U.S. men’s national team blasts U.S. Soccer for claiming it pays women more
Amid controversy and legal action over the pay gap between the men’s and women’s national soccer teams, U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro claimed this week that women have actually been paid more than men in recent years. Members of the women’s team disagreed, and the men’s team backed them up with a statement: “The Federation downplays contributions to the sport when it suits them. This is more of the same from a Federation that is constantly in disputes and litigation and focuses on increasing revenue and profits without any idea how to use that money to grow the sport.”
The first round of Democratic debates courted women. The second is ignoring them.
Reproductive rights and the pay gap were central issues during the first Democratic presidential candidate debate. During the second debate, however, these issues were dropped almost entirely by moderators. Paid leave and care for family members have been barely touched upon in the debates so far, apart from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who briefly described how her proposed tax on the wealthy would pay for universal childcare, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota mentioned the importance of affordable childcare. Neither was given the opportunity to elaborate.
Unraveling the mystery: women share their experiences with menopause
Four women on 10TV shared their personal experiences with menopause, including stories of weight gain and hot flashes. Dr. Cynthia Evans, professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, is trying to shift the narrative around menopause: “I think a lot of women are sad when they hear they’re in menopause because it used to be that menopause was associated with age. We need to turn that around. Menopause can be a really exciting time in a woman’s life. For the most part, your family life is completed, your kids are at college, you’re on your own again and you have about half your life left to design the way you want to design it.”
‘Russian Doll,’ ‘When They See Us,’ ‘Fleabag’ push Emmys toward parity
The Television Academy nominated twice the amount of female directors for Emmys this year compared to last year. Directors include Ava DuVernay of “When They See Us,” which received 16 nominations, and Amy Sherman-Palladino of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” which received 20 nominations. Almost three times as many women were nominated in scripted writing categories including DuVernay. Nominees in the comedy series category came very close to achieving parity due to the nominations of “Fleabag,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Russian Doll.”
For women of color in tech, it’s hard to grow without representation
Although women of color comprise 39 percent of the U.S. population (and will be the majority by 2060), only 12 percent of all women in computing roles are filled by black or Latina women. Only 2 percent of all workers in Silicon Valley are black, Latina or Native American women, according to the Kapor Center. Black and Latina women are also paid 67 percent of a man’s paycheck for the same job. A lack of representation has perpetuated this negative cycle, according to experts.
Gender equality improves life for everyone, studies show
In a new peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Happiness, researchers from Harvard University, Monmouth College and the University of Notre Dame found that men and women are happier when there is gender equality. Across various countries, these researchers studied happiness levels in conjunction with the nations’ equality in education, pay, health, representation in government and upper-management, and more factors. Studies concluded that nations with higher equality were happier overall, and that it did not come at the expense of men’s happiness.
Paternity leave is a lifesaver for working moms, but are dads taking it?
Of all the men offered six weeks of paternity leave, less than half of the men take the full time off. If more men took paternity leave, it would help close the pay gap: mothers make about $16,000 less per year than fathers, but for every month of paternity leave a father takes, the mother’s income increases by 6.7 percent. Know Your Value interviewed three dads who were among the first in their companies to take full paternity leave to see its effect on them and their families.
Halley Bondy