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The Guardian recently ran  an article  referencing a few pieces of research that make a compelling argument for a balanced executive team.  Numbers are numbers, and while there are always exceptions to the rule, apparently, having women in leadership roles bode well for environmental and social issues.  Women seem wired to take the long view, where men are focused on the short-term -- which isn't a bad thing if you have shareholders. Vision, and the ability to convey it convincingly to others, are two core attributes that McElhaney ascribes to female leadership, and ones that differ from male traits of goal-driven short-termism.  They also help explain why, according to McElhaney’s research ( pdf ), companies with higher female representation on their boards tend to give higher priority to environmental and social issues. The more gender-balanced an executive team, the more likely the company is to invest in renewable power, low-carbon products and energy...

The latest OECD report on inequality paints a disturbing picture. The world is getting more unequal. The richest 10% of the OECD population now earns 9.6 times more than the poorest 10%. In 2012, the poorest 40% owned 3% of the household wealth in the OECD countries -- while the top 10% controlled over half; with the top 1% owning 18%. Increasingly, the culprit is low paying, non-standard work (temporary and contract). Between 1995 and 2013, 50% of new jobs created fell into this category -- and the disproportionately are youth and females. No surprise there. The OECD warns that the long term economic and social cohesion impacts will be significant if governments don't take steps to address the gap. Businesses also need to step up, as there is a direct impact to their viability. In Canada, income inequality has not increased during the economic downturn -- with Canada trending with the OECD average. But, the gap in pay between full-time workers and non-standard work...

I've been absent for a while, but thought I'd impose by reminding you, who don't need reminding, that there's a huge untapped potential in terms of science, economics and general progress in our species.  Do your bit to promote equality. Related reading: Women, Business and the Law 2014: Removing Restrictions to Enhance Gender Equality (PDF)   -- analyzes laws that impact women entrepreneurs and employees globally. The new edition highlights reforms carried out over the past two years and expands coverage to examine legal protections addressing violence against women. Women and Leadership  (PDF) -- According to the majority of Americans, women are every bit as capable of being good political leaders as men. The same can be said of their ability to dominate the corporate boardroom. And according to a new Pew Research Center survey on women and leadership, most Americans find women indistinguishable from men on key leadership traits such as intelligence ...

Source: http://www.osler.com/uploadedFiles/Gender-Diversity-on-Boards-and-in-Senior-Management.pdf Osler (law firm) has an update on gender diversity on boards/senior management at publicly traded companies in Canada. Specifically, updates to securities law in 2015 brings new disclosure requirements -- which Osler suggests, may change the diversity of boards. The old adage of what is measured gets changed is in play here. The under-representation of women on boards and in senior management roles has long been a concern. however, a confluence of better tools for communication and recruitment, a regulatory focus on the issue, and media interest in the topic, have highlighted the need to take steps to redress the imbalance. new disclosure requirements under Canadian securities laws which come into effect in 2015 are expected to have an impact on disclosure and practice. Additional info: Women on Boards: A Competitive Edge - Status of Women Canada At current rates we are generations away...

My latest Kiva loan has just been given, to the Tanzanite Group of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania -- to be repaid in about 6 months or so. Specifically, my $25 will go to Patricia Mjuni, who runs a pharmacy business, though the repayment is being guaranteed by the Tanzanite Group . Group loans, as per Kiva: In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults. Kiva does not directly manage the disbursement of funds, but rather, leverages field partners. In this case, my loan will be administered by Tujijenge Tanzania Ltd. , a micro-finance company that has been in operation for 4 years now, in Tanzania. They have given out over US$1.2M in loans, and have a return on assets of 2.03% -- coming from interests and fees charged to...

With a recent repayment, I was today able to make my 11th loan via Kiva, to help someone in the developing world, help themselves. My loan of $25 was given to Susan, a 24-year-old mother of a 3-month-old baby. Susan runs a business selling spare parts, with her shop open from 7AM - 6PM, every day. Susan lives in Rwanda. Women like Susan give me hope that there is a way for Africa -- long and torturous it may be, they will be able to join the rest of the world with relative prosperity and stability. If you have some time, head over to Kiva and loan a little. in reference to: "With this additional business, Susan will hopefully earn more profits which, in turn, will allow her to start reserving for future reinvestment in her business as well as for the wellbeing of her family." - Kiva - Susan Umuganwa from Rwanda has a loan fundraising on Kiva ( view on Google Sidewiki )

There are over 100 million missing women in the world. In rich countries, as well as the poor; in the educated ranks as well as uneducated; across all religious backgrounds -- women are missing in startling numbers. 100 million. That's like having one third of the American population going missing; our the entire population of Canada being wiped out three times. No only are women the poorest in the world; the most likely to experience violence within their lifetimes; but they are also the largest visible group to which the world wages a quiet war against. It starts with the ancient prejudice -- males are preferable to females in all societies -- for a variety of reasons that are no longer valid today. Family names are passed down through males; inheritance of property favours males; males earn more women; traditional societies expect the parents of females to pay dowry; males are assumed to be the ones who would be capable of taking care of their parents in old-age; males supp...

Back in 2003, Black Eyed Peas released the Elephunk Theme on their Elephunk album . Of course, BEP has gone on to other things since then. But the Elephunk Theme -- ever wondered about it? The song samples liberally from a Tamil song -- Unakkum Enakkum Aanandham -- composed by Ilaiyaraaja for the movie Sri Raghavendra . Sample we're told. Listen to the original though, and you realize that it is more than a sample. They lifted the entire Elephunk Theme from the Tamil original. The Tamil original is below -- and you can find the BEP version on YouTube . It's amazing that they get the amount of credit they do for this song, when really, they hardly did anything musically to it, other than a western pop/rap cover. Now -- ever wonder about the female singer that lends her voice to both the Tamil original and the BEP version? Her name is S. Janaki . She's Indian -- Telugu by birth -- but sings in many languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Hindi -- and even Japanes...

As soon as the money comes in, it goes out. I've had enough repayment over the last month to be able to cover another $25 loan to someone in the developing world that needs a helping hand. This time around, I just chose the first person on the list, when I clicked on lend on the Kiva site . Usually, I sort the loan applicants by region and gender, giving to women in Africa. This time around, a woman in Juba, South Sudan , was at the top of the list, and saved me the sorting effort. Agnes, to whom my $25 loan went to, is a mom with three kids and a husband, who is a soldier. She is looking to grow her charcoal selling business, with the hopes of using the additional profits to build a house. The loan is facilitated by BRAC , an NGO based in Bangladesh, operates a microfinance program in South Sudan, focusing on war refugees -- and already has 418 village organizations with more than 14,000 women members. The $25 loan is a drop in the bucket of world's needs, but even whil...

It's never too late to be late, and the Saudis are way fucking late. But it's all part of a plan. King Abdullah is trying to move his diseased society forward, one tiny step, without being lynched by one crazy mullah or the other. The plan has been afoot to allow women lawyers to argue some cases in court -- for the first time -- for a few years now. Of course, before we get all emotional over this announcement, we shouldn't forget that the women are educated in the Shariah justice system. (And yes, I realized that I'm being moronic with that sentence. Add a little bit of oxy if you don't get it.) in reference to: BBC News - Saudi women to be allowed to argue cases in court ( view on Google Sidewiki )

Six million Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis between 1945-46. Six million people. And after the second world war, we, the world, vowed we would never let it happen again. As of the 2007 survey of the conflict in the Congo, since 1998, 5.4 million people had been killed. At a rate of 45,000 a month, the deaths have now surpassed the 6 million Jews from the second world war, and still, the world shows little interest in putting an end to it. As horrific as the numbers are, the horrors don't end there. Slaughter doesn't even begin to describe what the women are being put through in the Congo. Rape doesn't describe the horror. Words fail to describe the horror being inflicted, repeatedly, on little girls, teens and women. Congo is especially noted for a conflict where war is waged on women -- on daughters, sisters and mothers. And we do nothing about it. What does that say about the rest of us? in reference to: Special Report: Congo ( view on Google Sidewiki ) “It ...

The UN Population Fund has published their latest report, State of World Population 2009. The authors are focused in this report on the impact of climate change on the human population. As I have argued in previous posts, climate change is no longer a question. It is happening and it is due to human activities. The rapid change is inevitable. The uncertainty now is on the impact to the human population and the environment. History has lessons for us on how we will deal with the inevitable change. It doesn't need to be a disaster, like a tsunami or a hurricane or an earthquake -- though disasters like that will occur as a result -- it can subtle -- like changing weather patterns that bring floods or droughts. Just small changes that doesn't necessarily punch an immediate hole in our day-to-day should be reflected on, to forecast what's coming. When subtle change comes, we the rich, will be able to cope. We the rich will have choices. We are much more capable of adap...

After the first season of Star Trek, Nichelle Nichols was itching to move on to her dream of Broadway and singing -- until she had a fateful run-in with Dr. King. And the rest, is history. in reference to: "And at this his face totally changed, and he said "What are you talking about?!" and so I told him I would be leaving the show, because; and that was as far as he let me go, and he said, "STOP! You cannot! You cannot leave this show! Do you not understand what you are doing?! You are the first non-stereotypical role in television! Of intelligence, and of a woman and a woman of color?! That you are playing a role that is not about your color! That this role could be played by anyone? This is not a black role. This is not a female role! A blue eyed blond or a pointed ear green person could take this role!" And I am looking at him and looking at him and buzzing, and he said, "Nichelle, for the first time, not only our little children and people can look on...

This shit disgusts me, makes me angry and reminds me why we send soldiers to die in Afghanistan -- and why every member of al-Shabab should be castrated -- to start with. Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was 13-years-old, and she cried for mercy. This was after she was raped by three men, tried under Sharia law by al-Shabab in Somalia, and had her sentence for adultery handed down. They took her to a football stadium, put her in a hole up to her neck, and with an audience of over 1,000 to watch, 50 men threw stones at her. When she stopped moving, nurses went to check her pulse. She was still alive. So they put her back in the hole, and continued the stoning. She died in that hole back in October 2008. Fuck your Sharia! If you're Muslim and I offend you, then fuck you too. You should be offended by the rape and murder of Aisha. It should make your blood boil. Not because your religion was used to justify this atrocity -- but because a little girl was raped and murdered. You sho...

Women already outnumber men in post-secondary education — and soon, they will do so in the workforce — US anyway, and by extension, probably in Canada as well, and a number of the other OECD countries. It is cause for celebration, since this revolution has come about within a very short period of time — and it has been done without too many bodies at the side of the road and has, for the most part been accepted by the other sex. Women's ascension have given our society much to brag about. Millions of women have been given more control over their own lives. And millions of brains have been put to more productive use. Societies that try to resist this trend — most notably the Arab countries, but also Japan and some southern European countries — will pay a heavy price in the form of wasted talent and frustrated citizens. While we brag, however, we shouldn't forget how much work still remains to be done. Women continue to be locked out at the top ranks of most organizations, a...

It's one of the few feminist bookstores still around, and being an independent bookstore in the era of the conglomerates, it's finding itself in danger financially. Sales just aren't what they used to be. It seems like what has been afflicting feminism -- namely pop culture in the likes of Britney Spears and her ilk -- is being felt by organizations such as the TWB. This is really too bad, as the bookstore has been one of my favourites in Toronto, although since I left university, the travel to it for no good reason, has kept me away. It's too bad because of the selection it carries is ironically, more than just motivated by profit -- altruism for the cause has been the primary motivator. You'll find more independent publishers at the TWB than anywhere else. The TWB is also a haven for outreach to the feminism community (which I'm afraid doesn't include everyone of the female gender) -- running numerous courses on a variety of topics. I'm sure it...

"Honour" ... honour is such the wrong choice of word for murder. Maybe it wasn't murder. Maybe the car did manage to miss every obstacle, leave no skid marks behind and plunge into the Rideau Canal to kill the three girls and their aunt . And maybe Canada does need the death penalty to deal harshly with such honour crimes. The girls were 19, 17 and 13 years old. They had all of their lives ahead of them. Now they have nothing. This shit pisses me off to no end. The three murderers need more punishment than Canada is going to give. Canada needs to make a bigger effort at cultural integration of those from higher risked countries immigrating here. More of this happening around the country in new immigrant families, where the old world rules still rule the house. It has got to stop. Read more .

I am truly a product of Hollywood in-breeding. When two celebrities mate, someone like me is the result. George Lucas ruined my life. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. Remember the white dress I wore all through that film? George came up to me the first day of filming, took one look at the dress and said: 'You can't wear a bra under that dress.' 'OK, I'll bite,' I said. 'Why?' And he said: 'Because ... there's no underwear in space.' He said it with such conviction. Like he had been to space and looked around and he didn't see any bras or panties anywhere. He explained. 'You go into space and you become weightless. Then your body expands but your bra doesn't, so you get strangled by your own underwear.' Among George's many possessions, he owns my likeness, so that every time I look in the mirror I have to send him a couple of bucks. That's partly why he's so rich. Funny stuff, that Carrie Fisher writes ...

Saudi Arabia does it again. Earlier this month, the troglodytes of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice , sentenced a 75-year-old widow to 40 lashes, for mingling with two young men, who were not immediate relatives. Khamisa Sawadi had asked one of the men, a nephew, to drop off some bread for her. He and his friend dropped by her place with the bread. They were arrested after delivering the bread. According to the verdict, " Because she said she doesn't have a husband and because she is not a Saudi, conviction of the defendants of illegal mingling has been confirmed. " What a bunch of dumb fucks .