The second of two reports from the Fawcett Society and Totaljobs demonstrates the disproportionate impact childcare responsibilities have on women and their careers. READ PATHS TO PARENTHOOD: UPLIFTING NEW MOTHERS AT WORK Key findings include:
- One in ten working mothers quit jobs due to childcare pressures
- Two fifths of working mothers have turned down a promotion due to childcare pressures
- Working mothers are 1.4 times more likely to feel the financial burden of childcare costs compared to working fathers
- Only a third (31%) of working mothers have access to the flexible working arrangement that they need
- 85% of working mothers struggle to find a job that can accommodate their childcare needs
Category: Social Equality
Report: Facebook Content Mods Say Company Therapists Were Pressured to Share Session Details
Adding to an already ridiculously long list of complaints, now Facebook’s content moderators say a higher-up asked company-appointed counselors to share information from their sessions, according to a new report from the Intercept.
Numerous investigations have described this workforce as notoriously underpaid and overworked in crappy working conditions that require them to scan through some of the most disturbing posts the internet can offer. You know, all the things it might behoove someone to see a therapist about.
This most recent criticism comes from a site in Austin, Texas, led by Accenture, an independent contractor Facebook hired to oversee 1,500 of its content moderators. Accenture and Facebook also employ trauma counselors, a.k.a. “wellness coaches,” to help staff cope after screening all that potentially graphic content to judge whether it violates the company’s terms of service.
via Report: Facebook Content Mods Say Company Therapists Were Pressured to Share Session Details
Here’s How A Christian Group Prevents Same Sex Couples From Adopting, In the Name of ‘Religious Freedom’
Republicans across the country, now bolstered by the Trump administration, have been working very hard to enable healthcare providers, adoption agencies, and other organizations to deny services to LGBTQ people in the name of religious freedom. A disturbing new report by USA Today, the Arizona Republic and the Center for Public Integrity has traced hundreds of so-called “religious freedom” bills back to a non-profit Christian organization that has created an influential playbook which Republicans are copying into bills across the country. So far, more than 60 have been signed into law.
The playbook is called “Project Blitz,” and it was created in 2017 by the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, a Christian non-profit organization whose membership includes “hundreds” of lawmakers nationwide, including from Congress.
What Not to Say to Same-Sex Parents
When is the last time you asked a casual acquaintance—or better yet, a stranger!—the details about how their baby was conceived? You probably wouldn’t go up to the random heterosexual couple ahead of you in the grocery store checkout line and request a full conception play-by-play. But same-sex parents find themselves barraged with inappropriate questions about something incredibly private to them all the time. People somehow feel it’s okay to quench their curiosity about how they built their family.
Just because a kid has two moms or two dads does not mean you can pile on the invasive questions. Even if you think you mean well, here’s what you should not be asking.
After Rickie: 5 of our favorite LGBTQ+ teens on TV today
This August marks the 25th anniversary of the debut of My So-Called Life, the short-lived but influential teen drama that was also one of the first network shows to have a gay character as a series regular. Rickie Vasquez (Wilson Cruz) faced some of the same adolescent woes as his peers Angela Chase (Claire Danes) and Rayanne Graff (A.J. Langer), but as an out teen, he also faced homophobia at home and school. Despite the show’s limited run, Rickie became a beacon for queer teen viewers, especially queer teens of color who’d waited a long time to see themselves on TV.
via After Rickie: 5 of our favorite LGBTQ+ teens on TV today
Kesha Drops ‘Rich, White, Straight Men’: Listen
Has anyone talked to Kesha about the 2020 election recently? Based on the new track she dropped on Monday, she is mad as hell and ready for change. “Rich, White, Straight Men” is a droll, tongue-in-cheek critique of the United States’ treatment of women, immigrants, and same-sex couples who want to get married. Kesha also takes serious issue with the country’s reluctance to adopt universal healthcare and free college for all. The message is clear! (Is she voting Warren?)
Sonically, this song is unlike any other Kesha’s ever released; there are no thumping club beats or glittery opening chords. This is far from the perfectly manicured pop songs that were once her calling card. “Rich, White, Straight Men” opens with the unsettling sound of cashiers opening and coins falling, and then Kesha begins to dryly check off a list of policies that would materially improve our lives, if only the people in power would enact them. The best part, though, is the song’s literal chorus of voices demanding to know “What if the rich, white, straight men didn’t rule the world anymore?” The melody is almost… swashbuckling? Burlesque? Kesha’s voice uncharacteristically slides up and down as she sings “Guess what, God is a woman, I know her.” The whole thing feels slightly uncomfortable, I guess rather like the political climate. It’s an unprecedented and ultimately enjoyable change for her; what would it sound like if this Kesha made a whole album? I look forward to finding out.
Social Media Censorship Is Hurting Those on the Margins, EFF Project Contends
Bias on social media has become a highly politicized topic in the US—started mainly by right-wingers crying foul at having their accounts suspended or banned, and snowballing in a series of congressional hearings on the subject. The White House itself spun up a website last week for people to report incidents of censorship due to political beliefs.
We can argue as to whether the fears of the Trump administration or its various howling Twitter goons are grounded in reality (many have), but the fact is: social media platforms are lousy arbiters of speech. Their rules tend to be opaque and their enforcement is capricious. At least, that’s what a newly-launched project from the Electronic Frontier Foundation contends.
via Social Media Censorship Is Hurting Those on the Margins, EFF Project Contends
Anti-Abortion Group Live Action Absurdly Claims Censorship by Pinterest
Yesterday morning, the anti-abortion group Live Action launched a Tweetstorm alleging that Pinterest was discriminating against it for its beliefs. The group, which rose to infamy with heavily edited Planned Parenthood undercover “sting” videos, said that it had been put on Pinterest’s domain “block list” and had its account permanently suspended for spreading “misinformation.” Lila Rose, Live Action’s founder, suggested that the group had been wrongly censored out of partisan bias.“Pinterest Logic: You can freely pin if you’re Planned Parenthood, an abortion provider,” she tweeted. “But if you’re a pro-life group & pin about the beauty & humanity of a baby in the womb, you’re banned bc you’re a threat to ‘Pinner’s health or safety.’”
via Anti-Abortion Group Live Action Absurdly Claims Censorship by Pinterest
Domestic abuse report exposes hidden side of rural life – BBC News
Domestic abuse victims there suffer for longer, are less likely to report abuse and struggle to get support, it said.
Victims are isolated, unsupported and unprotected in a “rural hell” that protects the perpetrators, the National Rural Crime Network report found.
via Domestic abuse report exposes hidden side of rural life – BBC News
Sephora to shut US stores for diversity training after SZA racial profiling claim | World news | The Guardian
The Sephora beauty chain will close all its US stores, distribution centers and corporate offices on Wednesday to conduct diversity training for employees, after a racial incident involving a Grammy-nominated singer.
R&B singer SZA, who is black, said in April she was racially profiled at a Sephora store in Calabasas, California.
“We have been informed of an incident at our Calabasas store and in addition to reaching out to SZA directly, we are gathering more information about the incident in order to take the proper next steps,” Emily Shapiro, a spokeswoman for Sephora, told Reuters in an email. “We take complaints like this very seriously, profiling on the basis of race is not tolerated at Sephora.“