women – Impact Lab

Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News, women

Work-from-home is the new feminist frontier

June 14, 2020

More moms are working from home than ever before in history. Without child care and school, it’s been a struggle. But many are also realizing that pursuing their careers while being present with their kids has its benefits, too.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was rare: An estimated 7% of employers offered permanent work-from-home options. Today, mid-crisis, that number has exploded to 57%. While the transition was ugly and disruptive, employers are now warming up to the idea, and some are making work-from-home options permanent.

On a large scale, this shift would have dramatic impacts on the economy, the workforce, real estate, the environment, and more. It would also be a game changer for working moms.

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Children, Healthcare, Science & Technology News, women

Prevue pregnancy eTextile device lets mothers see their baby grow

May 8, 2020

New to the world of eTextiles is the PreVue pregnancy screen, an abdomen attachment that lets expecting parents see their child’s growth and development as the natal process progresses.

The PreVue is the brainchild of Melody Shiue and has recently won an Australian Design Award – no surprise, given the level of innovation its got going on. Shiue’s idea centers around the concept of pre-birth bonding using “fetal visualization” (a great term, we’ve got to admit) and the fact that this bonding is an essential part of post-birth health of both the mother and child. With post-partum depression a real issue for mothers, the PreVue aims to give both genders of parents the chance to get to know their baby before it ever comes along

Designed to look like a large belt, the PreVue cinches in the back and fits over the abdomen. With the press of a button, a special ultrasonic layer next to the skin images the baby and then places this image onto a stretchable electronic textile that can grow as the mother does. At every stage of the baby’s growth, the parents can see its reaction to stimuli, see it kick, spin, smile and evolve in front of their eyes.

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Children, Food, Science & Technology News, women

Scientists have figured out how to grow breast milk in a lab

February 25, 2020

What if the formula you bought at the store was just bottled breast milk?

First came the prototypes of lab-grown burgers and lab-grown Wagyu beef (or, as the industry calls it, “cultured” meat.) Then came ice cream made with lab-grown dairy proteins. Now, a handful of startups are working on lab-grown breast milk.

Last week, a five-month-old startup called Biomilq announced that it had succeeded in growing two key components found in human milk—lactose and casein—from mammary cells in a bioreactor. They’re looking for a solution to a widespread problem: Breastfeeding is linked to healthy development in children, but the majority of mothers aren’t able to breastfeed for some, if not all, of the recommended six months. Formula, made with nonhuman proteins that can be harder for babies to digest, is an imperfect alternative.

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government, Historical Perspectives, Science & Technology News, women

The year women became eligible to vote in each country

February 14, 2020

SUFFRAGE HAPPENED in 1920 in the United States, three years behind Russia and Canada but 91 years ahead of Saudi Arabia, as noted by this map depicting the year women became eligible to vote in each country. Countries began joining the fray en masse by the mid-twentieth century, but the leader of the pack comes from far down under — women in New Zealand obtained voting rights in 1893. This map was uploaded to Reddit and shows the year women became eligible to vote in each country.

A quick glance at the map tells only part of the story, however. Pay close attention to the asterisks, as the year noted for some countries signifies only limited suffrage, often only for white women or in conjunction with specific requirements such as homeownership or marriage. Belgium’s 1919 suffrage granted widows and the mothers of servicemen killed in World War I, or widows and mothers of servicemen “shot and killed by the enemy” the vote but didn’t extend the same rights to all women until 1948. Australia granted women excluding Aboriginals the right to vote in 1902. For a more complete list of exclusions, view the notes at the far bottom of the infographic.

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Economy, Education, Science & Technology News, women

The geography of gender: where women work, economies grow

January 5, 2020

Women from a single mothers’ association sweep rice at their processing plant in the town of Bolgatanga, Ghana.

Our world is full of brilliant possibilities. But they’re not always open to everyone. The opportunities for women to contribute to the global economy are intrinsically linked to where in the world they are born and reach adulthood. So long as global disparities exist in education and opportunity – as the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report reaffirms this week – this will always remain the case. This holds us all back. Yet, the business community can, and must, help tackle this divide.

The geography of gender is challenging and complex. The latest Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), for example, highlights the significance of geography in female entrepreneurship. Unsurprisingly, MIWE showed that higher-income, advanced economies, with open and vibrant markets that support SMEs and the ease of doing business provide highly conducive and enabling conditions to support female business owners.

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communication, Human Behavior, Science & Technology News, women

Gen Z women are less likely than millennial women to want to be reachable at all times, and it might be a sign of ‘tech fatigue’

October 25, 2019

Only one-third of women in Gen Z report feeling optimistic about the effects of technology on society. Olivia Harris/Getty

A new study from GfK Consumer Life asked over 37,000 people in 31 different markets and 25 countries about their feelings on technology.

More than 60% of Gen Z women reported that they have difficulty taking even a short break from technology.

But Gen Z women are less likely than millennial women to want to be reachable all the time.

Gen Z women and girls are both more tied to technology, and more skeptical about its possible benefits than their millennial counterparts, and women as a whole, according to a new study from GfK Consumer Life.

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Fashion, Science & Technology News, Shopping, women

De Beers Lightbox lab-grown diamonds will be sold at Bloomingdale’s and Reeds Jewelers

October 17, 2019

For just over a year, the only way to purchase Lightbox fashion jewelry made with lab-grown diamonds was through its website or through an occasional pop-up promotion. Now the brand owned by De Beers will begin testing the brick-and-mortar retail marketplace.

Beginning this month Lightbox jewels will be available at Bloomingdale’s department stores and Reeds Jewelers in a trial run to determine whether there is demand for lab-grown diamonds at $800 per carat in traditional retail environments. The initial rollout will include Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship in New York City and its San Francisco location. Independently owned and family run Reeds Jewelers will sell Lightbox diamond jewelry in 30 of its stores, primarily located in shopping malls throughout the Southeast.

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AI, Automation, Employment, Science & Technology News, women

AI Weekly: Automation in the workplace could disproportionately affect women

September 26, 2019

As AI and machine learning transform industries by automating much of the work currently done by humans, women’s careers will be disproportionately affected. That’s according to a McKinsey Global Institute report published earlier this year (“The future of women at work: Transitions in the age of automation“), which found that women predominate in occupations that’ll be adversely impacted. About 40% of jobs where men make up the majority in the 10 economies (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the U.K., the U.S., China, India, Mexico, and South America) contributing over 60% of GDP collectively could be displaced by automation in our 2030, compared with the 52% of women-dominated jobs with high automation potential.

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government, mobile technology, privacy, Science & Technology News, women

The Saudi government is hunting down women who flee the country by tracking the IMEI number on their cellphones

June 26, 2019

Soldiers checking the IMEI number of a mobile phone during a regional anti-insurgent operation in Mali. Reuters

Saudi Arabia is using military-grade technology to track down the cellphones of women who flee its patriarchal system, several runaways have told INSIDER.
Four women, all speaking anonymously for fear of reprisal, said they were made aware of attempts to track their cellphones via their IMEI number.
The unique ID number can pinpoint a phone virtually anywhere but is rarely used by civilians. The US military uses IMEIs to direct drone strikes.
The technique shows how seriously Saudi Arabia takes the escalating numbers of women fleeing its repressive, male-dominated society.
Saudi authorities declined to respond to INSIDER’s requests for comment.

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Science & Technology News, Transportation, Uber, women

Uber launched a Saudi Arabia-only feature that lets female drivers avoid taking male passengers

April 23, 2019

Uber has launched a feature for female drivers in Saudi Arabia which means they can block men from hailing their cab.
The feature, which became active in April this year, is called “Women Preferred View,” and selects nearby passengers based on their gender.
Drivers can toggle on and off whether male passengers come up on Uber’s Driver App.
Uber developed the feature when they found 74% of Saudi female drivers did not want to pick up male passengers.
Women gained the right to drive for the first time in June 2018, and since that time 2,000 women have registered to become taxi drivers.

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DaVinci Institute, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News, Tom Frey, women

DaVinci Speaker Series: The rise of the female entrepreneur

March 19, 2019

“Everyone expects to hear the normal statistics and comments in events such as this one. However, DaVinci Institute’s panel members frequently have a different view and are often provocative. Our programs tend to be effective since our expert panel members study, research and even live in the future.

To us THE RISE OF THE FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR has already started but the strongest impact of this reality has yet to hit the U.S. market. Come and hear what our panelists have to say about this once in a millennium trend and how it will impact you regardless of your gender.

Discover how this change has already begun to cause radical changes in our governments, businesses, politics and personal lives. What was promised decades and decades ago to American females has now taken root and there’s no going back.”

Business, Science & Technology News, Startup, women

The rise of women entrepreneurship in India

March 15, 2019

Women have started to realise their power and exploring different ways to pursue their passion

Women who seem to be limited to their home in the old days are now exploring the world of entrepreneurs. They come out as a strong contender with several leadership qualities which make them perfect to rule the entrepreneur’s world. In recent years, there is a rise in the graph of women entrepreneurship in India. And now, Indians can proudly say that women entrepreneurship is not an obscure concept any longer at least in our country.

Well, known leaders such as Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochar paved way for other women to come out and start something of their own and can easily become an independent entity which can not be undermined by gender politics or any kind of partiality. In the last few years, women of India has already comprised almost 30per cent corporate senior management positions. It might seem a small percentage but this number is continually rising.

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