A collection of extracts on what’s being said – and done – about gender equality in our world.
Youth leaders from G7 countries convene in Ottawa for Y7 summit
TORONTO, April 13, 2018 /CNW/ – The Y7 Summit, a meeting of youth delegates from all G7 members, will be convening in Ottawa from April 16th-18th to influence global policymakers in the lead up to the G7. The summit will focus on three themes: climate change and the environment, the future of work, and gender equality. Over the course of the summit, delegates will develop official recommendations for G7 leaders.
To inform the work of delegates and help shape the recommendations, youth representatives from the Youth for Gender Equality (YGE) initiative will be participating in the Y7 Summit. Youth from across Canada will share with Y7 delegates initial YGE findings that reflect the realities and issues of youth across Canada.
Youth for Gender Equality is a ground-breaking, youth-led initiative supported by Plan International Canada, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and a network of 18 civil society organizations aiming to ensure Canada and the international community deliver on their promises to achieve the gender equality targets set out by the UN’s Global Goals by 2030.
The first phase of the Youth for Gender Equality initiative was comprised of a series of youth-led dialogues held across the country that focused on how Canada can best address gender inequalities at home and abroad. One of these pilot dialogues was facilitated by Austin Henderson, a member of Plan International Canada’s Youth Advisory Council, and a presenter at the Y7 Summit.
Austin Henderson hosted one of these pilot dialogues with 12 newcomers to Canada:
“These young people shared their diverse experiences as it relates to gender equality both in their countries of origin and in New Brunswick. They were able to provide recommendations on how Canada can address issues such as post-secondary education and gender norms, equitable access to services for gender minorities, and services for survivors of gender-based violence,” said Henderson. “This first round of dialogues offered such a rich diversity of perspectives and insights, I really look forward to hearing from even more youth from around the country.”
Following this initial pilot phase and a national location-mapping exercise, the innovative YGE initiative will roll out its second phase over the course of the next year. This will see youth facilitating conversations with other young people at identified locations across the country. The collected insights and recommendations will combine to form recommendations for how Canada can best advance gender equality at the global, national and local level.
To ensure that Youth for Gender Equality captures a range of youth voices that accurately represents Canada’s diversity, the initiative is seeking additional partnerships with other organizations dedicated to amplifying youth voices and achieving gender equality.
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Equal Pay Day Highlights Gender Inequality at Work
Ave Rio Andrew Lewis, Chief Learning Officer, April 12, 2018
https://www.clomedia.com/2018/04/12/equal-pay-day-highlights-gender-inequality-at-work/
Federal data shows that full-time working women earn 80 cents for every dollar men earn. Equal Pay Day is a symbolic marker to raise awareness of the gender pay gap. This year, Equal Pay Day fell on April 10 – which is, on average, how far into the year women must work to earn the wages that men earned the previous year. Dozens gathered at Daley Plaza in Chicago for a rally put on by Equal Pay Day Chicago, which is supported by several organizations including Women Employed, a nonprofit organization that advocates for women in the workplace.
httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYUjECuREFY
(Read more….)
Pay gap worsened for women under 40 over last two years, US study finds
Despite attention to the issue, American women earned 79 cents for every $1 a man earned in 2017, compared with 81 cents in 2015
The pay gap worsened for American women younger than 40 between 2015 and 2017, despite widespread attention to the issue, according to a study.
The workforce analytics company Visier said said one of the most likely causes of the gender pay disparity is the number of women in management. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
The workforce analytics company Visier said American women earned 79 cents for every $1 a man earned in 2017, compared with 81 cents in 2015.
“Employers are not making collective progress towards achieving gender pay equity,” the Visier said, in a report published on Equal Pay Day.
Visier used anonymized company data for the last three years to examine pay and performance for more than 1.5 million American workers across 60 companies. Visier said the companies represent a wide array of industries.
At the same time that the gender wage gap increased, Visier found women were more likely to outperform their male colleagues in performance ratings. In 2017, women were 21% more likely to be rated as a top performer, compared with 12% more likely in 2015.
Visier said one of the most likely causes of the gender pay disparity is the number of women in management. In 2017, 18% of men held management positions, compared with 12% of women.
“Given managers on average earn two times the salaries of non-managers, this gap contributes significantly to the overall gender wage gap,” the report said.
The report recommended companies examines their female headcount, hiring practices, performance ratings and promotion practices to help close the gap.
Since the 1960s, the pay gap has narrowed in the US, but progress in the last couple of decades has slowed.
(Read more….)
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
Six Companies Hacking The Gender Wage Gap
Selina Rezvani, Forbes, Apr 13, 2018
A popular meme shows two enthusiastic-looking, professional women in “grayge” suits. One holds a briefcase as they victoriously high-five each other.
The caption?
“Women. Like Men, Only Cheaper.”
While that might sound like something from a Mad Men episode, there’s a reason the meme is popular today. A new study shows that a full 80% of women would leave a company for one that offered better gender equality. The same study highlights that additional 78% of respondents say a workplace where people are treated equally — regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, race or religion — is important to them. And yet, roughly half of female workers (56%) and male workers (52%) surveyed believe their employers could do more to promote gender equality and diversity.
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Africa’s largest architecture practice pledges to move the needle on gender diversity
Tom Ravenscroft, Dezeen, April 13, 2018
Boogertman + Partners, Africa’s largest architecture practice, has promised to tackle its gender pay gap in response to Dezeen’s Move the Needle initiative.
The South African studio made the commitment after using Dezeen’s simple calculator, which showed that it pays women 19 per cent less per hour than male employees.
“Boogertman + Partners saw Move the Needle not only as an opportunity to publicly commit to change as an industry leader, but also as a chance to bring local challenges to the ongoing debate on a global level,” the firm wrote in a statement.
The firm, which employs 96 registered architects among a staff of 260, is the latest to commit to change following Dezeen’s initiative, which highlighted gender imbalance in firms as well as among conference speakers, on awards juries and recipients of major industry honours.
Leading conferences and architects commit to change
Five of the world’s leading conferences committed to improving the gender balance of their speakers, while three leading architecture and design award programmes promised that they will increase the number of female judges on board.
Last month architect Foster + Partners committed to improve equality in the light of our initiative, while three of the world’s largest architecture firms – AECOM, IBI Group and HOK – all contacted Dezeen with commitments to improving gender diversity. Dozens more organisations have written to Dezeen expressing support and committing to make changes.
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Meeting of the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Commission
Council of Europe, April 13, 2018
On the occasion of the meeting of the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Commission (GEC), from 11 – 13 April 2018 in Strasbourg, Congress Secretary General Andreas KIEFER met GEC Chairperson Eva FEHRINGER.
They discussed possible synergies, the role of the Congress in promoting the Council of Europe’s work in this field with local and regional authorities, and the innovative initiatives implemented by cities and regions, from which national governments could draw inspiration.
The new Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy was adopted by the Committee of Ministers in their 1309th meeting on 7 March 2018. The Congress will contribute to those strategic objectives which are of relevance for local and regional politicians.
These include, in particular, preventing gender stereotypes, the fight against domestic violence, equal access of women to justice, the participation of women and men in political and public decision-making, protecting the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls, as well as gender mainstreaming in all policies and measures.
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7 Workboot Brands That Are Closing the Gender Equality Gap
Barbara Schneider-Levy, FN Magazine, April 13, 2018
https://footwearnews.com/2018/focus/womens/womens-work-boots-steel-toes-timberland-1202548595/
As gender barriers continue to erode, many women are no longer thinking pink. Instead, they are thinking blue — blue-collar, that is.
But many aspiring female plumbers and construction workers are facing an unexpected obstacle: limited choices of steel-toe boots for women.
To meet the growing demand for these performance looks, workboot brands are stepping up their offerings for this customer. Timberland Pro, for instance, has made the women’s market a priority with the fall ’17 launch of a seven-style collection and accompanying marketing campaign called Made for Women Who Make, which celebrates female tradespeople.
The collection, according to the company, was created in response to a Deloitte study analyzing data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Gallup. The report revealed an estimated 2 million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled due to a widening shortage of female skilled workers.
“People are retiring from the trades at a faster rate than they are entering, and we see women as a critical group to fill the skills gap,” said Bert Spiller, VP of global product creation for Timberland Pro. “In the trades, footwear is like a tool — it needs to perform. And men and women have distinct needs when it comes to fit, comfort and performance on the job.”
In creating the line, Timberland reached out to hundreds of female consumers for input and then analyzed what they wanted in work footwear. According to Cassie Heppner, director of marketing, positive reaction to the collection has signaled to the company there is a need and want by women to have product built for them.
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