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Gender equality: Why pay equity isn’t enough

Tuesday 2nd of March 2021

Fixing pay inequality is not the silver bullet solution to creating more inclusive fair organisations and economies (famous last words of the CEO of a company developing innovative pay equity and fair pay software). But an innovative rewiring of jobs, complete with a new innovative look at reward and compensation is.
Women’s rights must be central to the global recovery. Here’s why

Tuesday 2nd of March 2021

The economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound detrimental effect for most people around the world. Yet, it has impacted men and women differently. Women are more likely to work in health care, unpaid care, and domestic work, making them more susceptible to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women still earn less than men for equally valued jobs, bear more of the childcare burden, and face a higher risk of violence in their homes. The pandemic has widened the gender gap in labor force participation, risking decades of progress for women as workers and entrepreneurs. As we write this, the COVID-19 pandemic is still claiming lives and livelihoods, and government policies to address the gender effects of the pandemic have not been enough given the magnitude of the challenge.
International Women’s Day: The women making history in 2021 – so far

Tuesday 2nd of March 2021

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
5 ways parents can help their children avoid gender stereotypes

Monday 1st of March 2021

In the last century, significant progress has been made in advancing gender equity in the United States. Women gained the right to vote, fathers have become more involved parents and more people and institutions recognize gender identities beyond the binary categories of male and female.
Okonjo-Iweala becoming WTO head is ground-breaking for all women

Monday 1st of March 2021

What does her career rise represent for Nigerian women?
This site aims to show how race and gender affect your pay and prospects at work

Monday 1st of March 2021

Look on the website of many employers and you’ll find a statement of their commitment to diversity and inclusion. But how many of them deliver on that promise? Now a leading jobs site is answering that question by publishing employees’ views about how companies perform in relation to race and gender.
World Bank: COVID-19 school closures threaten women’s economic future

Wednesday 24th of February 2021

Returns to schooling for women are high – so says Bono and the research. A couple of years ago, in an essay in Time magazine Bono wrote: “Give girls just one additional year of schooling and their wages go up almost 12 percent.” He said the same thing a year before that at the Munich Security Conference. The source of that quote was a 2014 World Bank paper and a recent update confirms this is still the case. At the same time, girls are staying in school longer and learning more. However, these gains are at risk as COVID-19 is presenting a crisis within a crisis for girls’ education.
New Zealand’s Ardern announces free sanitary products in all schools to beat period poverty

Thursday 18th of February 2021

All New Zealand schools will have free access to sanitary products from June, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday, an initiative aimed at stamping out period poverty in the country.
These 8 women in STEM are at the forefront of the world’s response to COVID-19

Thursday 11th of February 2021

Women across the world have made an enormous contribution to the global efforts to tackle COVID-19. Not only do women make up 70% of the world’s health workers and first responders, women in STEM fields have been leading research into the virus, creating trackers and developing vaccines.
Why living in a matriarchal society is better for women’s health

Thursday 11th of February 2021

Every debate about what is innate to humans and what is learned from society runs into the problem of having to rely on humans who live in some kind of society for reference. Claims about human nature can easily be repackaged as claims about people living in similar cultures and vice versa.
Why the world needs more female leaders

Tuesday 9th of February 2021

Countries must put more women into leadership roles to build a stronger post-pandemic world, a top U.N. official said, as data showed women could be waiting more than a century to see equality at the highest political echelons.
Women on the frontline are being left out of COVID-19 response plans, poll finds

Monday 8th of February 2021

Seven in 10 workers on the frontline of the pandemic are female yet women are left out of many COVID-19 response and recovery plans, according to a global survey published on Thursday.
These countries have the highest percentage of female managers

Monday 8th of February 2021

If you are working in Jordan, Saint Lucia, Botswana, Honduras or the Philippines, it is actually more likely that your boss is a woman than a man. This is according to 2019 numbers released by the International Labor Organization. Jordan led the pack with 62 percent of all managerial positions filled by women. But the numbers also show that only five out of 83 countries reporting these figures to the ILO have achieved gender parity in leadership positions.
How we measure stakeholder capitalism will determine our recovery

Friday 5th of February 2021

In less than 12 months, the United States lost 22 years of progress towards gender pay equity and 32 years of progress towards gender parity in the labour markets. If we don’t recuperate these losses now, we will not only face a sluggish economic recovery, we will also experience greater levels of inequity in the decades ahead.
For American couples, gender gaps in sharing household responsibilities persist amid pandemic

Friday 29th of January 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of American life, including how people work, get an education, connect with their family and friend networks and fill their social calendars. Despite quarantine orders that forced many people to stay home and spend more time with their families, a new Pew Research Center analysis of October 2020 survey data finds that many of the dynamics between couples haven’t changed much during this turbulent time.
Funding for female-led start-ups: are accelerators widening the gender gap?

Wednesday 27th of January 2021

• The finance gap for women-led tech entrepreneurs is proving hard to shift.
Tech can reach the world’s unbanked women – but only if they tell us how it should work

Friday 22nd of January 2021

• Women make up the majority of the global unbanked population.
How a genderless card deck might make you think differently about inequality

Friday 22nd of January 2021

Indy Mellink, a Dutch card fan, was explaining a game to her cousins last summer when she asked herself: why should a king be worth more than a queen?
Stitching up racism: how knitting is helping break down barriers in South African tech

Thursday 21st of January 2021

• Despite making key contributions in the technology sector, Black people continue to face barriers to entry.
3 women of colour on how to boost diversity from the outside in

Sunday 17th of January 2021

Marian Croak has a unique way of looking at the world. It probably explains why the inventor of one of 2020’s most essential technologies – Voice over Internet Protocol – and Google’s Vice-President of Engineering has hundreds of patents to her name.
Why women don’t speak up on Zoom calls – and why that’s a problem

Thursday 7th of January 2021

Diversity efforts may have given women a seat at the table – or, in the context of the pandemic, a place on the Zoom call – but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have a voice.
Dying inside: The hidden crisis in America’s jails

Tuesday 22nd of December 2020

The female population in U.S. jails has risen as the male population has declined. Many women enter jails suffering mental health crises and addictions, and sometimes pregnant. Yet local lockups are ill-equipped to handle this growing population pool.
COVID-19: How women are bearing the burden of unpaid work

Friday 18th of December 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic downturn it has caused, have hit everyone hard. But the impact has not been spread equally. A report in November by UN Women found clear evidence that, although both genders have seen their unpaid workloads increase, women are bearing more of the burden than men.
These are the world’s most powerful women

Friday 18th of December 2020

Business magazine Forbes has published its 2020 list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
How do people spend their time? This chart takes a global look

Wednesday 16th of December 2020

A global look at how people spend their time
Zurich added these 6 words to job adverts and more women applied

Tuesday 8th of December 2020

Insurance company Zurich saw a 16% increase in women applying for roles after adding six words relating to flexible working to their job ads.
Take the Meritocracy Stress Test to find out the truth about diversity in your company

Friday 4th of December 2020

• The Meritocracy Stress Test does for equality what the bank stress test did for liquidity.
Fewer women CEOs have been appointed since the start of the COVID-19 crisis – here’s why

Thursday 3rd of December 2020

The world’s biggest companies have been recruiting fewer women to chief executive roles since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research.
The shadow pandemic: COVID-19 has resulted in a rise of violence against women in the Caribbean

Wednesday 2nd of December 2020

On November 25, 1960, three political activists, the Mirabal sisters, were brutally killed in the Dominican Republic. To mark this day, raise awareness, and encourage action, the world now observes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women every year in their honor.
This country has become the first in the world to make sanitary products free

Thursday 26th of November 2020

Scotland on 24th November made sanitary products free to all women, becoming the first nation in the world to take such a step against “period poverty.”
Domestic violence soared in lockdown – but we can stop this hidden pandemic

Wednesday 25th of November 2020

• COVID lockdowns trapped many domestic violence victims with their abusers.
As the UK publishes its first census of women killed by men, here’s a global look at the problem

Wednesday 25th of November 2020

Six women are killed by men every hour in a “global pandemic of femicide” that is being partly hidden by COVID-19 – and the United Nations is calling for urgent action.
The woman who created the technology behind internet calls explains what it takes to innovate

Thursday 19th of November 2020

If you’ve ever wondered how a Zoom call works, you might want to ask Marian Croak, Vice-President of Engineering at Google.
How women will drive the revival of the middle class

Wednesday 11th of November 2020

In today’s America, a middle-class life will cost you, on average, 30% more than it would have 20 years ago. Relative to the change in middle-class income since 1980, housing costs have increased by approximately 100 percentage points; healthcare costs have grown by nearly 200 percentage points; and the price of education has soared by more than 600 percentage points.
The state of women’s leadership in 5 statistics

Tuesday 3rd of November 2020

No country has achieved gender equality, and the glass ceiling remains intact. This is the warning from the United Nations in its 2020 edition of “The World’s Women: Trends and Statistics.”
Are countries doing enough to support women through the pandemic?

Thursday 29th of October 2020

While many governments have taken positive measures to support women and girls disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the response remains “insufficient and uneven”. This is the view of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women, which have launched the COVID-19 Global Gender Response Tracker to track government action across 206 countries and territories.
COVID isn’t gender neutral- it hit women hardest. How to reset the world of work, by the head of UN Women

Friday 23rd of October 2020

This Q&A is an edited version of an interview with Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, which took place ahead of the Jobs Reset Summit.
Could COVID-19 widen the workplace gender gap?

Friday 16th of October 2020

Office life will be different after COVID-19, with desks far apart, Plexiglass barriers and a health warning on handshakes. But the biggest change could be a notable absence of women.
Why investing in women small and micro business owners will help the global economy recover

Friday 9th of October 2020

As world leaders determine a path forward for the global economy, we must ensure women and women-led small businesses are not left behind. Investing in women-led small and micro businesses (SMBs) pays dividends in communities around the globe because women use their resources to reinvest in the health, education and well-being of their families and neighbors.
This Black British hiker is tackling exclusion from the outdoors

Monday 5th of October 2020

As corporations, governments, organizations and educational institutions confront what diversity and inclusion looks like from the inside, one UK hiker has created a community for people of colour outdoors.
Why improving women’s lives is the key to healthy ageing

Thursday 1st of October 2020

• COVID-19 has disproportionately affected older people – both directly and indirectly.
Shecession: COVID-19 is affecting women’s employment status worse than men

Monday 28th of September 2020

Unlike any other modern recession, the downturn triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has created larger employment losses for women than for men. Based on data from all US recessions since 1949, this column shows that the 2020 recession deviates most sharply from the historical norm in its disparate gender impact. The fact that job losses are much higher for women not only matters for gender equality, but will also reduce families’ ability to offset income losses, producing a deeper and more persistent recession.
3 ways Bahrain is supporting women through COVID-19 and beyond

Friday 25th of September 2020

• The coronavirus could substantially widen the gender gap globally.
Here’s why AI needs a more diverse workforce

Monday 21st of September 2020

Eleven year-old Gia Mar Ramos was furious. Her dad had signed her up for a robotics class at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth camp without telling her. When she arrived, there were 11 boys and only 1 other girl in that class. All the boys had previous experience with programming. The two girls decided to team up and try to beat the boys – which they did – in every single challenge. That experience motivated Gia to teach other girls about opportunities in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
Society & Future of Work: What are the challenges in making society and the future of work more sustainable?

Sunday 20th of September 2020

A more sustainable, inclusive world is one in which all people – including women and girls and the most vulnerable – survive and thrive. This includes equal rights and access to services like healthcare and education, and a life free from violence. It also entails the opportunity to own a business or property, hold management or elected government positions and fully participate in all levels of political, economic and public life.
Scientists thought only male birds sang – until women joined the research

Thursday 17th of September 2020

Americans often idealize scientists as unbiased, objective observers. But scientists are affected by conscious and unconscious biases, just as people in other fields are. Studies of birds’ vocal behavior clearly show how research approaches can be affected by the people who do the work.
Guilt is fuelling Japan’s gender gap – Here are 3 ways we can stop it

Tuesday 15th of September 2020

Japan’s voluntary month-and-a-half shutdown of the economy in April due to COVID-19 has had a higher cost for women than men. A key reason: a “guilt gap” between women and men, where women often feel compelled to take on more professional sacrifices.
Citigroup has just appointed the first female CEO of a Wall Street bank

Friday 11th of September 2020

Citigroup Inc C.N named consumer banking head Jane Fraser as its next chief executive on Thursday, making her the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank.
COVID-19 has worsened gender inequality. These charts show what we can do about it

Friday 4th of September 2020

More women have lost their jobs due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis than men, new research has found.The report COVID-19 and gender equality: Countering the regressive effects, from McKinsey Global Institute, estimates that women make up almost two-fifths of the global labour force but have suffered more than half of total job losses from the crisis. That’s left them 1.8 times more vulnerable to the pandemic’s impact than men.
Brazil announces equal pay for men’s and women’s national soccer teams

Friday 4th of September 2020

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Wednesday that its men’s and women’s national soccer teams will receive equal pay and prize money.
What we can learn from 5 innovations helping women during COVID-19

Thursday 27th of August 2020

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced a glaring truth about gender-based violence: it is a humanitarian, development and socio-economic crisis; a persistent and daunting triple threat whose solutions must be grounded in gender equality and human rights.
Futures destroyed: COVID-19 unleashes ‘shadow pandemics’ on Africa’s girls

Wednesday 26th of August 2020

Until the new coronavirus hit Kenya in March, 17-year-old schoolgirl Anna believed the world was hers for the taking.
It’s 100 years since US women got the right to vote, but how has gender equality changed?

Friday 21st of August 2020

On 18 August 2020 it was the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment – which guaranteed US women the right to vote. However, it still took decades for African American women and other minority groups to secure voting rights.
These female athletes are braving stigma to lead a cycling drive in Kabul

Thursday 20th of August 2020

Almost every morning, before rush hour clogs up the streets of Kabul, professional athlete Rukhsar Habibzai puts on her helmet, goggles and cycling shoes and rides door-to-door picking up women for a training session around Afghanistan’s capital.
Record number of Black women set to run for U.S. Congress

Tuesday 28th of July 2020

Joyce Elliott, an Arkansas state senator who is seeking a U.S. congressional seat in November, was the second Black student to attend her local public high school; the first was her older sister. If elected in November, she will be the first Black lawmaker in Congress from Arkansas, ever.
Women leaders are better at fighting the pandemic

Tuesday 28th of July 2020

On 8 June 2020, New Zealand was declared virus-free and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern lifted all restrictions except stringent border controls. With fewer than 500 confirmed cases and seven deaths from the virus Taiwan, under the presidency of Tsai Ing-wen, is seen to have performed very well.
This is how COVID-19 is affecting the working week for mothers

Tuesday 28th of July 2020

“Our findings indicate mothers are bearing the brunt of the pandemic and may face long-term employment penalties as a consequence,” says Caitlyn Collins, assistant professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis and coauthor of the study.
This is how COVID-19 is worsening the gender gap, according to the IMF

Monday 27th of July 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to roll back gains in women’s economic opportunities, widening gender gaps that persist despite 30 years of progress.
4 key trends on how COVID has impacted women in business

Monday 27th of July 2020

Much has been written about the disproportionate health and economic impact on women and men due to COVID-19 but few have studied how those variations affect businesses or how private sector leaders can rebuild their business with a focus on gender equality.
The COVID-19 crisis disproportionately affects women – here’s how Latin America is addressing it

Wednesday 22nd of July 2020

As the global economy plunges into the deepest recession since the end of World War II, countries around the globe are taking dramatic measures to contain this multifaceted crisis. With the International Monetary Fund projecting global growth for 2020 of -4.9% and the International Labour Organization reporting a global decline in working hours equivalent to more than 300 million full-time jobs globally, we have entered a critical moment.