Fortune Article

On Wednesday, Labour MP Harriet Harman tweeted a photo of a baby on the lap of another MP seated in the first row of the House of Commons. “Beautiful baby in the House of Commons!! Hooray!!” Harman said in her post.

The baby in the photograph was at least the second child in as many weeks to enter the House of Commons as MPs debated high-profile legislation related to the U.K.’s divorce from the EU. Last week, Chloe Smith, a Tory MP, interrupted her maternity leave to appear for a vote on a Brexit measure and brought her young son along.

The children’s presence in the U.K. legislature is reminiscent of the time last year when Icelandic MP Unnur Bra Konradsdottir breastfed her baby while giving a parliamentary speech. Konradsdottir downplayed the incident at the time: “It’s like any job: You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow gave a similarly nonchalant response to Smith’s baby, which some observers interpreted as sign of real progress for working parents. “I say to the honorable lady, don’t be sheepish about it,” Bercow said. “The little baby is welcome to come in. There’s no problem.”

@clairezillman

EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

Ganging upEight countries are working to fill the void caused by President Donald Trump's ban on U.S.-funded groups providing information on abortions overseas. Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lovin says that the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Canada, and Cape Verde have all lent their support. "If women don't have control over their bodies... it can have very serious consequences for global goals of gender rights and global poverty eradication," she said.Reuters

Bank on it

The U.K. Treasury has appointed Charlotte Hogg, the Bank of England’s COO, as the next deputy governor for markets and banking. Hogg will replace Minouche Shafik when she leaves to become director of the London School of Economics. Bank Governor Mark Carney had hand-picked Hogg to be his “eyes and ears” at the bank in 2013 as it sought to get more women into senior positions. Her new appointment comes as Kristin Forbes, an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee, announced she would leave the bank this summer.

Telegraph

THE AMERICAS

Snap to it

Snapchat parent Snap Inc. updated its S-1 to show that the compensation of its lone female director Joanna Coles, chief content editor of Hearst Magazines, is on par with two other male directors. The amendment makes clear that Coles’ previously reported compensation left out a new four-year contract that she signed last month, giving her more stock. The company filed it after Fortune reported last week that Coles was compensated the least out of the five directors who were paid in 2016.

Fortune

Direct selling

On Fox & Friends yesterday, Trump senior advisor Kellyanne Conway defended Ivanka Trump's fashion line that Nordstrom yanked last week. "I own some of it. I fully—I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody," she said. After legal experts said she might have violated federal ethics rules against endorsing products, the White House said it had "counseled" Conway on her remarks.

New York TImes

A tariff tiff

Canada's new foreign minister Chrystia Freeland told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday that Canada opposes the idea of the U.S. imposing a new border tariff. She said Canada would respond "appropriately" if the U.S. tried to make such a move. Freeland, a former journalist of Ukrainian descent who was—notably—banned by Moscow in 2014, was appointed by PM Justin Trudeau in January.

Fortune

ASIA-PACIFIC

Rerouting the mommy track

Companies in Japan have started offering more generous maternity leave and time off to comply with PM Shinzo Abe's effort to get more women into the workplace. But some women fear the so-called mommy track will impede their career growth. One company, construction firm Taisei, is responding to that blowback by promoting the concept of a two-career couple and urging men to work shorter hours.

Wall Street Journal

Set to music

Sasikala Natarajan's succession as chief minister of Indian state Tamil Nadu following the death of her close confidant J Jayalalitha is not going over well with everyone. Opponents argue that Natarajan is not qualified for the role since she's never held public office. Rapper Sofia Ashraf is one constituent who's speaking out against the appointment. She posted a Facebook Live video of her singing a song, "My Vote Is Not For You," in front of the new chief minister's residence that received at least 45,000 views.

BBC