The financial services giant will extend its paid maternity leave benefits from 12 weeks to 16 weeks, Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman announced on Wednesday!

A study of women’s professional ambition released by the Center for Talent Innovation found a striking demographic disparity: black women are far more comfortable with wanting and pursuing power than white women. 22% of African American women said they “aspired to a powerful position with a prestigious title,” whereas 8% of white women said the same.

KPMG, one of the largest professional services companies in the world, announced last week that Lynne Doughtie will become its first female CEO and chairperson. She has been with the company since 1985. When Doughtie takes over in July, two of the Big Four accounting firms will have women in the top spot (Deloitte hired Cathy Engelbert as its CEO in February).

But some companies may think it is, according to a new study from the Robert H. Smith School of Business and Columbia Business School. The researchers studied 1,500 companies from 1991 to 2011 and found a “quota effect”: after hiring the first woman to fill one of a company’s top five positions, the chances of that company hiring a second woman executive dropped by 51%.

Just when we thought we couldn’t love her any more, she goes and does something like this. Meryl Streep is launching a writing program for female screenwriters over 40 in partnership with New York Women in Film & Television.

Look at all the feminists!! That was our main thought as we scrolled through Time’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world this week.

The NFL announced on Thursday that Sarah Thomas will become the first full-time female referee in league history. The 41-year-old Thomas officiated some NFL team minicamps last year, and was also the first woman to officiate a college bowl game in 2009. She will be working as a line judge when the NFL kicks off its 2015 season in September.