Reese Witherspoon's big little truths

• Big little truths. Yesterday, I stopped by Vanity Fair's Founders Fair, a new gathering for women entrepreneurs. The morning started with an interview with Reese Witherspoon and Forerunner Ventures' Kirsten Green, who's an investor in Draper James, Witherspoon's lifestyle brand.

I was particularly interested in hearing what the pair had to say about the status of women in their respective industries. Green—who was named to Time's Most Influential People list yesterday—sounded a hopeful note about women in the venture capital industry. She told the audience that talk about increasing diversity is slowly turning into action, though "it could happen faster."

Green also noted that being a woman has sometimes worked to her advantage. She is known for her expertise in retail, an area where people look to her for "telling stories and connecting with the customer," stereotypically female skills. "It might be harder to be an investor in something that might be more classically male oriented," she said. "I don't even want to say what that might be because I want that whole idea to go away."

Witherspoon, who launched her production company Pacific Standard in 2012, said she still sees a clear divide in the way Hollywood treats women. With the success of TV show Big Little Lies, she says, she's finally achieved enough wins that "I feel like the story has changed: I am a producer. Before it was like, 'She's trying. That's cute.'"

Women still have to prove themselves "twice as hard," a process that can take "twice as long," said Witherspoon. "A guy has one hit and it's like, 'Oh, he deserves an Oscar!'"

• A $25 million punishment? Bill O'Reilly is leaving Fox News with a payout of up to $25 million, the equivalent of one year of his salary. For perspective: The network has now spent at least $85 million on payments related to sexual harassment allegations. Between O'Reilly and former CEO Roger Ailes, who got a $40 million exit package, men have received more than 75% of that money. New York Times

• Thank you, Serena. Fortune's Claire Zillman weighs on what the reactions to Serena Williams' pregnancy tell us about how society views expectant mothers. Williams' triumph in the Australian Open (when she was two months pregnant) sends a powerful message that pregnancy does not automatically interfere with women's abilities to do their jobs—a lesson too many employers still need to learn. Fortune

• An activist takes wing. Hedge fund Marcato Capital Management, which acquired a stake in Buffalo Wild Wings last summer, is pressuring the restaurant chain to oust CEO Sally Smith, who has run the company for nearly 21 years. Fortune

• Rewriting the rules. Ivanka Trump has announced that, in an effort to avoid potential ethical landmines, she will forego any publicity for her upcoming book, Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success, and will donate any unpaid portions of her advance and all future royalties to charity. In other first daughter news, Trump will travel to Berlin on Tuesday, where she'll attend a W20 Summit panel discussion on women's economic empowerment.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: The National Audubon Society has appointed Claire Douglass as director of national campaigns.

• Partners no more. Partners at the law firm Chadbourne & Parke have voted to expel Kerrie Campbell, who filed a gender discrimination and pay inequity lawsuit against the firm last year, from the partnership. Campbell's lawyers argued that the move was retaliation for her suit, which has been joined by two other female partners since it was filed in August, but a federal district judge in Manhattan rebuffed her effort to block the vote. New York Times

• Startup stall. The latest data from Crunchbase reveals that, while the share of venture-funded companies with women founders increased by nearly 8% from 2009 to 2012, it's since plateaued at 17%. TechCrunch

• It's time to care about care. Claire Cain Miller looks at a new study that finds high-quality child care during kids' earliest years can influence whether both mothers and children born into disadvantage lead more successful lives. Yet such care is out of reach for many: 42% of U.S. families spend a much larger chunk of their income than the 7% recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services. New York Times

• #Ladyboss. It's Friday! You deserve to take a moment to watch the funny-because-it's-true video for Rachel Bloom's new song, "Ladyboss." Vanity Fair

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