Friday, May 4, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Thousands of UK women are ‘everyday entrepreneurs’

Posted: 03 May 2012 11:30 AM PDT

Alison Clarke
WVoN co-editor 

A report commissioned by cosmetics giant, Avon, has found that over two thirds (68 percent) of female business start-ups in the UK are by ‘everyday entrepreneurs’.

It showed that the women are integral to the UK economy, although most hadn’t planned to be self-employed business owners.

Written by Cass Business School Professor of Entrepreneurship, Julie Logan, it found that the women are running thriving enterprises, often from home.

They appear to be motivated by flexibility and a passion more than the idea of money and power. Most do not even connect with the word ‘entrepreneur’.

Professor Logan said: “Contrary to the popular view, our findings show that when it comes to female entrepreneurs, they are not powered by ego but by the promise of flexibility, fulfillment and fun.

“The report explores how young women are more likely to embrace entrepreneurship as a career option and embark on this career trajectory from the outset. As these young women create ventures that grow and employ people this will have a very positive impact on the UK economy.”

The Avon ‘Everyday Entrepreneur’ Report was given its name by Professor Logan because it uncovered a new breed of business innovator which reveals that female entrepreneurs are opting to run their enterprises from home and often require little investment to get up and running.

About a third of respondents cited flexibility as the main reason for starting their own venture, with home-working enabling the ‘everyday entrepreneurs’ to fit their career around family or other commitments and keep overheads down.

Almost half of the women questioned said they were the chief income earner in their household.

Four in ten respondents required no investment to get their enterprise up and running, suggesting that women are looking for self-employment options that insulate their family against financial instability and have low barriers to entry.

Professor Logan said her report shows that the popular view of entrepreneurship – as viewed through programmes like Dragon’s Den, is seen as focused on making money and is synonymous with “men making money”.

Today’s female business leaders want to see more everyday role models in the public eye and for the industry terminology to change to better reflect how businesses are run now.

The research by Ipsos Mori was conducted with 1,000 self-employed women and female business-owners for Avon UK.

Can women save the US Secret Service?

Posted: 03 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT

Deborah Cowan
WVoN co-editor 

The global reputation of America's Secret Service has taken something of a pounding recently thanks to the prostitution ignominy in Colombia (see WVoN story).

Secret agents were found to have procured (although allegedly not properly paid for) the services of local sex workers.

Scandal has since abounded as to the regularity of such practices, with 'unnamed sources' claiming that the behaviour is part of the Secret Service culture.

With heads hung in collective shame, the agency responsible for protecting the President has issued new codes of conduct.

Agents will now be banned from excessive drinking and prohibitive measures have been applied to foreign travel, such as bringing foreign nationals to hotel rooms or visiting establishments of ‘ill repute’.

There are also plans afoot to provide so-called 'chaperones' on future trips.

But if these practices are widespread and, as suggested, deeply historical, will these measures be tough enough to change such an entrenched 'macho' culture?

Would having more women in the Secret Service make scandals like this less likely to happen?

In this instance, Representative Carolyn Maloney of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee thinks so, saying that the probability of the scandal happening 'would have been reduced significantly' had there been more women on the Colombian protection detail.

She went on to say 'I can’t help but think that there would be some progress if there was more diversity and if there were more women that were there.

'When you have a diversity of people there, it brings more accountability. What you see is a lack of accountability in this.'

Fellow Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee agreed, saying that greater gender diversity can set a different tone in "recreational liberties."   That's one way of putting it.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delegate to the United States Congress called on Secret Service director Mark Sullivan last week to more aggressively hire and promote women.

Norton said it was "significant" that it was, in fact, a woman, Paula Reid, who was initially in charge of investigating the prostitution scandal in Colombia.

Apparently she "lost no time" in sending home a Secret Service unit for their alleged conduct.

As a woman, Reid has drawn her own share of criticism- a former agent was cited as saying "If every boss was Paula Reid, the Secret Service would never have a problem. It would be a lot more boring, but never a problem."

Well, if not actively engaging in the purchase of sex for money, and not behaving like misogynistic 'lads' makes agents boring, then who's going to cry about it?

These men are Secret Service agents, charged with the task of protecting America's most powerful man, at the risk of their own lives if necessary.  They are not James Bond.

It should be no surprise that macho practices exist in organisations like the Secret Service, given that it is predominantly male – only about a tenth of field agents and uniformed officers are women.

According to the Secret Service website, diversity "is a continued agency priority that is critical to our success."

The website also promotes "a comprehensive, proactive, model Equal Opportunity Program that is integrated into the agency's mission."

So why is its record so bad?

After serving 31 years in the Service, Barbara Riggs retired in 2006 as the agency's highest-ranking female, deputy director.  She says "Being a special agent in the Secret Service, it's not just a job, it's not just a career.  It's a lifestyle."

She also says that the nature of the presidential protection detail makes it even more stressful than other law enforcement roles.

"That requires people to be away from home for a significant amount of time," she added. "There are some people who don't want to make that commitment." Particularly for women who are primary caregivers, "that's a difficult position to be in."

Nevertheless, it does seem that the image of the Secret Service is stuck firmly in the 1950s, when women were almost invisible in the workplace and boys will be boys.

So would the increased presence of women tone down the behaviour of their male colleagues?

Well, as a CNN article pointed out, 'it's hard to imagine an organisation where the women head out to a brothel together……'

Sexual health services under attack in Texas – again

Posted: 03 May 2012 07:30 AM PDT

Polly Trenow
WVoN co-editor 

The future of America’s leading sexual and reproductive health care provider was plunged into uncertainty in Texas once again this week.

Planned Parenthood celebrated a short lived victory on Monday night when a US District Judge, Lee Yeakel, ruled that it was unconstitutional to stop the charity from participating in the Texas Women’s Health Program, which  serves about 130,000 low-income women.

But the following evening a federal appeals court Judge, Jerry Smith, agreed to an emergency motion from Texas to stay Judge Yeakel’s injunction, pending an appeal.

This is the latest twist in an ongoing dispute between the state of Texas and Planned Parenthood.

In 2005 the state ruled that no state funds could go to clinics that performed or promoted abortions.

Last year the Republican-controlled legislature passed a further law forbidding state agencies from providing funds to an organisation affiliated with abortion providers.

The eight Planned Parenthood clinics that didn’t provide abortions sued the state claiming the law unconstitutionally restricted their freedom of speech and association.

At the time Patricio Gonzales, CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County accused the state of foul play and called on Governor Rick Perry and the state to “put Texan women first and set aside any vendetta they may have against Planned Parenthood."

"No woman should ever have to fear being cut off from her doctor's care because of shortsighted political games” Gonzales said.

Following the 2011 Texas law, the Department of Health and Human Services withdrew all Medicaid funding for family planning to the state.

They argued that the state had broken federal Medicaid rules by discriminating against qualified family planning providers and would therefore lose the entire program, which provides cancer screenings, contraceptives and basic health care to 130,000 low-income women each year.

Planned Parenthood triumphed briefly this Monday when District Judge Yeakel stated that the law was unconstitutional because it barred eight Planned Parenthood clinics that don’t provide abortions from participating in the program based on their affiliation with legally and financially separate entities that offer abortions.

The judge accepted Planned Parenthood’s argument that banning the organisation from the program would leave hundreds of thousands of women without access to clinics for basic health services and check-ups.

"By requiring plaintiffs to certify that they do not 'promote' elective abortions and that they do not 'affiliate' with entities that perform or promote elective abortions … Texas is reaching beyond the scope of the government program and penalizing plaintiffs for their protected conduct," Yeakel wrote in his order.

However, within 24 hours Judge Smith upheld an emergency motion filed by the State of Texas which, at least temporarily, overturned the ruling in favour of Planned Parenthood.

This type of legal action is rare and Judge Smith has come under criticism for mixing politics with the law by issuing a two-sentence decision on his own, with no explanation.

No one from the Texas Planned Parenthood was available for comment at the time of going to press.

Celebrities throw their weight behind the Save the Women’s Library campaign

Posted: 03 May 2012 05:30 AM PDT

Lucy Miller
WVoN  co-editor

Celebrities are throwing their weight behind the campaign to save the Women's Library in London.

Comedian Sandi Toksvig and author Shirley Conran are supporting calls for a new sponsor or owner to be found for the library.

The current owner, London Metropolitan University, announced in March that  it would cut funding to the library in order to save £1 million a year. It costs £500,000 per year to run the collection.

The library will have to reduce its opening times from five to just one day if a sponsor cannot be found by December (see WVoN story).

Toksvig believes that restricted opening hours would be a great loss.

She said: "The Women's Library is one of the most inspiring places in Britain. The collection is irreplaceable and having access to it should be a right for all”, adding that "It truly is a national treasure, and should be maintained at all costs."

Sally Alexander, a history professor and one of the infamous flour-bombing demonstrators at the 1970 Miss World contest, said that the collection is "a unique part of the renaissance of the feminist, gender and women's history."

A petition to save the library, addressed to Education Minister Michael Gove, has already attracted over 8500 signatures.

Degree in plastic surgery being offered at English university

Posted: 03 May 2012 03:30 AM PDT

Lucy Miller
WVoN co-editor 

A university in Essex (England) has announced that it is launching a masters degree in cosmetic surgery in a big to improve safety after the recent furore caused by faulty PIP implants (see WVoN coverage).

The course, entitled MSc in Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery Practice will start in September this year and is open to all registered plastic surgeons in the UK.

It will be run by leading cosmetic surgeons.

The plans have been criticised already, however, on the basis that cosmetic doctors already have to pass training that is certified by the Royal College of Surgeons.

But Professor James Frame, who will help run the course, was quoted by the BBC as saying that the extra training is needed and that surgeons are sometimes not qualified for cosmetic enhancement, as they are trained by the NHS to perform only reconstructive work – for example on burns patients.

Professor Frame said: “Aesthetic plastic surgery is a rapidly enlarging super-speciality that requires recognition in its own right.

“At present a newly qualified, fully-accredited plastic surgeon is released, totally lacking any experience in aesthetic plastic surgery, and is able to operate in the private sector.

“Many surgeons complete their training and, unable to find work in the NHS, have no option but to turn to private groups without that experience.

“There are many competent surgeons but at present there are too many under-qualified surgeons, particularly from elsewhere in the EU, coming over here and operating.”

He also said that the new training would stop people going abroad for surgery, risking poor quality aftercare.

However, Fazel Fatah, the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), disagreed, saying that NHS surgeons are already well-trained  and that 'the addition of an MSc may be desirable for some but is certainly not necessary for fully qualified plastic surgeons.”

The course will be offered at Anglia Ruskin's Postgraduate Medical Institute in Chelmsford, and a full doctorate in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is available to those who complete it.

A meeting of two African presidents – and they’re both women

Posted: 03 May 2012 01:30 AM PDT

Deborah Cowan
WVoN co-editor 

When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became president of Liberia in January 2006, history was made.  She became the first ever elected female head of state in Africa.

In April of this year, Joyce Banda joined Sirleaf in the African history books, becoming the first female president of Malawi (see WVoN story).

This week, the two women met as Banda travelled to Liberia to meet the woman she has described as her 'role model'.

Of her inaugural visit, she said "I should have visited neighbouring countries as some suggested to me, but I decided to visit Liberia first in my tour.

“I thought of President Sirleaf, who is my role model, to sit and chat with her on how we can contribute to the development of Africa along with our male counterparts.

“I will need your support in this endeavour to make a mark that will reflect African women's image on the continent, and if I succeed, it is your success, and [my] failure your failure.”

The meeting of the two women was clearly also a meeting of minds.  They have much in common.

Both have battled with anti-progressive political forces and have had to fight to prove themselves not just as politicians but as women politicians.

Both are vocal campaigners for women's rights and gender equality and both have held rare positions of power in the corporate and private sector.

Banda has dedicated her career to the advancement of women.

In 1990 she set up the National Association of Business Women, providing leadership, loans and business training to women setting up small businesses, and specifically concentrating on the economic empowerment and education of women in rural areas.

She also set up the Joyce Banda Foundation, which funds Malawian children through education.

In Malawi, only about 79 per cent of girls attend primary school on a regular basis, while less than a quarter of girls are enrolled in secondary schooling.

Banda is determined to fix this problem.

Since taking over the presidency of Malawi, she has set about rebuilding a country whose economy is in tatters and has pledged to end the systemic poverty and abuse to which so many women fall victim.

The meeting between the two women was clearly highly anticipated and loaded with expectation.

Ebrahim Faqir, manager for governance at the South African-based Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa says that the success of both Sirleaf and Banda will have a significant impact on the lives of women, and substantively alter the traditional view that women have no place in the public forum.

Because of them, he says "There are massive shifts taking place across the African continent. There is a rise of a civil society, a rise of direct citizen action.

“And I think much of this does find in evidence an increasing role for women, not just among civil and political actors, but also in the economy."

To the women of Liberia, Banda herself spoke more simply:

“…….. I hope you know that we are doing better than most countries. America is still struggling to put a woman in the White House but we have two, so we’re doing fine. This is what people did not expect us to achieve but we have.”