No Images? Click here Greetings, friends! Welcome to Your Life, Better for August 11, 2017. Here are five things you need to know this week to make your life better at work and at home: Tech's Gender GapControversy abounds after a former Googler, James Damore, wrote a 10-page memo arguing that the gender gap in the tech company’s leadership and workforce persists because of biological differences between men and women. Quartz reassures us that most of his claims about the sexes are not scientifically true. Elizabeth Weingarten's response on CNN argues throwing his words out as garbage or hastily labeling him a “bigot” is unproductive. Instead, the tech industry needs to consider how to balance a space that encourages ideological diversity and free speech, while creating conditions for a safe work environment. Indeed, the tech industry needs to address discriminatory policies, practices, and culture, especially in the face of certain “leaders” using Twitter to spew misogynistic thoughts. On a recent episode of The Weeds Sarah Kliff asks: what woman wants to work in an environment where her colleagues think she is mentally inferior to them? The gender gap in tech is not a biological problem, it’s a structural, cultural problem. It’s no wonder women aren’t lining up to fill Uber’s vacant CEO position! On the latest episode of Recode Decode, diversity advocate Erica Baker and ProDay CEO Sarah Kunst argue that the apology letters coming from perpetrators of sexist behavior in the tech industry are falling short of affecting real change. Kunst says, “When you’re not sorry until you’re caught, you’re not really sorry.” We could not agree more. So, what ought to be? First, let’s debunk unbased claims that women prefer jobs in “social areas.” It’s conveniently been forgotten that women coders ran the NSA during WWII, and that the number of women in computer science was higher three decades ago and has decreased since the mid-1980s. Beyond Curie is a beautiful reminder that women have always kicked ass in STEM professions. Lego is also inspiring future generations of girls and women to follow in the footsteps of STEM heroines. Second, let’s give girls and women the tools they need to succeed in traditionally male dominated fields. Dharavi Diary is leading the way by offering academic programming to girls (and recently expanded to include boys) in one of Mumbai’s poorest neighborhoods. The program teaches them literacy and tech skills, like Microsoft Excel and coding. The outcome? Many of the girls have developed apps that have tackled problems like sexual harassment, water scarcity, and lack of education in their community. The possibilities are endless if girls and women are given a fair chance in STEM fields, and safe, supportive work environments. We don’t need 3,000 words to say so.
Do Something About Diversifying the WorkplaceWe’ve heard endless stories about the lack of diversity in workplaces, but we hear less about what is being done to fix the problem. July 31st marked Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, and Serena Williams spoke out to spotlight how black women work an average of eight months longer than their male counterparts to earn the same amount, and earn 17% less than their white female counterparts. A study by Rutgers finds black women experienced gains at certain levels of political offices in 2016, but also notes that no black woman has ever been elected governor. But how can women and people of color progress when the same people keep getting jobs? For example, The New York Times hired another white man to head their Styles section, making him the fourth to do so since its launch in 1992, the Huffington Post reported. NBC currently has a shortage of female TV directors, though they - at least - are trying to do something about it. CNN Money reports NBC’s launch of “Female Forward,” an initiative to equalize the number of female and male directors in the network’s scripted episodes, will provide 10 female directors the opportunity to direct one NBC series episode after completing three shadowing gigs. NBC isn’t the only one attempting to combat the lack of diversity in the workplace. According to Legal Week, a group of 32 companies, including Prudential and JPMorgan, joined together to push $226 million of their legal expenditures to law firms owned by women and minorities. For Prudential this shift accounts for 8-10% of their legal expenditures on outside counsel firms. Harvard Business Review reported on data from multiple studies from diversity training evaluations and recommended two training activities all companies can utilize: 1) taking the perspective of LGBTQ individuals or racial minorities by writing down and imagining challenges they may face, and 2) asking participants to set measurable, challenging, and attainable goals related to diversity. Both Harvard Business Review and The Atlantic suggest personality characteristics also matter and affect how individuals form prejudices. New findings show that being smart may put you at greater risk of prejudice, but that this can be counteracted by challenging your thinking and getting to know people who aren’t like you. So remember, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Why Does Work Feel Like a Death Sentence? Work martyrs - we’ve all been one or known one. Work martyrs feel as if no one else can do their jobs, which means they’re more likely to sacrifice paid leave and other benefits in attempt to advance their careers. Hate to break it to them - the strategy isn’t working! A new study from Project: Time Off found that employees who forfeit paid time off, specifically vacation days, do not perform as well as those employees who are taking advantage of leave benefits. Moreover, 79% of these self-appointed work martyrs got a raise compared to 84% of people who did not use the label. Yet some employees aren’t trying to be “work martyrs,” rather, they are trying to survive the unrealistic, unpredictable demands of fluctuating work schedules. These schedules are more common in lower wage industries, and take a serious toll on employee health, family life, and work performance. Long work hours, competitive work environments, and unpredictable work schedules have serious ramifications, and the way we work is now the 5th leading cause of death in the U.S. The onus, however, isn’t strictly on the employee. Compared to other developed countries, the U.S. spends a fraction on labor market adjustment programs, like job retraining. Although grueling long hours and unpredictable schedules characterize American working conditions, Brigid Schulte and the team of experts at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Ideas42 suggest they shouldn’t. They’ve entered a panel for the 2018 SXSW Conference titled, “Your Work May Be Killing You. How Science Can Help,” which will explore why Americans work such crazy long hours and how behavioral science could help us design better systems to implement real change. Your work shouldn’t be a death sentence! Emotional Warfare Women feel judged, and your mom probably does too. A recent poll by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital finds that 61% of mothers feel criticized about their parenting choices. An op-ed on Medium written by a male entrepreneur explains his experience at a entrepreneurial and tech-startup mingle where a colleague of his described a woman as a “bitch” for cutting a contract short to pursue another opportunity. Buzzfeed discusses actress Charlize Theron’s hollywood fame and how her public life took precedence over what she did on screen, labeling her a “bitch, diva, and ice queen” for being “cold”. And author Emily Gould describes feeling pressure to be nice and suppress her emotions, and openly acknowledges that women don’t have the luxury of being unlikeable if they want career advancement in the publishing world.Despite the judgement and pressure to be nice, women are still viewed as emotional laborists -- those supposed to console, listen deeply, help others feel loved and valued, even when at times they don’t feel that way themselves. A recent study in Occupational and Environmental Health uses hair cortisol measures to find a positive association of emotional labor and stress among kindergarten teachers. An article by GUTS gives three pieces of advice on how to give emotional labor without emotionally draining yourself. Ask yourself: Is it consensual? Is it valued? And, is it reciprocated? The International Journalist Network offers additional advice for journalists facing harassment at work.
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