BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie Resigns Over Refusal To Grant Her Equal Pay For Equal Status, Quality Work

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BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie Resigns Over Refusal To Grant Her Equal Pay For Equal Status, Quality Work

We have a super high-profile resignation at the BBC. China editor Carrie Gracie gave the BBC months to rectify her unequal pay -- the very condition under which she came to the BBC in the first place three decades ago. In an open letter just published, she outlines all the ways the BBC tried to get around this fundamental concept -- that a woman editor should have salary parity with men, and especially one as qualified as Gracie.

Because British taxpayers funds the BBC, Gracie writes: "I believe you have a right to know that it is breaking equality law and resisting pressure for a fair and transparent pay structure."

No intelligent organization would want to run the risk that Gracie would go public and resign. It IS about power when a group of men calculate that an accomplished woman with a global following won't have the nerve to walk -- and tell the whole world her story, as she slams the door behind her.

They were wrong

French President Macron Promises Gender Equality Reforms As France Reexamines Its Own Treatment Of Women

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French President Macron Promises Gender Equality Reforms As France Reexamines Its Own Treatment Of Women

French president Emmanuel Macron observed the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women with a minute of silence for the 123 French women killed by their partner or ex-partner in 2016.

The #MeToo movement and the Harvey Weinstein scandal in America have provoked a rethinking of attitudes about sexual harassment in France, known worldwide as the "land of seduction and romance",writes Reuters. 

Unlike Donald Trump, who is trying to roll back women's rights advancements in America with increased legislation around women's reproductive health and a deep plunge in the appointments of women in his cabinet and inner circle and the federal judiciary, Macron campaigned on a platform of rethinking sexual politics and gender equality in France as part of his five-year-mandate.

Proposals that could be included in a 2018 draft law include criminalizing street harassment and extending the statute of limitation for the rape of minors to 30 years from 20 years. France has no minimum age of sexual consent and Macron is personally in favor of setting the age of sexual consent at 15. 

Laura McGann Details Glenn Thrush's Sexual Harassment, With Five Victims & 40 Sources

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Laura McGann Details Glenn Thrush's Sexual Harassment, With Five Victims & 40 Sources

In October, New York Times White House correspondent Glenn Thrush made an impassioned Facebook post, in the throes of accusations against ace political journalist Glenn Thrush. The post was written in response to political journalist Mark Halperin's admission of significant sexual transgressions. Thrush wrote: “Young people who come into a newsroom deserve to be taught our trade, given our support and enlisted in our calling — not betrayed by little men who believe they are bigger than the mission.”

Vox writer Laura McGann reports that journalist insiders found Thrush's comments ironic, given his own reputation with young women, including her. 

Recounting an encounter with a young Politico reporter and Thrush, 50, her friend Bianca Padro Ocasio, also 23 and a journalist launched a text conversation the next day with Thrush. 

“I want to make sure you don’t lure young women aspiring journalists into those situations ever again,” she texted. “So help me out here. How can I do that?”

“I don’t lure anybody ever,” Thrush wrote back, according to screenshots provided by Padró Ocasio. “I got drunk because I got some shitty health news. And I am acutely aware of the hurdles that young women face in this business and have spent the better part of 20 years advocating for women journalists.”

Now Laura McGrann lowers the boom, citing her own experience with Glenn Thrush:

'Fearless Girl' Takes Five Clios As Labor Dept. Settles $5 Million Gender Pay With State Street Global Advisors

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'Fearless Girl' Takes Five Clios As Labor Dept. Settles $5 Million Gender Pay With State Street Global Advisors

The twists and turns of 'Fearless Girl' could fill War and Peace, and this new chapter is nothing less than enlightening, a Zen moment if you will. The launch of this dear girl statuein the range of Raging Bull pushed for more women on corporate boards, supported by proof from State Street Global Advisors that companies with women on their boards made more money for shareholders. Therefore, proposed State Street, we want to invest in companies that promote women into leadership positions -- and they did. Enter 'Fearless Girl' to narrate the corporate story. 

The PR was beyond great, and 'Fearless Girl' took on her on persona -- like a little muse come to life in the weeks after the Women's March, just in time for March 8 International Women's Day. As the story of 'Fearless Girl' spread far and wide, she grabbed the hearts and minds of females in despair after Hillary's defeat. As women questioned the futures of our daughters in Trumplandia, 'Fearless Girl' rode high in the clouds as a symbol of hope.

McCann New York, the creators of the 'Fearless Girl' campaign for State Street Global Advisors won four Grand Prix at Cannes Lions this summer. Last week at the Clio Awards in New York, Fearless Girl climbed Mt. Olympus and showered Bowling Green Park with a remarkable five Grand Clios.

Not only did 'Fearless Girl' take the top prize in the Branded Content, Events/Experiential, Innovation, Out of Home and Public Relations competitions, writes Adweek. McCann New York won Agency of the Year and State Street won Advertiser of the Year, flying on Fearless Girl's coattails. 

Never underestimate the power of a true goddess, the younger the more formidable, even when the champagne is flowing. In a beautiful twist of her boundless integrity, 'Fearless Girl' worked her own goddess magic on behalf of executive women at State Street. Hush now. I'll whisper to you: In a sneak attack around the Trump Administration, her home birthers -- State Street Global Advisers-- are settling allegations about their own gender pay discrimination with cash on the table. Indeed, don't tell Trump or any Republican, for that matter. The Labor Dept is still functioning. 

Study: Republican Men See Women Political Leaders As Less Competent & With Lower Integrity

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Study: Republican Men See Women Political Leaders As Less Competent & With Lower Integrity

NPR reports on a new study analyzing data about Americans' attitudes toward their House of Representatives  members from 2010 through 2014. Ideally, the analysis would be more current, because the presidential election both confirmed and negated some of these conclusions. 

Mia Costa and Brian Schaffner, political scientists from the U of Mass, Amherst concluded that women tend to think "more highly of female legislators on a variety of measures", regardless of party. Republican men express serious reservations about the women representing them, whereas Democratic men often rate women higher than men in governing. 

The research isn't broken down by education, and I would argue here that high-school educated women tend to be more traditional in their beliefs that men should govern. These attitudes have been explored in depth post presidential election, like PRRI/Atlantic analysis and direct interviews with a large sampling of Trump voters. 

In studying members of the House, and not the Senate, the research results are also impacted by districts that are seriously gerrymandered and representing rigid attitudes among both parties, and also racial attitudes. Within these caveats, Costa and Schaffner concluded:

"While Democratic men evaluate women legislators more favorably, the opposite is true for Republican men," the researchers write. "Republican men are the one group who provide lower evaluations of female elected officials."

Google Fires Men First Activist James Damore For His 10-Pg Rant On Female Inferiority

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Google Fires Men First Activist James Damore For His 10-Pg Rant On Female Inferiority

The now famous Google engineer James Damore is out of a job, although Julian Assange says that WikiLeaks would be offering the outspoken critic of women's brain power a job, writes Vanity Fair. 

In a companywide email, Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, said portions of the memo had crossed the company's code of conduct “by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace.”

“The memo has clearly impacted our co-workers, some of whom are hurting and feel judged based on their gender,” Mr. Pichai wrote. “Our co-workers shouldn’t have to worry that each time they open their mouths to speak in a meeting, they have to prove that they are not like the memo states, being ‘agreeable’ rather than ‘assertive,’ showing a ‘lower stress tolerance,’ or being ‘neurotic.’”

Damore's memo entitled 'Google's Ideological Echo Chamber' went viral over the weekend, as it condemned Google's "politically correct monoculture' that silences conservative viewpoints that embraces the biological differences between men and women.

White Male Google Engineer Writes 8-Pg Manifesto, Saying Women's Genetic Differences, Not Sexism, Is Their Problem

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White Male Google Engineer Writes 8-Pg Manifesto, Saying Women's Genetic Differences, Not Sexism, Is Their Problem

A white male engineer at Google's Mountain View office made big news this weekend, publishing an essay that blasted the company's efforts to recruit women, people of color and other minorities into its ranks and leadership positions. 

The backlash has been ferocious, but many believe that the engineer's words reflect the widespread mentality among white men -- a totally dominant hierarchy in tech -- that women and other minorities do not have the mental capacity to meet the standards set by their superior white male minds and competencies.

Trump Administration Seeks To Put Women Back Into An Ozzie & Harriet World

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Trump Administration Seeks To Put Women Back Into An Ozzie & Harriet World

"The data comes from the White House’s annual report to Congress, which was released Friday, and which shows the salary of each employee. To calculate the gender pay gap, economist Mark Perry compared the median salary of male staffers ($115,000) to the median salary for female staffers ($72,650). Initially, media outlets reported a significantly smaller disparity, but their numbers were incorrectly based on mean rather than median salaries. 

As the Washington Post reports, the 37-percent gap is more than double the national 17-percent gender pay gap, and it’s wider than the national gender pay gap in 1980, as reported by Pew Research..

Ozzie . . . Ozzie, wait for me!! I'm just dying to run backwards into your loving arms.

Women Physicians Less Likely To Be Introduced As 'Doctor' At Mayo Clinic Medical Events

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Women Physicians Less Likely To Be Introduced As 'Doctor' At Mayo Clinic Medical Events

A new study published in the Journal of Women's Health, examined videos of 321 speaker introductions at 124 internal medicine grand rounds from 2012 through 2014 at Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona and Minnesota. The research was triggered when Julia Files and Anita Mayer, both physicians at the Mayo Clinic noticed a pattern in which female doctors were introduced by their first name but males as Dr. So and So. 

Sharonne Hayes, another Mayo doctor, had noticed a similar pattern. While a male colleague would be introduced as “Dr. Joe Smith,” for example, the women were often simply called “Julia,” “Anita” and “Sharonne.” In that lightbulb moment, the trio decided to quantify their observations. 

Will White Men PLEASE Stop Mansplaining Donald Trump!!!

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Will White Men PLEASE Stop Mansplaining Donald Trump!!!  AOC Main Page

"In the aftermath of the election, there’s been an unfortunate impulse to mansplain that “It’s going to be alright” and “Maybe he’s really not that bad.” Even if we can’t have a woman president, it’s time to usher in womensplaining."

Writing for W Magazine, Glynnis MacNicol lets it rip!

UN Delegation Visits Alabama, Texas & Oregon, Leaves 'Appalled' At Gender Inequality In America

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UN Delegation Visits Alabama, Texas & Oregon, Leaves 'Appalled' At Gender Inequality In America

American Women Have No Idea How Far Behind We Are Our Pursuit of Gender Equality and Women's Rights

The lack of awareness among American women about our falling status made the greatest impression on the UN experts. "So many people really believe that U.S. women are way better off with respect to rights than any woman in the world," Raday said.

Interviewed about her 2011 book 'Flipside', Phyllis Schlafly, who led the crusade to derail the Equal Rights Amendment by tapping into conservative fears about liberating women with equal rights, said:

It is self evident that American women are the most fortunate women who ever lived and enjoy more freedoms and opportunities than are available in any other country. Armed with the right attitude, they have every opportunity for happiness and achievement. Women should stop feeling they are victims of the patriarchy, reject feminist myths, and follow the roadmap to success and happiness spelled out in ‘Flipside.’

In reality, US women have sunk to 28th place in the world, sandwiched between Mozambique and Cuba, in the latest 2015 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report. In the area of political empowerment, America ranks a pathetic 72 in the world, with extensive research confirming that the reason we are an even worse 81 on women in parliament -- our Congress -- (as opposed to women in managerial government position) is that we refuse to believe that women can legislate as effectively as men.

Is Equal Pay Really About 'Sticking It To The Man'? Variety Talks Jennifer Lawrence & the Demand For Equal Pay In Hollywood

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'Sticking It to the Man' is an interesting title for an article about female actors asking for equal pay -- based on credentials, audience draw and awards -- from male-dominated Hollywood. Thanks to Patricia Arquette using her Oscar speech to lobby for equal pay and then Jennifer Lawrence setting a bonfire with her essay indicting a system that paid her 'American Hustle' co-stars more than her.As a consequence of last year's Sony Hack, Lawrence understands just how underpaid she was. 

Talking about her essay published in Lenny Letter, Lawrence said her 'hunger Games' character Katniss Everdeen inspired her to take action.