Employment, Skills and Human Capital
Rarely does a new technology transform consumption, production and society. But with artificial intelligence (AI), that technology has arrived. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.” After a recent funding round, Beijing-based Ofo netted $450 million and joined the unicorn club of private companies valued at over $1 billion. Among its backers are ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing and Jack Ma’s Ant Financial (part of Alibaba). Rapid change and rampant inequality are testing the resilience of economies and societies. It is in our hands to ensure that the potentially disruptive shifts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution not only herald a change of guard in the highest echelons of the global economy, but also rebalance opportunities and outcomes across geographic, generational and gender boundaries. Leaving school and entering the workforce can feel overwhelming. What is the most celebrated Chinese holiday globally, by the Chinese and by everyone else? Here’s a hint: It’s not the Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year. It is November 11, known as Singles’ Day. I’ve spent over a decade studying the areas in the world where people live longer and healthier lives than anywhere else on the planet. These “Blue Zone” regions are incredible because the people there live not only longer, but better. Besides having a large percentage of people that live to 100, the aging population also remains active well into their 80 and 90s, and typically do not suffer the degenerative diseases common in most of the industrialized world. Propaganda bots posing as people are increasingly being used on social media to sway public opinion around the world. So says new research from the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute, which found automated accounts and other forms of social media propaganda are rife in Russia, the US and Germany among other countries. On May 27th, 75,000 people were left stranded because a contractor inadvertently switched off the power supply at a British Airways data centre. The cost has thus far been estimated at $100 million dollars. The week before, a large cyber-attack using WannaCrypt Ransomware infected more than 230,000 Windows PCs in 150 countries. This attack affected schools and universities, railways, and government computers across the globe. Most notably, the ransomware attack wreaked havoc across the National Healthcare System (NHS) in the UK, causing operations and medical appointments to be cancelled, Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, has called the cyber-attack the “largest ransomware attack observed in history.” It’s been described as one of the “holy grails” of 21st century chemistry. A diverse range of breakthrough technologies, including “artificial leaves” that turn CO2 into fuel, and a technique that harvests water from air, could soon be playing a role in tackling the world’s most pressing challenges, according to a list published today by the World Economic Forum. Nowadays, two of the most frequently discussed topics in the media are perhaps the growing gap between rich and poor, and the challenges presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Sometimes, words are not all they are cracked up to be. Silence can yield more power than words. Inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci said, “Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.” Virtual reality is much more than just a new form of entertainment, it is increasingly being used in a wide range of medical applications, from treatments to training. Here are a few of them. In 1900, just 15% of the world’s population lived in cities. Now that proportion is over 50%, which is a lot of people. In fact, it means around 4 billion human beings rely on urban infrastructure to keep them warm, mobile and clean. LHC PT. 2 In the year 2100, 2 billion people—about one-fifth of the world’s population—could become refugees due to rising ocean levels. Those who once lived on coastlines will face displacement and resettlement bottlenecks as they seek habitable places inland. The South African government recently reported that around 6.5 million job opportunities have been created through its Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) since 2004. This should be good news given the high levels of unemployment in South Africa, especially for women, who are disadvantaged in the job market and are specifically targeted by the programme. From Fawaz’s home in a makeshift refugee camp just across the border from Syria, where he lives with his now-displaced family, one danger has been traded for another. “There are no schools. There is no education. My children have no toys. They play only with mud,” he says. “Our life was better in Syria.” Inside a handful of public kindergartens in Sweden, toys are never divided into traditional gender camps. Dolls and baby strollers mingle freely with cars and wooden blocks. In posters, dump trucks haul around beaded jewelry, a bionic robot wears a tutu, and it’s not a female or male Barbie who does the dishes—that’s left to a skeleton. The world is becoming more global. More than ever people are proactively deciding where to live, where to study, where to work. Sometimes it’s out of necessity, sometimes it’s out of choice. But the opening up of the world thanks to technology and other factors like simpler regulation means we don’t need to stay within the borders of the country in which we were born. It’s even possible to be an e-Resident of a country. The Forum’s 11th Annual Meeting of the New Champions takes place in Dalian, China this week. With its futuristic focus on science, technology and innovation, it is unlike any other meeting the Forum organizes during the year. Here are six things you need to know about it. Since humankind’s earliest days, we have used stories to communicate knowledge, to form our understanding of the world, prescribe behaviour, and imagine our futures. Therefore, the stories we tell and the identities we construct about our future are literally writing the next operating system for humanity. You’ve probably heard of the Silk Road, the ancient trade route that once ran between China and the West during the days of the Roman Empire. It’s how oriental silk first made it to Europe. It’s also the reason China is no stranger to carrots. The Amazon system stores an estimated 10 years’ worth of global greenhouse gas emissions, removes over 2 billion tonnes of CO2 every year, and presents a mosaic of ethno and linguistic diversity. Its ecosystems harbor about 25% of land biodiversity; while its abundant rainfall generates 20% of the freshwater input into the world’s oceans.Show Agenda posts
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How China became an AI leader
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These are the best books for someone just starting out in their career
Monday 26th of June 2017
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Monday 26th of June 2017
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Monday 26th of June 2017
Democracy is under threat from bots. This is why
Monday 26th of June 2017
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Monday 26th of June 2017
Artificial leaves could power tomorrow’s cars – and China may be best placed to lead the way
Monday 26th of June 2017
These are the top 10 emerging technologies of 2017
Monday 26th of June 2017
Education must foster creativity – and fight inequality
Monday 26th of June 2017
6 ways silence can make you a better leader
Monday 26th of June 2017
5 ways virtual reality could improve your health
Monday 26th of June 2017
Our growing cities are forgetting about water. We need to be much smarter
Monday 26th of June 2017
The next particle collider will be three times bigger than the large hadron
Monday 26th of June 2017
One fifth of the world’s population could be a refugee by 2100
Monday 26th of June 2017
South Africa’s public works programme is creating jobs, but it can do more for women
Monday 26th of June 2017
Gordon Brown: we’re failing to give refugee children an education
Monday 26th of June 2017
Why gender-neutral Swedish preschools could make children more successful
Monday 26th of June 2017
The fall and rise of global borders
Monday 26th of June 2017
6 things to know about our meeting in China
Monday 26th of June 2017
We have the power to code a new operating system for humanity
Monday 26th of June 2017
China’s $900 billion New Silk Road. What you need to know
Monday 26th of June 2017
Nature-inspired design: how the Amazon can help us solve humanity’s greatest challenges
Sunday 25th of June 2017
Gender Parity
The South African government recently reported that around 6.5 million job opportunities have been created through its Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) since 2004. This should be good news given the high levels of unemployment in South Africa, especially for women, who are disadvantaged in the job market and are specifically targeted by the programme. In a taxi in the UAE, the driver – a warm-hearted Bangladeshi man – eagerly showed me several wedding pictures on his mobile phone. The bride was his 13 year-old daughter. When I told him that I was 28 and single, he didn’t even bother to hide his surprise. “You must be old for an unmarried woman in China, right? Hurry up, find a man and get married!” he said. France elects record number of women to parliament. (Reuters)Coroners less likely to investigate unnatural deaths in women. (World Economic Forum)Why do men harass women? A new study sheds light. (NPR)The future is feminist: At least in science fiction. (The Guardian)Reduce bias in your hiring process: 7 practical ways. (Harvard Business Review)What Islam actually says about domestic violence: Explainer. (The Conversation)Part-time work is growing more slowly, but more men are doing it. (The Conversation)Ireland’s ‘cruel and inhumane’ abortion laws: UN’s criticism. (The Guardian)A long road ahead to eradicate sexism in China. (Global Times)Break silence on ‘terrifying’ femicides in Dominican Republic: Minister (Reuters)‘Unruly’ Women: What we talk about when we talk about them. (The Atlantic) Half a million people die every year in England and Wales. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 257,207 males and 272,448 females died in 2015. The biggest killers are cancer, heart disease and lung disease. However, each year, a small but significant number of people die an unnatural death. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) coroners statistics reveal that in 2016, 24,542 people (16,694 males and 7,848 females) died an unnatural death, generally through accidents, suicide or failure in a medical or surgical intervention. Time to celebrate women’s gains in the UK election? Not so fast. (Washington Post)The 13-year-old girl ‘seemed willing’. The world’s worst case for women’s rights. (Reuters)Women’s rights activist detained in Saudi Arabia. (New York Magazine)Welcome to women’s world: Women say to Comey. (New York Times)America made me a feminist. (New York Times)Women are stronger than men. The science. (The Guardian)Women’s health needs are overlooked. It’s time for change. (World Economic Forum)Walmart’s strict attendance policy hurts women workers. (The Cut)What to wear to work? Why it’s so hard for women to figure out in 2017. (Quartz)Hitting puberty changes how girls learn. This is why. (World Economic Forum)7 real life wonder women who have achieved phenomenal success. (South China Morning Post) Puberty hormones might impede some aspects of flexible youthful learning, a study with female mice suggests. According to the World Health Organization, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which include cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease, are the leading cause of death among women globally and cause two in every three deaths among women each year. Will the US ever have a woman as President? (Slate)“It was a mistake to educate my daughter… I should have saved all the money for her dowry.” (Quartz)Sexual harassment policies may be ineffective with these omissions. (Harvard Business Review)Women close gender pay gap in two STEM jobs, lag in others. (Bloomberg)Tech’s bro culture: Why so few women break through. (Bloomberg)Guilt, fear and looking less committed: why millennial women take less vacation. (Huffington Post)Cambodian elections: The women who lost their land and are now fighting for power. (The Guardian)Imagining a black Wonder Woman. (The Atlantic)Historic rejection letters to women engineers. (The Atlantic)Women work nearly an hour longer than men every day. (World Economic Forum)Moroccan police stifle women’s protest in northern city. (Reuters)Child brides are on the rise in India’s towns and cities: report. (Reuters) Women work an average of 8 hours and 39 minutes a day – nearly an hour longer than men, when both paid and unpaid tasks are taken into account. Accused of underpaying women, Google says it’s too expensive to get wage data.This entrepreneur A/B tested her clothes to combat sexism. (Wired)The ambition-marriage trade-off too many single women face. (Harvard Business Review)US gives up its attempt to prevent listing gender equality as a human right. (BuzzFeed)Why female entrepreneurs are cursed with ‘male-only’ business attributes. (World Economic Forum) Managing a team can be a challenge for everyone. If you’re young and it’s your first time in a management role, it can be even more so. In theory, the world of entrepreneurship should be gender-blind. Start-up businesses are judged on whether they survive or die, and you might have thought that the same stark definition was applied to entrepreneurs themselves. But the discussion around how business people operate in this bruising arena has struggled to detach itself from broader stereotyping around sex – and it is starting to wear thin. “Every company in the private sector has a social responsibility,” says Waleed Abd El Rahman, CEO of a new food delivery business with a difference. Sheryl Sandberg calls for US policy changes to aid working mothers. (Bloomberg)Leading Silicon Valley VC firm takes a step towards diversity. (Recode)The gender pay gap: blame motherhood. (New York Times)Sexism Valley: Is misogyny a warning sign that a business is in trouble? (Wired)One of Descartes’ most famous ideas first articulated by a woman. (Quartz)Farming will end sex trafficking, says Kerala minister. (Indian Express)More children and women dying in Venezuela as economy collapses. (Bloomberg)Marines release first-ever ad spotlighting woman in combat. (NPR)Indian women’s groups seeking to ban verbal divorce. (Al Jazeera)Senator Warren: Women not an ‘optics problem’. (Bloomberg)Mother’s Day: empowering or feminism commercialised? (The Atlantic)Mums: your kids hijacked your brain. For life. (Wired) Laila came to visit us yesterday. She lives in in a remote district in Bamyan province, Afghanistan. America is getting richer every year. The American worker is not. Cautious welcome to Saudi decree over guardian system. (Al Jazeera)8 sexist laws you won’t believe still exist. (World Economic Forum) Record number of women Labour candidates for 2017 UK General Election. (Huffington Post)How many women are working on the Senate version of the Republican health care bill? (Quartz)Yellen says women still face challenges in workplace. (Washington Post)All About Breast Pumps. The state of women’s health tech: not great, but getting better. (Wired)More diversity in tech means less talk, more action. (CIO)Abortion in war time: How women break taboos in Yemen. (Middle East Eye)The awful pinkness of period apps. (The Atlantic)Men more involved in parenting than ever before: global survey.(Reuters) Gender stereotyping can still be rife in many work environments. In my own industry, advertising, it doesn’t seem to be an issue at the entry level, where women make up 41% of the workforce and start out with equitable pay and opportunities. But when we look at the numbers across senior levels, women are massively under-represented. According to a study by AWNY, they only hold 25% of leadership positions, making it clear that men are being favored over women in terms of compensation and hiring at an executive level. This year, the World Economic Forum on ASEAN will be focused on youth, and one of the topics we’ll be talking about is education. When we talk about education, a key part of that conversation must be sex. The term the UN uses to describe the right kind of sex education is comprehensive sexuality education, or CSE. Comprehensive, because it’s not just about teaching the physiology of sex, but about helping young people to make happy and responsible choices around the fundamental issues that will define their future. According to a Laotian proverb, “The voice of a poor man does not carry very far.” It’s been said that there has never been a better time to be born female. No doubt it’s true. But it’s also a fact that no country in the world has closed its gender gap. In Ghana, a group of enterprising women and young people is building bicycles out of an unlikely material: bamboo. Ten farmers grow the bamboo, and 25 builders craft it into environmentally friendly bikes that can be used on Ghana’s bumpy roads or exported overseas. Bernice Dapaah, the founder and CEO of Ghana Bamboo Bikes, plans to build two new factories soon, adding 50 more workers in communities with high unemployment. Humanity faces some tough challenges in the 21st century. By 2050, we’ll reach “peak population” with more than 9 billion people. That’s a quarter more mouths to feed with ever scarcer resources. We’ll be much older on average, which means that ageing nations in the Americas, Asia and Europe will become increasingly reliant on a shrinking proportion of young workers. And three out of four people will live in cities, a massive demographic shift that will force governments to create more efficient and affordable solutions for the delivery of clean water, sanitation and other essential services. It’s legal to pay women less than men based on past salaries, court rules in US. (LA Times)Gender parity task forces: an outstanding initiative that actually works. (Huffington Post)“I took the meeting because you’re hot.” How ingrained is sexism in Silicon Valley? (New York Magazine)Only 1% of female founders use VC money to fund their business. (Fortune)Mothers less wealthy than women without children. Surprise new study. (The Conversation)Podcast: How can we amplify women’s voices in China? (SupChina)More women politicians could mean fewer infant deaths. It’s not clear why. (New York Magazine)Meet the Iranian tycoon smashing gender stereotypes. (Al Jazeera)White men are the only ones not punished for advocating diversity. (CIO)Newlywed women in India given bats for defence against domestic violence. (Time)Replace tech show babes with STEAM students. (Tech Republic) Girls start believing they aren’t good at math, science, and even computers at a young age. But when 6-year-old girls were given a chance to take part in a computer-programming activity that involved robots, they showed more positive attitudes about their own skills and abilities, a new study shows.Show Agenda posts
View more Gender posts
South Africa’s public works programme is creating jobs, but it can do more for women
Monday 26th of June 2017
China doesn’t have leftover women. It has leftover men
Thursday 22nd of June 2017
French elections, our feminist future and other top gender stories of the week
Wednesday 21st of June 2017
Coroners are less likely to investigate unnatural deaths in women
Friday 16th of June 2017
Women are stronger than men, 7 real life wonder women and other top gender stories of the week
Wednesday 14th of June 2017
Puberty changes how girls are learning. Here’s how
Monday 12th of June 2017
The health needs of women are being overlooked. It’s time to bring this injustice to a halt
Friday 9th of June 2017
A woman President, a black Wonder Woman and other top gender stories of the week
Wednesday 7th of June 2017
It’s official: women work nearly an hour longer than men every day
Thursday 1st of June 2017
Ambition vs marriage, the Google pay gap and other top gender stories of the week
Wednesday 31st of May 2017
Young boss with older employees? Here’s what you need to know
Friday 26th of May 2017
How gender stereotypes are still undermining the capability of female entrepreneurs
Friday 26th of May 2017
A new app is helping Egyptian women cook their way to financial independence
Sunday 21st of May 2017
Mother’s Day, women in combat and other top gender stories of the week
Thursday 18th of May 2017
How millions of Afghan women are fighting to transform their lives
Tuesday 16th of May 2017
Wages have stagnated in the US. Here’s why
Friday 12th of May 2017
8 sexist laws from around the world, and other top gender stories of the week
Thursday 11th of May 2017
Here’s how women can combat gender stereotypes at work
Thursday 11th of May 2017
The key to teaching our children to value, respect and care for each other? Sex education
Thursday 11th of May 2017
Women must be at the heart of the digital revolution
Tuesday 9th of May 2017
8 sexist laws you won’t believe still exist
Monday 8th of May 2017
Bamboo bikes are helping drive economic growth and equality. Here’s why
Friday 5th of May 2017
Africa can lead the world in inclusive growth. Here’s why
Wednesday 3rd of May 2017
Court rules women can be paid less, gender parity task forces, and other top gender stories of the week
Wednesday 3rd of May 2017
What happened when 6 year-old girls programmed a robot
Wednesday 3rd of May 2017
