Venture capitalists pledging support for Kamala Harris’ White House campaign listed priorities in a survey released on Wednesday that include women’s reproductive rights, climate change and a friendlier stance toward startups.
Of about 800 venture capitalists who signed an open letter of support, 225 chose to detail their reasons for endorsing the Democratic candidate and the policies they favor in a survey, opens new tab being reported first by Reuters.
Nearly all of the 225 thought it was a mistake for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, which recognized abortion rights. Some felt this hurt women at work.
“These are not social issues. These are actually business issues,” said Leslie Feinzaig, CEO of Graham & Walker who started the pledge.
The open letter, called “VCs for Kamala” and disclosed in July, includes such venture capitalists as Reid Hoffman from Greylock and Vinod Khosla from Khosla Ventures.
The 225 who filled out the survey did so anonymously. They were 62% men, 66% white, largely aged 35 to 64. Although no one was asked to provide party affiliation, among those who self-disclosed, 70% were Democrats and 30% were Republicans or independents, the poll organizers said.