How Do Business Roundtable Members Stack Up On Paid Leave?

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The House votes to impeach, Thersia Gouw and Katie Jacobs Stanton raise new funds, and we take a look at the state of paid leave in corporate America. Have a lovely Thursday. 

EVERYONE'S TALKING

- Parsing paid leave. Last week, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty sent a letter to Congress on behalf of her fellow Business Roundtable members, urging lawmakers to "enact federal legislation to make available paid family and medical leave benefits to as many working Americans as possible."

On the heels of that missive, JUST Capital—a nonprofit dedicated to prodding businesses and markets to become a "greater force for good"—took a look at the state of paid leave in corporate America, and particularly at the companies that make up the Roundtable. (For the uninitiated, the Business Roundtable is an association of CEOs of America's most influential companies).

Here's what it found: Of the 922 large-cap companies JUST ranks each year, 41% have some form of paid parental leave. Meanwhile, the 137 BRT companies included in that cohort are significantly more likely to have a paid leave policy: 66%.

Among the companies that report offering paid leave, 77% share details of those benefits—namely how many weeks are paid and who qualifies. Interestingly, BRT companies that reveal that information have, on average, shorter leaves and are less likely to offer gender-neutral paid leave, which extends the same benefits to both moms and dads.

Now, before you come down too harshly on the BRT members for policies that fall short, consider that they were also more likely to disclose the details of their leave benefits (88% vs. 74%). That tendency toward transparency may open them up to criticism since it means that it's not just the cream of the paid leave crop sharing their information. 

So what should we take away from JUST's report? Well, to begin with: Even the companies in the Business Roundtable have a long way to go when it comes to offering all parents the paid time off they need to succeed at home and at work. But beyond that, it's worth offering kudos to the organization's members for their willingness to share their policies—even if they're not perfect. And while some have speculated that the BRT's calls for government action may be influenced by the funding source of the policies under consideration—they'll be financed by tax credits or social security rather than employers—I think we can all agree that more paid leave is good thing. And for the 83% of Americans who have no access to paid family leave from their employers, that's what matters most.

Okay, one more thing before I go: We at Fortune are looking ahead to a new decade (!) with a package we published this morning: 25 big ideas that will shape the 2020s. It includes contributions from some of the smartest, most visionary women we know, including investor and philanthropist Melinda Gates, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzi, economist Mariana Mazzucato, Crispr pioneer Jennifer Doudna, Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford, VC Aileen Lee, and a host of others. Please give it a read!

Kristen Bellstrom
@kayelbee
kristen.bellstrom@fortune.com

Today's Broadsheet was produced by Emma Hinchliffe. 

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- Historic House moment. The House of Representatives voted on the impeachment of President Trump yesterday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began the proceedings before a parade of representatives voiced their support or objection to the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Read Pelosi's opening statement, in which she says the House would be "derelict in our duty" not to act, here, and a summary of the votes that ultimately led to the president's impeachment here.

- Back again. Sen. Susan Collins will, in fact, run for re-election to Congress in 2020. Collins attracted challengers for her Maine seat, including Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, after her vote in favor of Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Collins hadn't confirmed she would try for another term until now. Politico

- The saga of SoftBank. SoftBank's Vision Fund has pumped billions of dollars into mostly male founders, inflating valuations and—as in the high-profile fall of WeWork—leading to some missteps. Bloomberg examines the culture of "sycophancy and harassment" surrounding Masayoshi Son. Among Son and his "all-male phalanx of managing partners," one, Jeff Housenbold, allegedly commented in a discussion about investing that Peloton "appealed in part to men who masturbated to its workout videos" and forced Tina Sharkey to resign as CEO of Brandless. Bloomberg reports that SoftBank says Housenbold "never made such a comment." In a letter to Fortune, a lawyer for Housenbold also says that Housenbold never made that comment, and that Sharkey voluntarily resigned from her position.  The lawyer also states that Housenbold is "a strong supporter of inclusivity and diversity in the workplace, and any statements to the contrary are false."  Bloomberg CORRECTION: An earlier version of this newsletter did not include SoftBank's denial, as reported by Bloomberg. We have also added the statement from Housenbold's lawyer. 

- Female funding. It's a big day for female-founded funds! Theresia Gouw, formerly of Aspect Ventures, raised $250 million for a new fund, at new firm Acrew Capital. The fund, whose backers include Melinda Gates, will invest in early-stage companies. Separately, Katie Jacobs Stanton, former VP of global media at Twitter and a co-founder of the investment collective #Angels, raised $25 million for her solo debut fund Moxxie Ventures. Moxxie will back underrepresented founders; four of Stanton's fellow #Angels are limited partners. 

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: United Way Worldwide named founder, CEO, and medical director of CHILDAccra Dr. Juliette Tuakli head of its worldwide board of trustees. Mobile bank Varo hired Rover's Halle Hutchison as chief brand officer.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

- #MeToo in Japan. Shiori Ito became a face of the #MeToo movement in Japan after she said in 2017 that Noriyuki Yamaguchi, former Washington bureau chief for Japan's TBS network with close ties to prime minister Shinzo Abe, raped her. Yamaguchi has denied the allegation, but a Tokyo district court ordered him to pay Ito 3.3 million yen, or $30,000, and dismissed his countersuit. Guardian

- Labour leaders. Another candidate is in the mix for Labour leader in the U.K. Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry is the first to officially enter the race to take over from Jeremy Corbyn following the party's massive losses. Her expected competition includes shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, who is supported by many of Corbyn's allies, MP Jess Phillips, MP Yvette Cooper, and MP Lisa Nandy. More women than men represent Labour in the next Parliament, after all! Guardian

- FT on Fraser. As Jane Fraser settles into the No. 2 job at Citigroup‚ which makes her a likely candidate to be the first woman to take over a major U.S. bank, the Financial Times talks to colleagues from throughout her career. They say Fraser is "gutsy" and a "good cop and bad cop rolled into one" known for her work ethic and helping to steer the bank out of the financial crisis. Financial Times

- Best of books. Here's an end-of-the-decade piece for you: in the 2010s, did women authors define literature? The "last descendants in the long line of white male literary Calliopes" like Jonathan Franzen and Jeffrey Eugenides "finally petered out," making way for decade-defining writers like Jennifer Egan and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Vulture

ON MY RADAR

GlaxoSmithKline hopes to take on rivals with rare blood cancer drug Fortune

U.K.’s top-earning CEO Denise Coates bags record $422 million payday CNBC

Welcome to the first impeachment in the era of female power Gen 

How climate change could shorten pregnancies Anthropocene Magazine 

QUOTE

"Everybody brings to this experience, to this process, their own life experience."

-PBS Newshour's Judy Woodruff on moderating tonight's Democratic primary debate. She will ask the 2020 candidates questions alongside Newshour's Amna Nawaz and Yamiche Alcindor

This story has been corrected to include comments in the Bloomberg story cited above as well as from Mr. Housenbold's lawyer both denying the reported statement attributed to Mr. Housenbold and asserting that he did not force Ms. Sharkey to resign as CEO of Brandless. We apologize for the oversight.