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☆ Startups want to use blockchain technology to improve the carbon-credit markets. Here's why big names in the climate industry are warming up to the idea.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Startups including Toucan and Topl are building blockchain tools for issuing carbon credits. Several companies, including Toucan, Return, Topl, and Open Forest Protocol, are now aiming to improve the transparency and reliability of carbon credits by coupling climate initiatives with blockchain technology. Erin MurphyThe need for greater transparency in carbon marketsCompanies buy carbon credits to offset the amount of greenhouse-gas emissions their business activity generates. Aureus EarthThe potential benefits of credits on the blockchainThat's where blockchain technology comes in, Murphy and other proponents said. Despite the flaws of that initial attempt, it showed ample market demand for blockchain-based carbon credits, Hoopes said.

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - African countries are lining up to approve a new vaccine for malaria, with 20 million doses available for them to buy this year, the shot’s manufacturer told Reuters. African countries that do not have extensive resources for drug regulation have previously relied on the U.N. agency to initially review new medicines. "We expect many more countries to come through," Mary Hamel, the WHO's malaria vaccine implementation head, told the expert meeting on Tuesday. “We are committed to making the R21 vaccine available to people who need it most,” Poonawalla said. FUNDING DOUBTSThe moves are a further sign that African countries want to exert their own pharmaceutical oversight after COVID-19 exposed inequity in vaccine supply.

☆ Racial Disparities are worsening disaster recovery for people of color. With climate change, things could get worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Lauren Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Rolling Fork, Mississippi suffered massive damage from a powerful tornado on March 24. Racial disparities existed in Rolling Fork for decades. She started I-DIEM after spending over 14 years in disaster management. Shirley Stamps stands in the rubble of her home in the aftermath of the Rolling Fork tornado. And increasingly, non-profits are doing things differently to address racial disparities in disaster management.

☆ Hard work just doesn't pay like it used to
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today's workers, especially gig workers, don't have the security that hard work once promised. Fueling the pessimism about hard work might be that Americans have "been doing nothing but hard work for the last two decades," Jennifer Klein, a Yale labor historian, told Insider. Blame the rise of gig work for hard work not paying offThough Americans work fewer hours now than they have in years past, they're working harder than ever. As a result, "people have experienced hard work and intensified work, but in very, very unpleasant and not particularly rewarding terms," she added. However, deregulation of employment and the dismantling of the New Deal structures of fair work have decoupled hard work and security, Klein said.

Since then, the ways we work have shifted dramatically, and it's time for retirement to catch up. Small businesses are less inclined to provide retirement plans. There are seasonal workers, gig workers, freelance workers, independent contractors, and recognition of the work of caregivers. The pension system and other retirement plans need to address the inherent inequities of previous centuries. Most large corporations still offer sponsor retirement plans, but many employees aren't eligible because of years of service and vesting requirements.

☆ Worried about your kids and A.I.? Experts share advice — and highlight the risks to look out for
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Monkeybusinessimages | Istock | Getty ImagesArtificial Intelligence is all the rage in the tech world, especially after the launch of ChatGPT and GPT-4. It has shown potential not only to change life of workers — but also the daily life of another demographic: kids. In fact, children are already using AI-powered toys and platforms that write bedtime stories at the click of a button. But there are concerns that AI could be something of a double-edged sword, especially when it comes to kids. Risks range from privacy and safety issues to psychological and behavioral effects, according to a report by UNICEF and the World Economic Forum.

☆ Can the U.S. See the Truth About China?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

Photo illustration by Bráulio Amado Talk Can the U.S. See the Truth About China? To see China solely as trying to displace the United States is only going to stoke more fears. The Chinese people believe that a substantially weakened Russia might not be in the interest of China, because if there were the sense that the United States needed to seek out an opponent, China would be next. And then also, the United States thinks that China wants to displace it. The industrial espionage stems from a lack of appreciation from the start of intellectual property, and the United States, by pushing China to do more intellectual-property protection, is actually good for China.

☆ Female leadership in tech is falling
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Mikaela Cohen | Kevin Travers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

With the backdrop of Women's History Month, Tacy Byham, chief executive officer of DDI, an international human resources and leadership development consultancy company, says it's no surprise the number of women in tech leadership roles is still low. Her company's research over the past 20 years shows that while the number of women in technology leadership roles has been rising, it's only ever reached 33%. But across the entire tech sector, the percentage of women in tech leadership roles is trending down, currently at 28%, according to DDI's 2023 Global Leadership Forecast, which surveyed 1,827 human resources professionals and 13,695 business leaders from over 1,500 companies around the world. Compounding the problem is the fact that on average, most companies don't offer leadership training to employees until nearly four years after they start their role. "These tasks don't always give them the points they need to help them move from a mid-level leader to an executive-level leader," she said.

☆ Republicans are slamming the bailout of Silicon Valley Bank's customers, saying it's a giveaway to the rich
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Federal regulators bailed out Silicon Valley Bank depositors following its Friday collapse. The joint statement made from the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC noted that the bailout will not be funded by taxpayers — the FDIC's insurance fund, which stands at about $125 billion, will cover all SVB depositors. "I don't know if making money's now woke," Baker said. "Banks like S.V.B. President Joe Biden referenced the 2018 law in Monday remarks on SVB, saying that "we must reduce the risks of this happening again."

☆ Meta has a pay gap problem, with women abroad getting lower pay and smaller bonuses than men
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company still pays women abroad less than men and gives them much smaller bonuses. Globally, the number of women working for Meta has increased just 1% since 2018. In 2022, women working across Meta in Ireland were paid 15.7% less on average than men at the company. In the reports showing an ongoing pay gap, Meta said its problem of pay inequity comes down to fewer women in technological roles. In Ireland, while the company said its workforce is almost half men and women, men hold more high-level and tech-focused jobs, according to the report.

☆ Chicago Mayoral Election Pits Paul Vallas Against Brandon Johnson
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ben Kesling | Joe Barrett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas says public safety is a civil right. CHICAGO—Voters awoke Wednesday to a choice in the coming mayoral runoff between a moderate Democrat who promises to be tough on crime and a progressive who pledges to tackle inequity in the city. Paul Vallas , who once worked for Mayor Richard M. Daley and is supported by the police union, and Brandon Johnson , a former teachers-union organizer, were the top vote-getters in a nine-person field Tuesday, knocking incumbent Lori Lightfoot out of the April 4 runoff.

☆ Gen Z women expect to make $6,200 less than men after graduating—salary transparency could help
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Their latest Gen Z salary transparency report found that, after surveying 1,853 Gen Z jobseekers, women expect a $6,200 lower average salary compared to men. "I was surprised that women are still asking for less money and have lower salary expectations," Workman tells CNBC Make It. Though women have historically been paid less than men, the gap has narrowed significantly since 1960. What's more, for every dollar paid to white dads, Black, Native American, and Latina moms earn 52 cents, 49 cents, and 47 cents, respectively. Several states, cities, and counties across the country have already passed legislation making salary transparency a requirement, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, Rhode Island, Washington and New York City.

☆ Senators urge halt to Chinese carriers overflying Russia on U.S. flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Al Drago/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoFeb 23 (Reuters) - The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the committee's top Republican urged the Biden administration to halt Chinese airlines and other non-American carriers from flying over Russia on U.S. routes. U.S. airlines and other foreign carriers are barred from flying over Russia. Russia banned airlines from the United States from overflights after the U.S. barred Russia flights in March 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine. U.S. air carriers currently serve Shanghai from the United States through a stop in Incheon, South Korea, while Chinese carriers serve the United States directly, flying through Russian airspace. The senators want the Biden administration to prohibit U.S. government personnel on official travel from taking flights known to use Russian airspace.

☆ Ex-Bon Appétit editor Marissa Ross says the wine world ruined her. Now she's back and ready to give it hell.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

Her rise was tied to a period of reinvention for the wine world during which natural wine conquered millennial taste buds and became ubiquitous on menus across the US. Marissa Ross, Bon Appétit's wine editor from 2016 to 2020, often posted pictures of herself chugging straight from the bottle — a technique she called "The Ross test." "Natural wine," a nebulous term that generally refers to wine made with minimal intervention and without additives like sulfites, was tentatively entering the American wine world. Many in the wine world took the idea that you didn't have to be educated to know about wine as a personal insult. When she first told BA that she planned to cover only natural wines, Ross said, Rapoport called to try to change her mind.

☆ A 'baby bond' bill to give every child $1,000 at birth has been reintroduced in Congress. How it would work
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The policy is aimed at narrowing the wealth gap, which has grown dramatically in the past 50 years, according to the lawmakers. The idea of baby bonds is getting traction in some states. Baby bond legislation has passed in California, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. Another eight states have introduced legislation, according to the Urban Institute, including Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, Washington, Delaware, Nevada and Massachusetts. A national policy may reduce the wealthy disparity between young white and Black Americans to a ratio of 1 to 4, according to the research. Estimates have found young white Americans have 16 times the wealth of young Black Americans, based on median incomes.

☆ Most Americans think college admissions should not consider race -Reuters/Ipsos poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Gabriella Borter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sixty-seven percent of white respondents said they were against considering race at all in admissions, compared with 52% of minority respondents. In the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 46% of respondents said social policies such as affirmative action discriminated unfairly against white people. That view was held by 49% of white respondents and 39% of minority respondents. While most poll respondents said they did not think college admissions offices should consider race at all, 58% of all respondents said they supported programs aimed at increasing racial diversity of students on college campuses. Respondents also were asked how significantly other factors ought to play into college admissions.

☆ Biden administration unveils rent protections
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Washington, DC CNN —In response to rent payments soaring across the country in recent years, the Biden administration unveiled new actions Wednesday to protect tenants, make renting more affordable and improve fairness in the rental housing market. The agencies involved include the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice. The FHFA will initiate a process to examine limits on egregious rent increases and proposals for renter protections for future investments. The administration also set out its guiding principles in its “Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights,” which, while not enforceable, aims to underscore protections the administration says every renter deserves. Meanwhile, others in the housing industry say that this kind of federal involvement in housing policy serves to increase housing costs.

Kaye Hearn, a justice on South Carolina’s Supreme Court, wrote the majority opinion this month that struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban. Two women, Court of Appeals Judges Stephanie McDonald and Aphrodite Konduros, were initially in the running for Hearn’s seat but withdrew Tuesday. (The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest court for criminal cases, also has an all-male bench; the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which hears civil cases, has both female and male justices.) In 1988, Toal was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Hearn, who was elected to the state’s Court of Appeals in 1995, joined her on the bench in 2010.

In the months since the most recent water woes began in Jackson, Mississippi, national attention has died down, donations have dwindled, and volunteers have been hard to come by. Thanks to donations and the national attention, grassroots organizers were able to distribute hundreds of cases of bottled water to panicked residents after the O.B. Michael Goldberg / AP fileJackson has one of the oldest water systems in the country, with authorities routinely directing residents to boil their water for safety, and residents often reporting brown water, leaking sewage and low water pressure. Since the water outage over the summer, residents have largely relied on bottled water for eating and drinking — and some for bathing as well. Months before the water outage in August, residents endured a cold snap in 2021, with extremely low temperatures freezing pipes and leaving many without water.

☆ US labor secretary says he wants more women to be CEOs and board members so the gender pay gap can immediately close
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Marty Walsh, the labor secretary, said at the WEF the US needs more women as CEOs and board members. Having women in these positions could close the gender pay gap, he said. The WEF estimated in its Global Gender Gap Report, published in July, that it would take 132 years to close the gap. Businesses need to understand that they need to close the pay gap, he said. The WEF said in its July report that the global gender pay gap had been closed by around 68%.

☆ Bill Gates says he'll sell what he owns to fund his philanthropic foundation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bill Gates said Wednesday that he'll sell what he owns as money goes toward the foundation he runs with ex-wife Melinda French Gates. When asked if it was "contradictory" for him to be a humanitarian while owning so much farmland, Gates replied, "Everything I own will be sold." In his response, Gates was referring to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic foundation he established in 2000 with his then-wife, Melinda French Gates. Gates created the Giving Pledge in 2010 alongside his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, Gates' close friend and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. The pledge asks the world's richest people to commit to give away most of their wealth to charitable causes in their lifetimes or in their wills.

☆ Here are the people who will lose out most if student loan forgiveness falls through
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

People of colorThe student debt crisis is cited as a main factor for the wide racial wealth gap in the U.S. today. Black college graduates owe an average $7,400 more than their white peers, a Brookings Institution report found. And that inequity only gets worse with time: Black college students owe more than $52,000 four years after graduation, compared with around $28,000 for the average white college graduate. WomenWomen were widely recognized as the biggest winner of Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, since they owe two-thirds of the country's outstanding student debt. "Women will be the most affected if loan forgiveness fails," Kantrowitz said.

☆ Black creators say they ‘have to be perfect’ to get promotional products from brands. They want that to change.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Daysia Tolentino | Daysia Tolentino Is A Culture | Trends Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

Black creators, like Bumba, have been vocal about how the lack of gifting to creators of color demonstrates the inequity in influencer marketing. Black creators say they still feel they have to work twice as hard as their white counterparts. Nimay Ndolo, a Black comedy creator with 1.9 million TikTok followers, said Black creators are often excluded from such opportunities, which limits their success. Black creators have to be “extraordinary” to get what white influencers appear to get with ease, Ndolo said. “I want to see, like, these creators that I’ve been watching — these Black creators, these queer creators, these Hispanic creators, these Asian creators — get more opportunities," she said.

☆ Biden releases plan to reduce homelessness as numbers match pre-pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Homelessness among veterans, for example, has plummeted as a result of federal leadership, and the country has also made inroads among youth, she said. The federal plan highlights racial and other disparities that have led to inequity in homelessness. The administration also announced a program to have federal agencies work with local officials to reduce unsheltered homelessness in select cities that have not yet been named. Homelessness has become a major political issue, especially in the nation’s biggest cities and on the West Coast. The local reports compiled into the national data showed the numbers rose some places and fell in others.

☆ Rep. Ro Khanna says balancing regulation and ethics online is key to ensuring technology remains a force for good: 'We need technology to democratize voice in America'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"I think the trajectory of technology is still a force for good," he told Politico. Despite his concerns about Twitter, Khanna remains optimistic about the potential for technology companies to benefit society. "I think we need technology to solve climate," Khanna told Politico. We need technology to democratize voice in America. The office of Rep. Khanna did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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