Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Valentina (@valzarya) here. Hillary Clinton says she’s ready to come out of the woods, we meet the founder of “feminist Tinder,” and you’ll never guess what the Secret Service calls Kellyanne Conway. Have a productive Monday.
EVERYONE'S TALKING
• Poppy on paternity leave. Fortune guest columnist Poppy Harlow writes about the choice made by her husband, Sinisa Babcic, to take a month of paternity leave after the birth of their daughter, Sienna. Harlow, who co-anchors the 9-11 am edition of CNN Newsroom, admits that she was initially surprised by his decision, but says that the time the three spent as a family during those weeks have become some of her most treasured memories.
When Harlow asked her husband about his inspiration for taking leave, he credited his own father—as well as John Taft, the former CEO of Babcic's first employer, RBC Wealth Management U.S.
Taft took three months of unpaid paternity leave—twice—in the early 1980s, a time when such a move was highly unusual (one of his bosses even called his decision "flaky").
Harlow spoke to Taft, who is now retired, about his insistence on taking the time to help care for his children. The ex-CEO told her that an investment of time in parenting "will produce returns many times over" and that he believes that a company that won't provide paid parental leave is not worth working for.
Taft's experience is a reminder of both how far our society has come on the subject of parental leave, and how far we still have to go. While men who take significant time off to parent are unlikely to encounter the same public criticism that Taft faced, the percentage of dads who have the option to do so—much less those who actually get paid for that time—is still far too small. Read Harlow's full essay here: Fortune
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
• Judging the Judge. The confirmation hearings of Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, are set to begin today. Though Gorsuch's rulings pertaining to women's issues are minimal, some women's health advocates worry about the repercussions of adding him to the bench, pointing to the "Hobby Lobby case" in which he ruled in favor of the craft chain's denial of contraception coverage to employees despite the ACA's mandate. Over the weekend, a former law student of Gorsuch's wrote in a letter to the Senate that the judge told his class that employers should ask potential female employees about their plans for having children and implied that women manipulate companies to extract maternity benefits.
• The real First Lady? New York Magazine's feature-length profile of Kellyanne Conway reveals some interesting tidbits about the presidential counselor, whom the piece calls "the functional First Lady" of the U.S. A few that caught my attention: Her Secret Service nickname is "Blueberry" (she was crowned Miss New Jersey Blueberry Princess at age 16), she really, really doesn't want to be White House press secretary (she'd "slit [her] wrists, bleed out, put cement shoes on, jump off the bridge" before taking the job), and she defines her brand of "conservative feminism" as “softer,” “less anti-male” and “less pro-abortion” than the feminism of those who participated in the Women's March on Washington. New York Magazine
• Meet Ms. Singh. Lilly Singh—the highest-paid woman on YouTube, making $7.5 million last year—is "a personality well known to people under 25 and a stranger to almost everyone else." Singh churns out daily videos and twice-weekly scripted pieces that have featured guests ranging from Bill Gates to Selena Gomez; has created sponsored videos for products such as Coke and Skittles; and launched an international tour of her comedy variety show. Her YouTube videos have been seen more than 2 billion times. WSJ
• Redefining chick mags. Since 2010, a flurry of new women's magazines have sprung up, seeking to "redefine how women are portrayed in print, and who might want to read stories by and about them." A few examples: The Riveter, an online and print magazine featuring narrative journalism by women; The Establishment, an online magazine for feminist voices; and Hannah Magazine, a biannual publication billed as “an unapologetic celebration of and safe space for black women." New York Times
• Out of the woods? Speaking at a St. Patrick's Day event in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton suggested that we will be seeing more of her soon. “I’m like a lot of my friends right now. I have a hard time watching the news, I’ll confess,” she said. “I am ready to come out of the woods and to help shine a light on what is already happening around kitchen tables, at dinners like this.” New York Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Chelsea Clinton has been named to travel site Expedia's board of directors. Jessica Denecour, CIO of Varian Medical Systems Inc., has joined the board of MobileIron Inc.
MPW INSIDER MONDAYS
Each week, Fortune asks our Insider Network — an online community of prominent people in business and beyond — for career and leadership advice. Here's some of the best of what we heard last week.
• Gut-check. Laura Chambers, VP of consumer selling at eBay, shares how her decision to take a new job over a promotion came down to a coin toss—and she chose against it. Don’t let the noise around you silence your own instincts, she says. Only you can make your own decisions. Fortune
• We can handle it. Men need to stop assuming they have to conduct meetings differently when women are around, writes Teesha Murphy, creative director at Tyler Barnett PR. To change this misconception, women should enter every meeting with “confidence and a killer sense of humor." Fortune
• You call that advice? A male boss once told Apcera COO Jan Plutzer that she should just focus on being a mom. Even if you’re the only woman in the room, don’t fall for the “advice" to act like a man, she says. Embrace what makes you unique, even if it’s being the only mom on staff. Fortune
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
• How to bee single. After leaving Tinder, which she co-founded, Whitney Wolfe went on to start Bumble—or what has been called “feminist Tinder." The app aims to be a little less agonizing for women, featuring photo verification, security that makes it easy to report harassment, and a requirement that women always make the first move. Two years after its founding, Bumble claims 800 million matches per month and ranks second in top grossing Apple downloads in the Lifestyle category (just behind Tinder). New York Times
• It's a catchphrase for a reason. A new study about women in the workplace from executive search firm Egon Zehnder found that women feel empowered and ambitious at the office—but only to a point. “Desire to advance to a top position declines at the senior manager level and above and drops from 72% to 57% as reality sets in about the challenges for advancement to senior leadership,” the report says. In other words: the glass ceiling is still very, very real. Fortune
• ClassPass role swap. Payal Kadakia has stepped down as chief executive of fitness startup ClassPass and will assume the role of executive chairman. The new CEO will be Fritz Lanman, a ClassPass investor and its current executive chairman. Kadakia, who was on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list last year, will focus on the company's product and design, while Lanman will take on more of its day-to-day operations. Fortune
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ON MY RADAR
Kellyanne Conway’s husband is set to lead Justice Department division WSJ
Beyond ‘he’ or ‘she’: the changing meaning of gender and sexuality Time
'London Bridge is down': the secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death The Guardian
7 questions with Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of the New America Foundation Time
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