Serena Shuts Up Russian Women’s Tennis Exec

1. Serena Williams spared nothing in her condemnation of Russian tennis president Shamil Tarpischev, calling his reference to her and sister Venus as the “Williams brothers” “insensitive, sexist and racist”. Tarpischev made the comment on a late night television talk show.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has fined Tarpischev — who apologized but stated that the response was an overreaction — $25,000 and banned him from having any involvement with the women’s tour for one year.

Serena Williams responded: “I think the WTA did a great job of taking initiative and taking immediate action to his comments. I thought they were very insensitive and extremely sexist as well as racist at the same time.”

WTA chief executive Stacy Allastersaid that the comments were “insulting, demeaning and have absolutely no place in our sport.”

Facebook & Google Help Women Control Fertility

2. Egg-freezing became a hot topic last week, after Facebook and Apple announced that they will cover the cost of egg-freezing treatments in an amount up to $20,000 for women who want to delay having children.

The earlier a woman undergoes egg freezing treatments, the more likely is she to be successful at harvesting fertile eggs. Writes Forbes:

In highly-competitive and thriving Silicon Valley in particular, young women are steadily becoming a larger part of the workforce and are choosing to dedicate their young adulthood to getting ahead in their careers. One cited reason for America’s gender pay gap is that women fall behind men in their careers when they take time off to raise children. This often happens during a point in their lives when their earning potential is about to climb much higher, which puts women at a disadvantage when they re-enter the workforce. Facebook and Apple, then, are providing an opportunity for women have more choices for family planning and therefore rise up more easily within company ranks.

Martha Inks A Deal With Meredith

3. Wall Street showed Martha Stewart some love last week after the after her embattled Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia closed a 10-year licensing deal with Meredith Corp, who will assume most of its publishing properties.

The announcement came as the public feuding between Martha Stewart and Gwneth Paltrow verged on a true catfight. Paltrow hired Lisa Gersh, formerly chief at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for one quick year to become the CEO of Goop, Gwyneth’s lifestyle and e-commerce company.

In a recent interview, Stewart said Paltrow should pipe down and stick to acting.

“She just needs to be quiet,” Stewart was quoted as telling Net-A-Porter’s Porter magazine. “She’s a movie star. If she were confident in her acting, she wouldn’t be trying to be Martha Stewart.”

In another unseemly gesture, Stewart mocked Paltrow’s “conscious uncoupling” concept with a pie shot called “Conscious Coupling”. Then again, perhaps her intention is misunderstood as a dig at Paltrow, and Martha is really calling out her new deal with Meredith Corp.

Eye Headlines 10/19/14:

4. In Nigeria, hope is fading for the release of Nigerian school girls after Boko Hara ‘Truce’ is breached.

5. An appellate court has overturned the Florida conviction of Marissa Alexander who fired a gun shot into the ceiling to scare off her abusive husband.

6. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is under severe pressure to break up the company, writes Bloomberg.

7. Kurdish women fighting ISIS were the focus of a new WSJ profile. Follow all our coverage of the incredibly brave Kurdish Women Solders.