—and specifically for your thoughts on how to tackle the discussion of these kinds of false and biased beliefs without lending them credibility.

Not surprisingly, you did not all agree—but you did have a lot of insightful things to say on the subject. Below, a sampling:

"I think we need to be talking about it all, the good, the bad and the ugly. As the mom of a young toddler, another one on the way and a business owner, I see how gender discrimination is a deeply routed systemic issue, and it starts with how we raise our children, how we teach them to utilize their best strengths, and how we demonstrate equality in our own homes."

- Mary Beth

"It's one thing to report on how people feel: their fear of losing their job, increased competition (from women), discomfort with how to behave in the workplace etc...People's feelings are real; but their opinions? It's another to give them a platform to spew false comments on gender differences and sexist reactions without context and critical response."

- Maddy

"The article did a decent job of indicting [men's rights advocates] with their own words, but they didn't include one of the only things these guys will respect: data. Data was one of the strongest rebuttals to James Damore's blatherings—when women make up only 20% of technical staff at Google (and the numbers are even worse elsewhere), it's tougher to see where the anti-men discrimination is taking place."

- E.

"Since the election, I have been doing my best to read and listen to people who would normally be outside my bubble. I want to be at least aware of other views and ideas that are different than mine. I read enough to make myself aware of their positions and remind myself that all ideas need to be debated on occasion."

- Carrie

"I absolutely think we should be reporting on backlash like what the NYT did. Part of why it's taken so long for women to start standing up for themselves is realizing they are not alone and understanding exactly what they are up against."

- Kaitlin

• Mahe in MPW. Fortune's Claire Zillman profiles Isabel Ge Mahe, who in July was named Apple's first-ever vice president and managing director of Greater China, and is a new entrant on our list of Most Powerful Women in international business. Mahe, a longtime engineer at the company, took the job amid falling sales for Apple in the region and is looking to spark a turnaround. Fortune

• Tick tock. Maine Sen. Susan Collins said yesterday that she will vote against Senate Republicans' latest attempt to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. As the GOP can afford to lose only two votes—and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Arizona Sen. John McCain already declared their opposition—her announcement likely dooms the bill. Republicans have only until the end of the month (Friday) to repeal Obamacare with a simple majority. After that, Democrats have the right to filibuster. New York Times

• Can Uber U-turn? Uber board member Arianna Huffington spoke at the Fortune and Time CEO Initiative about the changes happening at the embattled ride-hailing company. One very Huffington-esque fix? Changing the name of a conference room from a war room to a "peace room" because "symbols matter." Fortune

• Where women make more. As we reported earlier this month, government data released in mid-September revealed the largest recorded narrowing of the gender wage gap in the U.S. in a decade. But the progress isn't universal; this Fortune interactive graphic allows you to see the professions with the largest—and smallest—pay gaps. Fortune

• Gloria's glory days. The New Yorker's Jia Tolentino profiles civil rights attorney Gloria Allred, whose career, she writes, can be seen as a "decades-long project to expand the boundaries of legitimate victimhood." Allred has represented Ginger Lee, (one of the women Anthony Weiner sexted) and the family of Nicole Brown Simpson in the historic 1995 O.J. Simpson trial. She is now taking Bill Cosby to court. New Yorker

• Misses Missileers. The Air Force's Nuclear and Missile Operations Officers, more casually known as "missileers," monitor and control the U.S.'s collection of 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Their mission: Ensure that the world's most consequential weapons are ready to launch on command. Though women are notoriously underrepresented in the military, there's a disproportionally high number of female missileers; by March 2016, there were enough of them to schedule an all-female alert. Marie Claire

• A positive trend. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of U.S. Department of Education data, nine of the 10 largest STEM programs in the U.S. have increased their share of female graduates between 2012 and 2016. Six now award at least one-third of those degrees to women. WSJ

• Tops on the Street. American Banker has released its annual ranking of the most powerful women in banking. At the top of the list: Cathy Bessant, the chief operations and technology officer at Bank of America—a choice that reflects "the increasing importance of tech in business strategy." One notable newcomer to the list is Hannah Grove, the CMO at State Street who helped ignite a social media furor this spring with the now famous Fearless Girl statue. American Banker

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