What You Missed at FORTUNE's Most Powerful Women Summit.

November 3, 2019

Last month, some of the world's most powerful women flocked to Washington, D.C. for FORTUNE's annual Most Powerful Women Summit. If you couldn't make it, we've pulled together key takeaways from the events. For those of you who were able to make it, thanks for joining us. We hope you enjoyed it.

▪ THE VOICES OF POWERFUL WOMEN

We gathered on stage the world’s most extraordinary female leaders drawn from government, philanthropy, education and the arts. We heard from the chairs and CEOs of companies such as Best Buy, Tesla, Ulta Beauty, Anthem and Starbucks. Conversations ranged from foreign policy to Hollywood to social change.

The inclusion of Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen’s interview on the agenda drew scrutiny before the Summit even began. On stage, Nielsen was grilled on the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy by PBS NewsHour reporter Amna Nawaz in a heated interview. Other speakers, including Anita Hill and Eva Longoria, took the opportunity to address family separation and their decision to participate in the Summit in the face of controversy during their introductions.

▪ 20 INSIGHTS

1. The Theranos scandal haunts female startup CEOs. Julia Cheek, founder and CEO of home health testing startup EverlyWell, said colleagues suggested she dye her blonde hair another color to avoid looking too much like Elizabeth Holmes. "When you have one or two bad actors...it is challenging... to differentiate."

2. For some corporations, gun control is personal. A trio of executives from Citi Global, Levi Strauss and Dick's Sporting Goods explained their respective companies' decisions to lead on this politically fraught issue. “It became a very personal movement for us,” says Dick's President Lauren Hobart.

3. A bull market strategy toward diversity isn't enough. Carla Harris, vice chairman and managing director at Morgan Stanley, told the audience that too many companies focus the spotlight on diversity and inclusion when times are good. A market downturn could bring a detrimental shift: “It doesn’t go away, but the intensity goes from 10 to one, and that’s when you lose your pipeline.”

4. Sometimes being unapologetic works. Pinterest Chief Marketing Officer Andrea Mallard discussed the social media company's decision to lock all “vaccination”-related searches because most results touted the scientifically disproven claim that vaccines aren’t safe. “We faced backlash, and that’s OK.”

5. Susan Rice called President Trump erratic and untruthful. The former National Security Advisor said Trump was her biggest foreign policy concern, ahead of territorial aggression by China and Russia, or conflict between India and Pakistan.

6. A 'blunt instrument' may be needed to get women on boards. A panel of female executives from such firms as Deloitte and Starbucks agreed that mandates such as California's recent law may be needed to improve the gender makeup of company boards.

7. A new flood of capital is changing investing. Patricia Nakache, general partner at Trinity Ventures, said the old mantra of growth at all costs has ended. "Now public markets have weighed in and resoundingly said, this has gone too far."

8. Social purpose is key to hiring today. Millennial hires

want environmental, social and diversity stats from employers. Says Deanna Mulligan, CEO of Guardian Life Insurance: "It’s table stakes.”

9. SiriusXM is facing employee pressure to leave Georgia. When the Southern state's abortion law went into effect, employees were upset and saw it as an assault on women's rights, Sirius XM Radio vice president Dara Altman told the audience.

10. Kohl’s CEO said physical stores are a strategic asset. While competitors shutter stores, location is key for the retailer: 80% of Americans live within 15 miles of a Kohl's store, says CEO Michelle Gass.

11. Eva Longoria called for greater diversity in Hollywood. The Desperate Housewives actress, director and activist said Hollywood and the media is responsible for unconscious racial biases, and she wants to change that perception. “Latinos have become synonymous with legal, criminal and danger [in TV and movies]."

12. Old Navy will introduce a new plus-size initiative. CEO Sonia Syngal said the apparel brand's North Star has been what she calls the "democracy of style," or the affordability of fashion to anyone regardless of gender, income and body shape.

13. Lockheed Martin is shooting for the moon. Literally. The industry behemoth is partnering with Jeff Bezos' aerospace startup Blue Origin in a bid to be part of NASA's Artemis mission, a plan to land the first woman (and next man) on the moon by 2024, said CEO Marillyn Hewson.

14. Early in her career, Best Buy's CEO was deemed a "risk to the organization." Corie Barry then looked for what she needed to learn from that performance review early in her 20-year career. "I buckled down." Her perseverance paid off.

15. Anita Hill called on candidates to address gender violence. The academic and feminist icon said addressing gender violence will produce a ripple effect and lead to a broader public discussion on topics like equal pay and maternal leave policy.

16. A fight against racism led to a billion dollar makeup empire. Huda Kattan, founder of Huda Beauty, said she felt "really ugly" growing up as an Iraqi-American. Those feelings drove her to become a makeup expert by the time she was 14.

17. Businesses should address addiction and mental health in the workplace. A panel of experts said companies are in a unique position to offer support, as well as normalize seeking help for addiction and address mental health issues.

18. Military leaders offered some wisdom. A four-star general and top female F-35 fighter jet pilot offered lessons on leadership. “Humility is the most important thing. It’s all about others, not yourself."

19. Amazon's fight over a huge defense contract wasn't "rigged." Amazon VP Teresa Carlson explained her take on the contentious $10 billion project to build a cloud computing network for America’s front-line soldiers. (The contract was awarded to Microsoft last week.)

20. Some of the best moments came in the form of witty soundbites. FORTUNE President and CEO Alan Murray's rounded up some of the best quotes from the summit. We'll leave you with this one: Spinning Old Navy out of Gap is like being “7 1/2 months pregnant with a 10-pound baby, and we’re ready to deliver” — Sonia Syngal, CEO of Old Navy.

Special thanks to our partners Cisco, Deloitte, Elementum, Goldman Sachs & Fortune Global Women Leaders Award, Guardian, Heidrick & Struggles, HermanMiller, Ingram Cloud, Insigniam, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, M.M. LaFleur, Nina McLemore, Salesforce, Tamara Mellon, Target, TPG, & RBC.

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