Women's Views on News |
- Twitter’s all-male board
- Events: 14 – 20 October
- F1 mourns trailblazing female driver
- MP criticises government on women
| Posted: 14 Oct 2013 08:05 AM PDT
As well as having seven male board members, all the company's investors are male, as are most of its executives except one, who only joined the company a few weeks ago. In an interview with the New York Times, academic and technology entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa accused Twitter of "male chauvinist thinking". In response, Twitter's chief executive, Dick Costolo, described Wadhwa as the "Carrot top of academic sources" and argued that critics like him are engaging in "hyperbole". The lack of women at Twitter has highlighted a general lack of women in media and technology companies. Despite prominent exceptions like Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and Marissa Mayer of Yahoo, women remain a minority. The Women's Media Center (WMC) has recently released a report that found only 17 women at media and technology companies are on Fortune's 50 most powerful women in business list. It is often suggested by technology executives that there are simply not enough qualified women available. However, most of the current members of Twitter's board do not have a technology background. It is also often argued that it is difficult to attract females to jobs in this area. Nell Minow, however, believes that these reasons are all merely excuses. "What they are saying is we can't find anybody who is a woman but in every other respect is like us," Nell Minow, the corporate governance expert and a founder of GMI Ratings said. She added: "Of course, that person doesn't exist." Minow's company has compiled a global database of over 650 women and other minorities it believes are qualified to be corporation board members based on their experience running big businesses and large organisations. The lack of females in media and technology companies is particularly perverse as WMC has found that women outnumber men on social media. Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that gender and racially diverse boards have financially stronger results. Twitter is a relatively new company and has the opportunity to lead the way in promoting women in the media and technology world. Sadly, so far it is not the trailblazer it has the potential to be.  |
| Posted: 14 Oct 2013 04:08 AM PDT
Birmingham: 19 October: 'In search of emancipatory language and liturgy': A Gender Study Day with Nicola Slee at The Queen’s Foundation, Somerset Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2QH from 10.30am-4.30pm. Building on the success of previous WATCH/Queen's study days this day will provide another opportunity for theological reflection and sharing on a topic of vital importance. Tickets: £25/£10 Glasgow: Every Thursday until 17 October: Read, Relax, Recharge at Glasgow Women's Library, 23 Landressy Street, Glasgow, from 12noon-2pm. Are you a book lover? Or maybe you want to get back into reading again after a long break and don't know where to start? This friendly read-aloud group, led by Magi Gibson and Librarian Wendy Kirk, offers the perfect chance to relax and recharge for a couple of hours. Bring along your lunch and explore stories and poems by a range of amazing women writers from around the world, all washed down with lots of tea and friendly chat. A small donation of £2 (or whatever you can afford) is requested, to cover the costs of running the group, but free places are also available. Click here to register your interest or contact the library for more information. Leeds: 19 October: Ladyfest Leeds at Wharf Chambers, Ground Floor, 23-25 Wharf Street, Leeds, from 12noon-11pm. This year Ladyfest Leeds have arranged a host of wonderful speakers, workshops and bands ready to inspire you to release your inner activist, get creative and have a wonderful time. This includes Rosie from Object! talking about its latest campaigns and how these changes affect Leeds, Carol Robson reading the poetry that relates to her life and coming to terms with her gender identity and sexuality, and Kristin Aune, co-author of the groundbreaking ‘Reclaiming the F Word: Feminism Today’ – to name a few. Tickets £8 /£5 /£4 London: 14 October: Science in the Pub – Ada Lovelace Day Special at Prince William Henry Pub, 217 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 from 7.30-10pm. Part of Ada Lovelace Day. This special 'Science in the Pub' event is dedicated to women working in STEM and includes 4 fascinating mini-talks by special guests, followed by a discussion addressing some of the issues surrounding women working in these fantastic, but sometimes challenging, fields. The guests will be: Julie Flynn, from Macmillan Cancer Support; Dr Rachel Cooke from SABMiller; Professor Bridget Shields, the Head of Institute of Acoustics, and Kate Russell, a BBC Click technology reporter. Tickets are free and no reservation is required. For other events inspired by Ada Lovelace Day going on around the capital, click here. 14 October: Honest Lies Premiere Screening + Discussion at Amnesty International HQ, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London, EC2A from 7pm. The premiere screening of this short film, based on a story written by a woman previously involved in prostitution. Following the screening will be a discussion of the challenges facing women exiting prostitution, ways in which they can be supported, and a clear message of support for a change in UK law, calling for those who are prostituted to be decriminalised. Tickets £7.50 15 October until 20 October: Infanticide by Peter Turrini at Camden People's Theatre, 58-60 Hampstead Road, London, NW1, from 7.30pm. "News item: At the home of her parents, a twenty-six year-old murdered her ten-day old child… It is assumed that the act was committed in a state of emotional confusion." ‘Infanticide’ presents the young mother standing on trial. Interrupted by the voices of the judge, her father and her boyfriend who urge her to justify herself, she reveals her story, her "confusion", her anger and her pain: "Why can't I be what I want to be?" Tickets £13.50 /£11.25 16 October: Equal and Free? Sharia Law and Other Failures Concerning UK Women and Children at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R, from 7pm. Baroness Cox and Anne Marie Waters speak about their findings regarding the experiences of Muslim women living in Britain today. Baroness Cox became deeply concerned that many women and girls in this country are suffering from gender discrimination, often associated with polygamy and domestic violence. She has talked with oppressed and abused women from communities which foster discrimination, here in the UK – and wept with them as they told their stories. In an attempt to highlight their unacceptable situation and to alleviate the suffering of these women and girls, she introduced a private members Bill, The Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill, in the House of Lord June 2011. Supported by Anne Marie Water from One Law for All, Baroness Cos will discuss the urgent need for her Bill and the evidence backing it in the briefing Equal And Free? They will address both women's and children's rights under Sharia Law in the UK today. This talk is open to all and free to attend. Conway Hall does ask those who can, to make a donation to cover the costs of the room and equipment hire. 17 October: Ada Lovelace Day Edit-a-thon at the Library, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R, from 6pm-9pm This event is part of Ada Lovelace Day and attempts to address Wikipedia's gender bias by creating and improving articles about notable women. See website for details and registration. 19 October: Girls & Boys: Discrimination, Liberty and Fairness at the Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M, from 2.30pm. Part of the ‘Girls & Boys’ series. The law has a lot to say about sex-based discrimination. But how far should the state interfere? Should we go further than we do? Are there other ways in which the state should take action? Should the state take an interest in power relationship in our personal lives, as well as in our working lives? And whatever position you take on these questions, how would you justify your views, by reference to concepts such as liberty and fairness? Tickets are free. No advance booking is required, but places are limited. 20 October: The Second London Sex Worker Film Festival at The Rio Cinema, 107 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, London, E8 from 1pm-5pm. Sex Worker Open University is proud to present The Second London Sex Worker Film Festival. The programme covers sex worker's voices, struggles and experiences from Brazil to the UK, Thailand to France. The programme features ‘Putes En Lutte’, ‘Last Rescue in Siam’, ‘The Honey Bringer’, ‘Normal’, ‘Sex Worker's Rights: A Public Service Announcement’, and ‘A Kiss for Gabriella’. Manchester: 19 October: Bidisha reading from her new book ‘Beyond the Wall‘ at Cross Street Chapel, Cross Street, Manchester M2 1NL from 2pm-3pm. The Manchester branch of Amnesty International present an afternoon with writer, critic and broadcaster, Bidisha, who will read from Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine, a book described as 'an unflinching portrait of life in the West Bank'. The book draws on testimonies given by activists, ordinary citizens, international aid workers and foreign visitors, and Bidisha’s own personal experience of the West Bank's checkpoint culture. The talk will be followed by a short question and answer session and an opportunity to buy the book and have it signed. Tickets: £7 / £5 Sheffield: 17 October: LaDIYfest Sheffield presents: Hats Off to the Matchwomen with Louise Raw, at Coffee Revolution, Sheffield Students' Union, Western Bank, Sheffield from 7pm. Join Louise Raw, author of 'Striking a Light: The Bryant and May Matchwomen and their Place in History', to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Matchwomen's victory, and hear the true story of the wild and wonderful women who changed the world. This event is free and open to everyone. 18 October: LaDIYfest Sheffield presents: The Hysterical Injury + Big Joan + Honeybuzz + Elopes at Redhouse, 168 Solly Street, Sheffield, from 8pm LaDIYfest Sheffield present another evening of brilliant live music, dancing and vegan snacks, featuring noise-pop duo The Hysterical Injury, Bristol's Big Joan, slacker garage pop band Honeybuzz and queer, femme, two piece Elopes. Suggested donation £4 York: 15 October: Ada Lovelace Celebration at Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield, from 4pm-6pm. Join the Department of Computing to celebrate all the successes of Women in Technology on Ada Lovelace Day. The speakers include Professors Helen Richardson and Daniella Petrelli, and Dr Luigiana Ciolfi from Sheffield Hallam University and Kathy Ward, Head of Diversity and Early Talent at SAP systems. 17 October: Titus Andronicus by Smooth Faced Gentlemen at York Theatre Royal, St Leonard's Place, York, from 7.30pm. Following a smash-hit run in Edinburgh, Smooth Faced Gentlemen bring their distinctive blend of theatrical anarchy to York for one night only. A vibrant and visceral retelling of Shakespeare's bloodiest, most underrated tragedy, uncompromisingly wrought by an award-winning, ground breaking, all-female Shakespeare troupe. Tickets £15 /£12 /£8 17 October: Traffik Free Zone at City Screen Picturehouse,13-17 Coney Street, York, from 6.30pm. To commemorate UK Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October, Unchosen will present some excellent short films on the subject. Unchosen will discuss how men and women working in the UK in situations of forced labour are subjected to the use of illegal tactics by their employers, such as withheld passports, reduced wages, violence, virtual imprisonment and the threat of deportation. And young women from countries like Poland, Romania, China and Nigeria are working in situations of domestic servitude, trapped in private households by a combination of exploitative employers and deeply unhelpful legislation. Join Unchosen at City Screen and engage in discussion and debate with experts about what can be done to stop modern-day slavery. Featured screenings include ‘The Trip’, directed by Prano Bailey-Bond, ‘My Name is Georgina’ written and directed by Michael Holley, and ‘I Want to Be’ written and directed by Jane Gull.  |
| F1 mourns trailblazing female driver Posted: 14 Oct 2013 03:00 AM PDT
Madrid-born Maria de Villota was found dead in her hotel room in Seville on October 11. Spanish police confirmed that she died from natural causes. However, her family has since been informed that her death was a consequence of neurological injuries suffered during a serious crash last year. De Villota sustained life-threatening injuries while testing for Marussia in July 2012, losing her right eye when her car crashed into a team support lorry. She made a full recovery from her other injuries, and had been cleared to continue driving. The 33 year-old began her long career in motorsport racing karts, before graduating to single-seater racing in 2000 with the Spanish Formula Toyota series. She later made appearances in Formula 3, GTs and touring cars. Her first experience in an F1 car came in 2011, when she tested for Renault. The following year, she joined Marussia as a test driver. Her crash took place as she was returning to the pits after her first test for the team. After a month in hospital she continued to be active in the motor racing world, including in her role as an ambassador for the FIA's Women in Motorsport Commission. "It is very important to let other women know that with enough belief and application, you can overcome any hurdle," she said of the Commission's work. "If I can be an F1 driver, I am sure a lot of women can do it too. Being different is hard. Not having another woman around to ask is tough and your destiny really is in your own hands." Williams development driver Susie Wolff paid tribute to de Villota's determination to support women in motorsport, even in the wake of her accident. "She knew that women could compete at that level and that's why, after her accident and her not being able to do it any more, she just wanted someone to know it was possible," said Wolff. "She had such a spirit for life. What she came through was a testament to her strength of character and her positive outlook on life." Formula 1 remains an extremely male-dominated sport; only five women have ever entered a race. Before the Japanese Grand Prix on 13 October the teams and drivers held a minute’s silence for de Villota. Many of the drivers also wore red stars in her honour. De Villota was one of just a handful of women proving that the sport need not always be so. Her determination to prove the naysayers wrong, and to show that women can compete at the highest level in motorsport, will be much missed.  |
| MP criticises government on women Posted: 14 Oct 2013 01:09 AM PDT
Writing in House Magazine last week, Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin said that many Conservative (Tory) men believe women "can deal with 'women's issues', so men can get on with running the country". He added: "The Tory High Command [David Cameron, George Osborne and Lynton Crosby) are all men. Only three out of 25 on the party board are women. Most of the advisers and policy wonks are men. And of course, most MPs will continue to be men. "It is going to take a long time to change all this, so what else must we change?" Jenkin's comments come after the coalition reshuffle last week, which was seen by many as an attempt to increase the number of women in government and in senior government positions. Esther McVey, former junior minister for the disabled, was promoted to employment minister, and Anna Soubry, who was working at the Department for Health, has become the first female defence minister. However, the number of women in government remains low at 25 out of a possible 125 posts. This is far off David Cameron's target of having women make up a third of his cabinet by 2015. In his article, Jenkin questioned if the reshuffle was "enough" to help women candidates. He suggested that the issue lies with the behaviour of the key decision makers at the top of the government, including David Cameron, George Osbourne, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander. "Janet Daley blogged about how the Chancellor's [special advisers] briefed the Telegraph team after his speech. 'The two women among us he ignored. And when I say he ignored us, I don't mean that he snubbed us or deliberately cut us dead. I mean that he didn't see us. It was as if we were pieces of furniture rather than sentient beings’," Jenkin quoted. He went on to write: "The Prime Minister greeted a leading high profile business women who happens to be the wife of a major donor to the party, by asking, 'And where is x – the husband?'" Jenkin, who chairs the Public Administration Select Committee, admitted that the behaviour of others is also at fault, conceding that "we men are all guilty of such unconscious slights to women". Shadow equalities minister Gloria De Piero has also spoken out against the Conservative part of the coalition government. She said that Jenkin had highlighted how "dangerously out of touch the Tories are". "It is a problem which goes right up to David Cameron and has seen women disproportionately affected by his Government's cost of living crisis. "While nearly half of Labour’s shadow cabinet are women, David Cameron has only four women in his top team of 22. That says it all," she added. Jenkin has called for "zero tolerance" of negative behaviour towards women. "We have perhaps yet to understand what 'change' in the Conservative Party really means," he reflected. "Every man in the Conservative Party needs to change or be left behind. The leadership needs to be on this 24-7-365, not just at re-shuffle time."  |
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