Company Culture
IBM ( 3.3 stars ) CEO Ginni Rometty has kicked off her new leadership role at the Business Roundtable by writing a letter on behalf of the organization to Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in support of their proposed Equality Act, a piece of legislation that would expand federal protections for LGBT+ employees against workplace discrimination. IBM has supported similar pro-LGBT+ legislation, but Rometty’s letter marks the first time the Business Roundtable has done so in such a public way. Axios
In its efforts to correct gender inequality, could it be possible that Google ( 3.8 stars ) may have overcorrected? In a mind-boggling internal study, Google was shocked to discover that it may actually be underpaying men who perform the same work. But...let’s not jump to any hasty conclusions. Critics of the study claim the study fails to account for several important factors, including whether women are hired at lower pay grades than men with similar qualifications. If anything, the study proves that actually achieving equity within a company is much more complicated than we might think. NY Times
Lyft ( 3.4 stars ) is celebrating Women’s History Month by providing free rides (or up to $10 off rides) to monuments, museums, and other sites relevant to women’s history. Here’s a full list of the specific sites around the country the deal will cover. Mashable
TripAdvisor ( 3.4 stars ) has also come under fire recently claims that the site will allow users who experience abuse at one of the companies listed on the site to include the incident in their review only if the user reveals their identity. In a statement to Fortune, TripAdvisor said: “Having a business listing on our platform isn’t an endorsement of that business. What makes TripAdvisor different from other platforms is that we believe it would be a disservice to the public to remove these listings, and therefore withhold valuable information. Allowing a business to operate in the shadows, without having a transparent record of travelers’ experiences at that location, potentially puts travelers at risk.” Fortune
Virgin Atlantic has thrown out an old policy that required female flight attendants to wear makeup (blush, mascara, and red lipstick—at a minimum) and skirts while on the job. The airline’s new policy states that flight attendants are still welcome to wear the makeup recommended in the company’s guidelines, though not required, and makes pants standard issue among new female flight attendants (they were previously available only on request). NY Times
And finally, mandatory pay gap reporting in the US may begin as early as this spring. Companies with more than 100 employees will be required to report to the government pay information broken down by sex, race, and ethnicity. This news comes after a judge ruled in favor of the National Women’s Law Center, who brought a suit against the Trump administration, which froze a 2016 requirement by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that compels companies to disclose pay equity numbers. Bloomberg
Quick Hits
The US women’s soccer team is suing US Soccer on grounds of gender discrimination, arguing that members of the women’s team are vastly underpaid compared to similarly positioned members of the men’s team. In 2015 when the women’s team won the Women’s World Cup, they were paid less than a third what the men were paid after being eliminated from the Men’s World Cup in round 16. Something is obviously not adding up here. And the kicker? The charges were filed on International Women’s Day. Take that, patriarchal payment structures. NPR
Thankfully, women and girls are more empowered to study the sciences than ever, but according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), women who do work their way into the field of medical research receive less grant money from the National Institute of Health (NIH). The study found that on average women are awarded $41,000 LESS than men who are the principal investigators in research projects. NY Times
There’s a saying that goes, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Climate change is one of the world’s biggest challenges today, and it appears that women are doing just that by stepping up with clean solutions. Here are five such women and their stories. CNN
Around the World
Ukraine: Yulia Tymoshenko is a fascinating figure. She is the first woman to be elected as prime minister in Ukraine, she co-led the Orange Revolution, and was imprisoned by her political enemies with the help of Paul Manafort (and yes, I do mean Paul Manafort as in Trump’s former campaign manager who was just convicted of financial fraud). Now, she’s running to be Ukraine’s next president. Reuters
Mexico: Who can honestly say they don’t enjoy a nice margarita every once in a while? Well, you have the women of Jalisco, Mexico, to thank. These women have been responsible for growing agave, the ingredient integral to the production of tequila, for hundreds of years! But they’re not just admirable for their tequila making — the women of Jalisco are hard at work reviving its economy. CNN
United Kingdom: The UK’s first prison unit for transgender inmates opened last week in a south London women’s prison. At first glance, this seems to be good news — transgender individuals face heightened risks of assault in prison. However, the way the new unit is being implemented is troubling: the three inmates assigned to it will be isolated from all the other women. BBC
