This is this week’s ForbesWomen newsletter, which every Thursday brings news about the world’s top female entrepreneurs, leaders and investors straight to your inbox. Click here to get on the newsletter list!

Is advice about “manifesting” your dreams doing women a disservice? According to serial entrepreneur (and one of America’s richest self-made women) Emma Grede, the answer to that is a resounding yes.

“In my experience, none of that is true,” Grede said during this week’s Know Your Value segment with me, Morning Joe cohost Mika Brzezinski and The Weeknight cohost Symone Sanders. Vision is important, Grede said, but “ambition has to meet hard work.”

Emma also talked about the need for women to speak more openly with each other about money—a subject she’s especially passionate about.

“I believe that women are exceptional but the reality of that exceptionalism is not reflected in the cap tables that matter, in the halls of power,” Grede said when I asked her about it yesterday. “I think what happens is that we are culturally conditioned to avoid the exact behaviors that lead to power, money and leadership positions for us.” But, she added, “once you understand what’s holding you back, you can start to push against it.”

Exclusive Forbes List: Meet The Newest Forbes 30 Under 30, Europe

The Under 30 Europe Class of 2026 reflects the ongoing shift to an AI-driven world—and signals where the continent’s startup ecosystem is headed next. This year’s class has cumulatively raised more than $900 million in funding—up $100 million from last year—building startups that do everything from create cheaper semiconductor chips that run on light and change the way people get hired in the age of AI. Women on the list include rugby star Ellie Kildunne, designer Sinead Gorey and Cellcraft cofounder Clarisse Beurrier, among many others!

ICYMI: News Of The Week

On Thursday, Forbes released its annual AI 50 list, which spotlights the most promising privately-held AI companies in the world. This year was among the most competitive: The AI 50 team received hundreds of applications and judged them on their business promise, technical talent and use of AI through a quantitative algorithm and qualitative judging panels. Because of this stiff competition, the team also launched its first ever AI 50 Brink list to highlight 20 up-and-coming early stage AI startups.

According to new data from the CDC, the U.S. birthrate has fallen yet again: The number of births in the U.S. ​​in 2025 was 1% lower than it was in 2024 – and is down 23% from a 2007 peak. Erin Erenberg, the CEO and cofounder of Chamber of Mothers, joined ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath to talk about what's driving this trend and what the economic impact could be.

Is Sarah Friar the most important person at OpenAI right now? According to one ForbesWomen contributor, the answer is yes. Gemma Allen writes: “It is undeniably a complicated moment to be the person responsible for OpenAI’s financial credibility. Yet it is also, one could argue, exactly the moment Friar was built for. Far from an outlier, Friar is part of a growing pack of female CFOs, including 4 of the Magnificent 7, who’ve proved they can both protect and compound shareholder value.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently joined Lean In founder Sheryl Sandberg, Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, cofounder of Girls Not Brides, and other luminaries to talk about how to tackle child marriage, a persistent humanitarian crisis. “This is an issue that really goes to the heart of how women and girls are treated around the world,” Clinton told Forbes.

1. Decode your boss’ priorities. Figuring out what your boss really wants might sound like extra emotional labor, but it actually allows you to focus on promotable work and position yourself as a strategic partner, not just a subordinate. Here are seven smart questions to ask.

2. Unblock the bottlenecks slowing your team down. Organizations that scale well require leaders to move from being the answer to designing the system. One way to do that is to focus on five forms of clarity that distribute decision-making across the organization.

3. Build trust in the real world. AI cannot foster the kind of trust that would lead someone to choose your recommendation over a competing one or to remain in a challenging conversation long enough to change their mind. Persuasion relies on relationships and depends on factors including credibility, timing, and an understanding of what the other person genuinely needs to hear.

Carrying on the political activism of her late husband, a female billionaire was the top donor to GOP super PACs in the first quarter of 2026. Who was it?

Liked what you read? Click here to get on the newsletter list!

© Forbes