Happy New Year! I'm excited to bring you the first edition of Women Take Note for 2015.
Top Story
The just-released Forbes 30 Under 30 list features an impressive selection of young women (and men) who are redefining the world we live in. Some of the stand out women include Kiah Williams who co-founded SIRUM (Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine) and Youtube sensation Michelle Pham who overcame tough personal challenges to start a multi-million dollar cosmetics subscription company. Other gamechangers: Leanne Brown, author of "good and cheap," Eleni Antoniadou who cofounded Transplants Without Borders and CeCe Cheng, Director of Dorm Room Fund. Check out the full list and get inspired!
Don't Miss
America now lags behind many of its OECD European counterparts in women's employment rates. The OECD compared the percentage of women aged 25-54 in the labor force, across a selection of countries. In 2000, 74% of U.S. women were employed, a figure that fell to 69% in 2013. By contrast, countries like Sweden, Canada, and Japan all had marked increases in female labor participation rates. Switzerland, Australia, Germany and France now outrank the United States in prime-age women’s labor force participation.
Microsoft quietly revealed its diversity statistics right before the holidays. The company’s U.S. diversity numbers are similar to other tech behemoths: Over 75% male and 60% white. Globally, women make up 29% of its workforce. A statistic that was concerning: Only 12.5% of Microsoft’s American senior leaders are women. Worldwide, women comprise 17% of the company’s leadership team. This trails behind other tech titans; Facebook and Yahoo each have 23% women leaders.
- Forbes
"The future of IT very much depends on our industry collectively being able to rebrand our discipline as a preferred place for women to work," Computerworld columnist Thornton May writes. He focuses on the lack of women in the pipeline for jobs in IT. By 2020, there will be 1.4 million computer specialist job openings, projects the U.S. Department of Labor, yet only 12% of computer science graduates today are female.
- Computerworld. See also: Intel allocates $300 million for workplace diversity.
20 Words or Less
Decoding Leadership: What Really Matters
First Transgender Woman Elected Mayor In India, Homosexuality Still A Crime
Why You Shouldn’t Count On Your Family Members To Take Care Of You When You’re Old
How Nonemployed Americans Spend Their Weekdays: Men vs. Women
Just One Question
Do you feel like you're paving the way for more acceptance?
"A lot of the time the messaging that [the public] gets [from the media] is that they don't have enough, and they should have more and that they're not right, they're not okay. But there is enough space to make room for some more meaningful content that's still about glossy fashion, beauty, and music. Have it be more real and just more encouraging to be a better person, not perfect."
Amputee pop star Viktoria Modesta tells Elle
I love hearing from you – so do share what you liked to read (and what wasn’t as interesting) by commenting below and following me here or on Twitter @rtulshyan, #WomenTakeNote.
