Fortune - Kamala Harris makes history

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August 12, 2020

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Pinterest’s former COO sues for gender discrimination, Belarus’s opposition candidate flees the country, and Sen. Kamala Harris makes history several times over. Have a powerful Wednesday.

– Harris makes history. Nothing like a little history-making news drop on a Tuesday afternoon! Yesterday, the question we’ve all been speculating about for months was finally answered when Joe Biden announced that he’s chosen Kamala Harris as his VP.

While the pick wasn’t exactly a surprise—Sen. Harris has been the frontrunner for the spot for at least the past few weeks—the announcement did seem to spark the kind of excitement that the presidential race has been missing, certainly since COVID-19 hit, and perhaps stretching even further back.

Leaving political ideology aside for a moment (as if!), there are deep-seeded reasons to celebrate this moment. It’s impressive how many ‘firsts’ Harris just checked: She’s the first Black woman—and first woman of color, period—to be named to the presidential ticket of a major U.S. party, as well as the first person of Asian descent to tick that historic box. She’s also only the second Black person and fourth woman to run for president or VP from either of the U.S.’s two major parties. And, if she and Biden win November, we’ll be writing a whole new list of milestones.

It’s also incredibly meaningful to see a Black woman rise to the tippy top of national consciousness in this moment, when so many people are in the streets calling on Americans to value Black women. (Though it must be noted that Harris, a former prosecutor, is far from beloved by all those protesting against racism and police brutality.) Harris’s selection also seems like long overdue acknowledgement that Black women are core to the Democratic base.

If you want to read smart opinions on Harris and the role she’s likely to play in the campaign, there are many, many to choose from—and given that we’re still months out from the election, there are certainly more to come.

Personally, I’ll be watching to see how her addition helps shape the Biden campaign. (Might we see the nominee move closer to her proposed six months of paid parental leave? Or her innovative plan to curb states from continuing to try to block women’s access to abortion?)

And as a veteran of chronicling of the 2016 race, the Broadsheet will be keeping a watchful eye on how stereotypes related to gender—and, this time around, race—creep into the political discourse, especially as it relates to Harris. Just last week we wrote about the way doubters referred to the senator’s “ambition” as if it were a shameful secret she should tuck away in the attic. One might hope the pundits and pols learned a few things about deploying words like “shrill,” imploring female candidates to smile, and critiquing their “likability” in the last go-round—but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Kristen Bellstrom
kristen.bellstrom@fortune.com
@kayelbee

Today’s Broadsheet was curated by Emma Hinchliffe.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- Primary results. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D–Minn.) prevailed in her primary on Tuesday, beating out four opponents. "Organized people will always beat organized money," she tweeted. Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene won a Republican primary runoff in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. Greene believes in the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory and has come under fire for racist remarks. Her ascent has alarmed Republicans, but given her district's demographics, she's likely to end up in Congress.

- Pin this. Françoise Brougher, the former COO of Pinterest, sued the company for gender discrimination and retaliation. Brougher says she was left out of meetings, given gendered feedback, paid less, and fired for speaking out. Pinterest says it is reviewing the lawsuit and conducting an independent review of its culture. New York Times

- Dramatic election. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the opposition candidate in Belarus's presidential election on Sunday, fled to Lithuania after contesting election results amid widespread protests. Many details surrounding her departure are unclear, including whether she faced threats from the government, but the candidate said she "made a very hard decision" to leave. CNN

- Police complaints. The NYPD faces a gender-discrimination lawsuit from Chief Lori Pollock, who retired after being assigned to a new role she said was a demotion. An NYPD spokesperson said the department would review the lawsuit. In Seattle, police Chief Carmen Best stepped down over cuts to the city's policing budget.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: In a surprise move, GM CFO Dhivya Suryadevara left the job to join fintech startup Stripe in the same role. General Assembly hired Ethical Ventures cofounder Lisa Lewin as CEO. Law firm Susman Godfrey elected Kalpana Srinivasan managing partner, the first woman to hold the role.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

- Granting leave, period. India's food-delivery service Zomato is offering "period leave" to its employees, allowing members of its workforce to stay home while suffering painful menstruation symptoms. The company's CEO says that women shouldn't feel any shame using the leave, that "this is a part of life." New York Times

- Bittersweet story. In 2011, Janet Mock told her story in a Marie Claire cover: "I Was Born a Boy." Now Mock, the writer, director, and activist for transgender rights, is reflecting on that milestone piece; she views it—and its approach to her identity—as "bittersweet." Marie Claire

- Dangerous precedent. In California, a woman last year was charged with murder after her pregnancy ended in stillbirth; prosecutors blamed the woman taking methamphetamines for the fetus's death. The state's attorney general has joined groups calling for the charges to be dropped, worrying about the precedent it could set to "subject all women who suffer a pregnancy loss to the threat of criminal investigation and possible prosecution for murder." New York Times

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