Europe | U.K. | Career

‘Why should I have to work on stilts?’: the women fighting sexist dress codes

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Too many female employees are forced to wear high heels, or skirts, or even a particular type of bra. But the resistance is growing. It was at the beginning of a shift at Harrods that Georgia Brown told her manager where to go. Brown, then aged 22, was working for a temp agency that supplied shop assistants to the department store. She cannot remember the name of the manager. But she does remember why she lost her cool: she had had enough of being forced to wear heels on the job. “Not just a mini-heel, but proper black stilettos. Bear in mind, you’re on your feet in Harrods a
South Asia | India | Career

Between domestic chores and agricultural work, rural Indian women have no time for child-rearing

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Working in agriculture-related jobs brings financial freedom to Indian women, but it comes at a cost. Intense work leads to stress and compromises in care responsibilities towards children and also affects the women’s own health, according to recent research published by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). “Women’s work in agriculture seems to have a negative effect on household nutrition through two pathways: lack of adequate time for care work in peak agricultural seasons and seasonal energy with consequent losses in body weight,” the study notes. “Recognition of women
North America | United States | Career

Five anchors sue NY1 for age and gender discrimination

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Five anchorwomen and reporters at NY1 say the local news channel systematically shoved them aside to make room for younger faces while celebrating the long tenure of male anchors like venerable morning man Pat Kiernan. Roma Torre, Kristen Shaughnessy, Jeanine Ramirez, Vivian Lee and Amanda Farinacci – who range in age from 41 to 60 — filed an age and gender discrimination lawsuit Wednesday in Manhattan federal court leveling the charges at the news channel’s parent company, Charter Communications. The women allege that since Charter’s 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable, their car
North America | United States | Career

Women Sue F.B.I., Claiming Discrimination at Training Academy

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Women who were once F.B.I. recruits sued the bureau on Wednesday, accusing it of running a “good-old-boy network” at its training academy that discriminates against women, in some cases because of race and disabilities in addition to gender, and sets them up to fail. Male instructors at the academy in Quantico, Va., exposed the women beginning in 2015 to a hostile work environment, sexual harassment and inappropriate jokes, according to the lawsuit. One woman said that an instructor referred to an African-American female trainee as “spaghetti head,” a reference to her braids. The woma
International | Business

Media fawns over Nike ‘empowering’ women ad, forgets about abused women in its factories

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A new Nike ad which busts stereotypes about women in sport is receiving wide praise in the media for “empowering” girls to be the best they can be — but the adoring coverage of the sports giant is missing something crucial. While reaction to the ad has been mostly positive, some have been pointing out some major double standards — most notably, Nike’s treatment of women in its factories across the world. A report released by the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) in 2016 about a Vietnamese Nike factory employing 8,500 people, found that the vast majority of workers are young w
Latin America | Brazil | Career

Vogue Brazil director resigns over birthday photos evoking slavery

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The fashion director of the Brazilian edition of Vogue has resigned after photos from her 50th birthday party drew criticism for evoking colonial depictions of slavery. Images from the party showed Donata Meirelles, who is white, sitting on a throne-like seat flanked by four black women dressed in white at the celebration in Bahia, the Brazilian state with the largest black population. Critics compared the women’s clothes to the white uniforms worn by house slaves, and pointed out the chair’s similarity to a cadeira de sinhá, an ornate chair for slave masters.
Europe | Great Britain | Career

Maternity leave discrimination means 54,000 women lose their jobs each year

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Women returning from maternity leave are more likely to face discrimination in the workplace than they were a decade ago, according to a report published today by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The study by the EHRC estimates that around 54,000 new mothers are losing their jobs across Britain every year – almost twice the number identified in similar research undertaken in 2005. It also found that 10% of women were discouraged from attending antenatal appointments by their employers, putting the health of mother and baby at risk. Caroline Waters, deputy chair of the EHRC,
Middle East | Syria | Career

A New Short Documentary Shows Syrian Women Refugees’ Brave Resilience

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The number of Syrian refugees is currently approaching 4 million, with UN data showing women and children make up over three-quarters of that total. Hundreds of thousands from this diaspora are living in sprawling refugee camps along Turkey's southern border, and in a new short documentary by filmmaker Aliya Naumoff, a few women are sharing a look into life in those compounds. Aided by the U.S.-Turkey relations advocacy group the Turkish Heritage Organization, Naumoff traveled to the Harran and Akcakale camps near the border with Syria, where she interviewed a number of women and girls abou