Women in tech: Success still hangs on relationships and privilege

~ mcequality

Google’s overall workforce, for example, is currently 30.9 percent women, who make up 21.9 percent of tech positions and 25.5 percent of company leadership. At Facebook, women comprise 36 percent of global personnel, 22 percent of technical roles and 30 percent of leadership. Twitter’s numbers are similar, with 38 percent women overall, 17 percent in technical jobs and 33 percent in leadership. Most tech companies have reported comparable statistics in recent years. These numbers are certainly better than they were a few years ago, but the increase is marginal at best.

via Women in tech: Success still hangs on relationships and privilege

Despite Being Unable to Spell Menstrual, Scott Lloyd’s ORR Tracked Teens’ Periods on a Spreadsheet 

~ mcequality

Last spring, a judge ruled that incompetent scumbag Scott Lloyd and his shit show Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) could no longer prevent underage refugees from legally seeking abortions. However, new documents suggest after the ruling, he continued to track pregnancies in order to do just that.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow revealed documents unearthed by American Bridge, a liberal super PAC, that seem to indicate Lloyd and the ORR were tracking the periods and pregnancies of refugees ages 12-17 as recently as June 2018. The 28-page document was in spreadsheet format, with columns recording deeply personal information such as whether the pregnancy was a result of consensual sex, “gestational age,” and last menstrual cycle (it’s spelled “mentsral” in the spreadsheet).

via Despite Being Unable to Spell Menstrual, Scott Lloyd’s ORR Tracked Teens’ Periods on a Spreadsheet 

It’s High Time Congress Passed the Equality Act | American Civil Liberties Union

~ mcequality

On Wednesday, the Equality Act — legislation that would provide LGBTQ people with explicit and comprehensive nondiscrimination protections — was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives with the support of nearly 300 members of Congress. If passed, it would transform the civil rights landscape in the United States.

The harsh reality — despite increasing support among the public and representation in popular culture — is that discrimination remains a persistent problem for LGBTQ people across the country. From discrimination and harassment of LGBTQ youth in our nation’s schools to older same-sex couples who are denied housing in retirement communities because of their sexual orientation, this is something that LGBTQ people confront throughout our lives and in every corner of the country.

via It’s High Time Congress Passed the Equality Act | American Civil Liberties Union

What It’s Like to Date a Woman With a Chronic Illness – MEL Magazine

~ mcequality

Zack, a 39-year-old writer and college professor in Raleigh, North Carolina, was happy to oblige. In fact, he felt the same way about his own chronic condition, a social anxiety disorder related to autism, though the metaphor he preferred was “social battery” — i.e., he could only spend so much time around others before needing to recharge by himself.
Still, Cara’s illness required Zack to adjust what he calls his “bachelor issues.” For example, when he was living alone, he never noticed toothpaste or hair piling up in the sink. But since Cara was prone to infection, such dude-dom debris wasn’t just disgusting to her, it was potentially life-threatening. Also, while Cara could walk short distances with a cane, she was predominantly confined to a wheelchair. Thus, an errant laundry basket in the hall between the kitchen and bathroom could add precious minutes to Cara’s trek to the toilet. And if she did successfully make it, a whole new set of problems arose if Zack had taken a shower earlier and left water on the floor.

via What It’s Like to Date a Woman With a Chronic Illness – MEL Magazine

For Immigrant Families, WhatsApp Is a Lifeline — and a Rare Connection to the Worlds They Left Behind – MEL Magazine

~ mcequality

The third one, Shah explains, is the most chaotic: “It’s a mix of everyone, and new people get added to it all the time. It’s the place for ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties,’ by which I mean people who you’re not sure how you’re related, but everyone insists you are.” Adding to the chaos of this group of more than 70 people is the fact that there are no neatly defined rules or guidelines; it’s the exact opposite, actually — a group where anything goes. “A few months ago,” Shah says, “this huge argument broke out between some of my extended family in London and their cousins in Delhi. It went on for hours. I’m sure it started off as an argument about a debt that needed to be paid from a couple of years ago. Then it turned into this huge argument about who stole what from who and who wronged who back when they all lived in India.”

via For Immigrant Families, WhatsApp Is a Lifeline — and a Rare Connection to the Worlds They Left Behind – MEL Magazine

Birmingham primary school suspends LGBT lessons indefinitely | Education | The Guardian

~ mcequality

A Birmingham primary school that taught pupils about LGBT rights as part of a programme to challenge homophobia has suspended the lessons indefinitely until a resolution is reached with protesting parents.

Parkfield community school in Saltley has been the scene of weekly protests over the lessons, which parents claim are promoting gay and transgender lifestyles.

School chiefs have now said the No Outsiders lessons, which teach tolerance of diverse groups, including those of different races, genders and sexual orientation, will not be taught “until a resolution has been reached”.

Previously Parkfield said they would continue as normal after the Easter holidays.

This month about 600 Muslim children, aged between four and 11, were withdrawn from the school for the day, parents said. Parkfield would not confirm the number.

via Birmingham primary school suspends LGBT lessons indefinitely | Education | The Guardian

Affirmative action lawsuit against Harvard in judge’s hands

~ mcequality

BOSTON — A federal judge will now decide whether Harvard University intentionally discriminates against Asian-American applicants, an allegation made in a 2014 lawsuit that was debated in a final round of arguments Wednesday.

Lawyers for both sides clashed at Boston’s federal courthouse, largely recapping cases they made during a trial that ended in November. The case will be decided by U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs, although any ruling is expected to be appealed.

The case carries implications for other U.S. schools that consider race in admissions decisions as a way to bring a diverse mix of students to campus. It has added fuel to a national debate about whether and how race should influence admissions.

via Affirmative action lawsuit against Harvard in judge’s hands

Testing Rape Kit Backlog Leads to Over 1,000 Arrests Nationwide

~ mcequality

After New York City cleared its own rape kit backlog, the Justice Department and Manhattan District Attorney’s office in 2015 awarded nearly $80 million in grants to help address the national backlog on rape kits. The result of that effort, the Associated Press reports, is more than 1,000 arrests and hundreds of convictions according to officials.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office poured $38 million into a grant that tested a backlog of 55,252 rape kits and has led to 186 arrests and 64 convictions across the country. The Justice Department, meanwhile, funded testing through a parallel initiative for an additional 45,000 rape kits that resulted in nearly 900 prosecutions and 500 convictions and plea bargains nationwide.

via Testing Rape Kit Backlog Leads to Over 1,000 Arrests Nationwide

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fires Back on 'Elitist' Green New Deal

~ mcequality

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who introduced the bill back in February, faced similar mockery during a Monday hearing of the House Financial Services Committee when Wisconsin Republican Sean Duffy, a Real World alum and all in all terrible shit, called the Green New Deal a policy designed for a “rich liberal.”

“This is not an elitist issue,” she said in a video clip from that hearing that went viral on Tuesday night. “This is a quality of life issue. You want to tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist?”

She added, “This is about American lives. And it should not be partisan. Science should not be partisan. We are facing a national crisis.”

via Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fires Back on 'Elitist' Green New Deal

Trump’s Legal Battle to Keep Blocking Critics on Twitter Doesn’t Seem to Be Going So Hot

~ mcequality

Last year, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled that Donald Trump (a man whose unhinged tweeting has ranged from boosting neo-Nazi propaganda and slamming critics to worrying the military about nuclear war) could not block critics on Twitter, finding his feed is a public forum and that blocking his haters amounted to a violation of the First Amendment. Well, he’s still fighting that ruling in the appeals process, with the Justice Department defending the blocks before a three-judge panel in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.

It doesn’t appear to be going so well for the president’s itchy blocking finger! According to reports in Bloomberg, the Washington Post, and CNN, the three judges in question seemed rather skeptical of the DOJ’s claim that what goes down on @realDonaldTrump is between the president and his Twitter enemies, rather than between the federal government and the U.S. populace. Instead, they seemed amenable to the plaintiffs, users who at one time or another were blocked by Trump, and are being represented in the suit by the Knight First Amendment Institute.

via Trump’s Legal Battle to Keep Blocking Critics on Twitter Doesn’t Seem to Be Going So Hot