March 8, 2023 - Employment & Business News

International Women’s Day 2023: Billion-dollar businesses you didn’t know were run by women

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 2:43 pm by Hugh Fort

In the last few years, we’ve seen a significant increase in women-owned businesses in the US.

Over 11.6 million American companies are owned by women, creating $1.7 trillion in sales.

However, only a tiny portion of these businesses have become billion-dollar companies.

From genetic testing kits to dating apps, these are women-owned businesses that soared to the top of their fields, earning billions.

Bumble

Whitney Wolfe Herd (pictured) began her booming career in dating apps when she became vice president and co-founder of marketing at Tinder.

But things turned sour when she filed a lawsuit against her chief for sexual harassment, which meant she had no choice but to leave the company.

He was fired for his alleged actions and the case was settled out of court.

After Tinder, Whitney chose to compete against her ex-employer and came up with a new dating app.

With help from Andrey Andreev, Badoo founder, she created Bumble, which gives women the chance to make the first move after matching.

Whitney is still the CEO of Bumble, which is now worth $1 billion and has 35 million users.

CreditKarma

In 2007, Nichole Mustard was requested to join a joint project with Kenneth Lin and Ryan Graciano.

Together, they had an idea to build a company where people could view their credit scores for free.

CreditKarma was launched in 2008, and two years later, the company gained one million members.

Today, Nichole is the company’s chief revenue officer, which now has a net worth of $4 billion.

The firm has given free credit scores to around four billion members.

Rent the Runway

In 2008, Jennifer Hyman came up with the idea to start a company where women could rent designer clothes after her sister had to pay $2,000 for a dress when attending a wedding.

Jennifer paired up with Jennifer Fleiss to begin the business, which started on the Harvard campus.

Rent the Runway was launched in 2009, giving women access to designer clothing for less money.

The business has a value of $1 billion and continues to intimidate traditional retail stores.

23andMe

Anne Wojcicki launched 23andMe in 2006 with the help of Linda Avey and Paul Cusenza.

The company was designed to test the possibility that you will obtain certain diseases, including cancer and even motion sickness.

When it first launched, the genetic testing kit cost $999.

The company is now worth $2.5 billion and has had more than 10 million customers.

Spanx

Sara Blakely was getting ready for a night out in the ’90s when she decided to cut the feet out of her pantyhose.

This inspired her to create a pantyhose business that was comfortable for women.

Spanx was launched in 2000.

In 2012, Sara was named the youngest female self-made billionaire, and today, the company is worth $1 billion.

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Atlassian will make 500 job cuts to focus on key areas

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 2:29 pm by Nithya Bose

Australian software maker Atlassian is preparing to cut 500 jobs or almost five percent of its workforce.

Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian’s co-founders and co-CEOs, said the move is to focus more on key priorities like IT service management than on financial needs.

The cuts will largely hit teams including Talent Acquisition, Program Management, and Research & Insights.

The bosses added the company intends to support customers moving workloads from on-premises data centers to the cloud.

The company intends to support customers moving workloads from on-premises data centers to the cloud.

However, the CEOs clarified the layoffs are not evenly distributed across the organization.

Farquhar and Cannon-Brookes added: “We want to be clear these decisions are not a reflection of our teammates’ work.

“Every single person has made contributions that have changed our company for the better and will leave a lasting impact on their peers and teams.

“This is about rebalancing the roles we need across Atlassian first and foremost.”

Affected employees will get 15 weeks of severance plus one week for each year of service and are permitted to keep their laptops.

A company spokesperson said Friday, March 10, would be their last working day.

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The tech sector has been shrinking in the past year after the pandemic drove both companies and consumers to change their behaviors.

Atlassian’s rivals, Alphabet, Asana, GitLab, IBM, Microsoft, and PagerDuty, have also announced job losses recently.

The global layoffs come as central bankers attempt to cool rising prices by boosting interest rates.

Source: CNBC

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Networking group for working mums expands with five South West hubs

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 1:01 pm by Nagasunder

A networking organisation for freelance and self-employed mothers has launched five new hubs in the south of England.

Faye Dicker, a former BBC Radio Bristol presenter who wanted to balance her own parental responsibilities with her voiceover work and help other parents in business, created Freelance Mum in 2013.

The group has organised monthly “netwalks” across the city where working mothers could bring their kids and network for the last 10 years.

After the Covid-19 outbreak, the organisation changed its business strategy and is currently opening new hubs under the direction of local female business leaders who are themselves mothers.

Bristol, Somerset, North Somerset, South Devon are the south-west hubs, while Winchester, and Southampton are in the south-east.

Freelance Mum also runs an online support network, which offers weekly online coffee mornings and member-led sessions open to all hub members across the country.

Ms. Dicker said: “When Covid hit us, I instantly launched a weekly online coffee morning, which allowed freelance mums, to talk and connect.

“We suddenly had even more responsibilities, with home-schooling and trying to keep our businesses afloat. It was a tough time for everyone, and the support was even more vital.

“When the Covid restrictions began to lift and the world began to open up, we were able to bring back our ‘netwalks’ again – but it was clear to see the online coffee mornings were here to stay. Suddenly we had a scalable model! Members could meet in person at ‘netwalks’ across the country once a month and then all connect at the weekly online coffee morning. It proved an instant hit!”

Ms. Dicker added that she “could burst with pride” at the support the platform has offered to freelance working mums across the UK.

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Ingrid Wolpert, who leads the South Devon Freelance Mum hub, said: “Something that makes Freelance Mum unique in my opinion – I’ve been to lots of networking groups for women – is the fact that members can bring their children along to the netwalks – I haven’t found another networking group that caters to this unique need of mothers.

“In addition, the weekly coffee mornings on Zoom create really strong personal relationships and a great community, plus of course the Facebook group, which is really active, headed by the wonderful FM founder Faye.”

Source: Business Live

Elon Musk apologizes after mocking disabled Twitter employee

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 12:54 pm by Nithya Bose

Elon Musk responded to a Twitter employee who was unsure whether he had been laid off in a recent round of cuts by publicly mocking his disability.

Haraldur Thorleifsson tweeted Musk to say his access to his work computer had been disabled nine days ago and that he didn’t hear back from human resources.

He tweeted at Musk: “However your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not.

“You’ve not answered my emails. Maybe if enough people retweet you’ll answer me here?”

Musk responded by asking: “What work have you been doing?”

In the threads on Monday and Tuesday, Thorleifsson wanted to know if he was still an employee at the firm.

He joined Twitter when the social media company bought his design firm, Ueno, in 2021.

Thorleifsson said he was leading the prioritization of design projects across the organization.

Musk later tweeted that the design manager “did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm.”

Thorleifsson replied that he has muscular dystrophy, a disorder that causes muscle weakness and, as a result, is unable to type for long periods.

“This wasn’t a problem in Twitter 1.0 since I was a senior director, and my job was mostly to help teams move forward, give them strategic and tactical guidance.

“I’m typing this on my phone btw. It’s easier for because I only need to use one finger.”

“Let me know if you are going to pay what you owe me? I think you can afford it?”

Musk has provoked outrage at Twitter and Tesla over working conditions and the aggressive manner in which he has been known to interact with staff online.

He tweeted on Tuesday, saying it “hurts my faith in humanity” that people were defending Thorleifsson online.

Musk, the world’s second-wealthiest man, is also a power user of the site he purchased for $44 billion in October.

With followers of over 130 million, he uses the site to make major company announcements and sometimes gets in conflict with regulators and advertisers.

Since taking over Twitter, Musk has laid off thousands of people, sacked most of its leadership, and given more attention to Twitter that Tesla shares have fallen.

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The social media giant has become a chaotic workplace with little communication from the company during the spate of job cuts, notes several current and former employees.

Musk seems to have altered his tune about his former employee by Tuesday evening.

He tweeted that he was having a video conference with Thorleifsson to “figure out what’s real vs what I was told.”

In a tweet, Musk apologized to Thorleifsson for “my misunderstanding of his situation” and said Thorleifsson was considering staying at the firm.

Source: The Washington Post

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In The Style will sell business for just £1.2 million to avoid bankruptcy

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 10:32 am by Nagasunder

In The Style plans to sell the company for £1.2 million to avoid going bankrupt, just two years after being valued at more than £100 million.

The online fashion retailer was valued at £105 million when it floated in 2021 but has now agreed to be acquired by private equity investor Baaj Capital.

Adam Frisby, the company’s founder and CEO, has agreed to take an equity stake in the new, which has been formed for the sale.

When the project is completed, he will become the company’s CEO.

In December, the online fashion retailer launched a strategic review led by investment bank Lincoln International.

But it had “challenging” trading in January and February, which resulted in high levels of markdown and a decrease in wholesale demand.

The cash position of the retailer has decreased from £3.2 million at the end of December to around £900,000 at the end of February.

It said: “As a result of this expected reducing cash balance and the expectation that the trading environment will remain challenging in the near term, the board is of the opinion that, in the absence of raising further funds or completion, there would be no alternative other than the company and ITSFL to enter into administration or some other form of insolvency procedure in due course.”

In The Style chair Jim Sharp added: “Following a thorough review of different strategic options with our advisers and interactions with numerous parties, the independent directors have unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the company, its shareholders and its stakeholders to sell In The Style Fashion Limited to Bidco.

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“The independent directors, therefore, believe that under the new ownership structure – with Adam’s continued leadership and Baaj’s backing – the In The Style brand can continue to build on its potential whilst protecting the interests of the Group’s employees, suppliers and other stakeholders.”

Source: Retail Gazette

International Women’s Day 2023: The bizarre workplace rules women once faced

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 10:01 am by Hugh Fort

In 2022, the fight is continuing for more equality in the workplace between men and women.

Although a lot of work is still to be done in terms of eradicating old-fashioned attitudes and closing the difference in pay for men and women who do the same job, things seem to be moving in the right direction.

A number of hugely powerful and rich companies have female CEOs and there are hundreds of massively successful women running their own very successful businesses.

However, in the past, the role of women in the workplace has been very different, with archaic rules in place about what they can and can’t do, specific jobs only aimed at women and strict rules about “appearance” that don’t apply to their male colleagues.

From rules around working while pregnant to dress codes, women have faced many restrictions on what they can and can’t do for decades and across nearly every sector.

Some rules on this list are no longer in play, but some still are.

Try not to talk about yourself

If you were a female secretary living in Texas in the 1960s, you weren’t allowed to talk about yourself.

This was just one rule of many.

You needed to control any urge to intervene in other people’s business or make comments.

If you could grasp it, you would be well on becoming a top-class secretary.

No female mining students in China

Today, females living in China aren’t allowed to study mining engineering at China Mining and Technology University.

This is a course that no matter what, after graduation, you are guaranteed to go to work.

This rule is in place because they believe women cannot carry heavy machinery or get away as quickly in an emergency.

A tutor at the University told the BBC: “China’s labor law suggests mining work is unsuitable for women, so we ask women to refrain from applying to our major.”

If you’re married, you had better quit your job

From the 1800s to the 1970s, there was a rule against hiring married women

If they were already working, you had to force them to quit after the wedding, known as a “marriage bar.”

This was typical for public service jobs in the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Some job roles in which this was mandatory were; teachers, nurses, the army, and public broadcasting.

This was rescinded in the United Kingdom in 1935 but was in place in Ireland in 1973.

Female cabin crew in the 1960s

If you were a female flight attendant living in the US, you had to live up to very high expectations.

This is a job advert for Eastern Airlines in 1966: “A high school graduate, single (widows and divorcees with no children considered), 20 years of age (girls 19 1/2 may apply for future consideration). 5’2″ but no more than 5’9″, weight 105 to 135 in proportion to height and have at least 20/40 vision without glasses.”

Different airlines have different rules, but one that was similar for all was only to hire “slender, well-proportioned” women between 5’2″ and 5’9.”

You were expected to go into early retirement with United Airlines, at the grand old age of 32 or 35, at a push.

Airline bosses had a common belief that having the textbook type of stewardess, slim and young, was the key to their success.

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Amazon wins class action lawsuit over remote work expenses

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 9:58 am by Nithya Bose

Amazon workers have a class action lawsuit against the company after accusing it of not paying their home working expenses during the Covid pandemic.

Nearly 7,000 of the e-commerce giant’s staff filed the suit in California over their home office costs.

A judge in San Francisco ruled the plaintiffs failed to prove that Amazon had a company-wide policy of not reimbursing employees for internet, mobile phone, and other expenses.

The judge rejected the lead plaintiff, David Williams’ motion to certify the workers as a class.

The ruling said over 600 of the 7,000 proposed class members were paid $66.49 on average for home internet costs, and some received full reimbursement.

Williams’ motion for class certification was declined without prejudice, which means he can re-file it later.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Craig Ackermann, a lawyer for Williams, said he intends to file a new motion excluding the 619 staff who were reimbursed from the proposed class.

He said: “We are very pleased and happy to accept the court’s challenge to try again for certification following a bit more discovery.”

Williams sued Amazon individually in 2021 and added class-action claims last year.

He claims Amazon violates a California law that requires employers to reimburse employees for reasonable work-related costs.

In January, the judge rejected Amazon’s motion to throw out the case.

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The firm maintained that it did not owe reimbursements since the expenses were incurred due to government stay-at-home orders and not a decision made by Amazon.

Williams’ lawyers have filed similar cases against several companies, like IBM, Fox, and Oracle.

Some of those have settled, with companies agreeing to give remote workers stipends of up to $83 per month to cover home office costs.

Source: Reuters

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RMT union suspends Network Rail strikes later this month after new pay offer

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 9:49 am by Nagasunder

A series of RMT rail strikes have been put on hold after a new pay offer was made by Network Rail

As a result of the offer, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ union has suspended all industrial action against Network Rail.

The strike was scheduled to last from 2am on March 16 to 01.59am on March 17.

A ban on accepting overtime, which can be disruptive to maintenance work, has also been shelved.

Sky News reported members are set to vote on the latest Network Rail offer.

It is unclear whether the executive committee will recommend that members accept or reject the offer, as it has done previously.

Further updates will be provided in the coming days, according to the RMT national executive committee.

Members of the RMT union work for Network Rail in maintenance, signaling, and station management.

Network Rail’s was a five percent pay increase retroactive to January 2022 and a 4 percent raise for 2023, but it was contingent on union members accepting unfavourable conditions.

That offer was rejected after being deemed “dreadful” by the RMT.

It said the requisite changes to working practices would have resulted in “a severe reduction in scheduled maintenance tasks, making the railways less safe, the closure of all ticket offices and thousands of jobs stripped out of the industry when the railways need more investment not less”.

Network Rail referred to that proposal as its “best and final” offer to end the long-running dispute over pay, jobs, and conditions that have disrupted train travel since June.

There has been no change to the planned strike action by RMT members against the 14 train operators represented by the Rail Delivery Group on March 16, 18, 30, and 1st.

Sky News anticipates that an update on this dispute will be provided tomorrow.

Network Rail CEO Andrew Haines commented on the announcement, saying: “We are relieved for our employees, passengers, and freight customers that Network Rail’s strike has been called off. We look forward to hearing more about the referendum plans.”

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The number of work days lost due to strike action was the highest in more than 30 years last year. There have been as many strike days since 1989.

Source: Sky News

International Women’s Day 2023: These brands support women every day of the year

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 9:09 am by Hugh Fort

March is Women’s History Month, and the 8th is International Women’s Day — 24 hours devoted to the extraordinary women who’ve paved the way for triumph and our independence today.

However, women contribute economically, socially, politically, and culturally every day of the year.

To recognize their accomplishments and help the women in need, some fashion brands decide to give back to women all year round — not just for promotional value.

These brands show the small but valuable ways you can offer your support for women exceeding the month of March.

From online retailers to well-known designer brands, we’ve highlighted five brands playing their part for women, all 12 months of the year.

Chanel

Luxury French fashion house Chanel founded its charitable basis in 2011.

Foundation Chanel is devoted to the approval of women’s needs, despite the variety of their demanding environments.

The foundation persists in forming partnerships with causes across the globe, including the HER Fund in Hong Kong, New York Women’s Foundation, Working Chance in the United Kingdom, Daughters of Tomorrow in Singapore, and more, giving its expertise to enhance the social and economic conditions of women.

Jimmy Choo

In 2011, the Jimmy Choo Foundation was founded in the hope that, through enterprise and teaching, the brand could help better women’s lives.

Back in the day, the foundation partnered with further causes, such as CARE’s global anti-poverty initiative.

Through CARE’s branch and LendWithCare, the duo helped the investments of approximately 1,600 female entrepreneurs and around 3,000 members of their families.

Today, the foundation has a continuous collaboration with Women for Women International that involves yearly donations, brand activations, and employee engagements in aid of the #SheInspiresMe movement.

THINX

THINX is a period underwear brand that launched its GiveRise program to promote menstrual equity and easy access to menstrual hygiene products.

Through its endeavor, the brand has paired up with causes like Safe Horizon, Girls Inc., and the Alliance of Border Collaboratives to make essential menstrual hygiene available to those in need.

Princess Polly

Princess Polly, an online retailer, is giving out more than discounts.

The fast-fashion brand is admiringly charitable and has a list of organizations and causes to which it often donates.

These include Dress for Success, which helps sponsor women looking for employment, and The Loveland Foundation, which helps women and girls of color.

Uncommon James

Founder, Kristin Cavallari, is a mom of three who, while conquering her entrepreneurial goals, puts her children first.

To give back to other moms in need, Uncommon James and Little James have a continuous partnership with Mother to Mother.

Mother to Mother is a non-profit organization supporting mothers with low incomes and children.

They have donated thousands of clothes to the cause.
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International Women’s Day 2023: The incredible women who have changed the world

Posted on March 8, 2023 - 9:02 am by Hugh Fort

Women around the world have made a huge difference to today’s society.

But before we get into that, happy International Women’s Day.

It’s only right, today, we honor all the wonderful women who have changed the world in so many different ways!

Rosalind Franklin: Revealed DNA’s Structure

Rosalind Elsie Franklin was an English chemist who was born on the 25th of July 1920 in Nottinghill, London.

Rosalind knew she wanted to be a scientist since she was just 15.

She enrolled in college, despite her father being against this, she eventually received her doctorate in chemistry.

She spent three years studying X-ray techniques then returned to England to lead a research team to study the structure of DNA.

This was all at a time when women weren’t even allowed to eat in her college’s cafeteria so we can imagine how hard it was for her.

There was another DNA research team led by Maurice Wilkins, who double-crossed Rosalind when he showed scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, Rosalind’s ground-breaking X-ray image of DNA, known as Photo 51.

Photo 51 allowed Watson, Crick, and Wilkins to take all credit for her work and determine the structure of DNA.

Jane Addams: Pioneer for Social Change

This woman is truly amazing.

She was a suffragist, settlement house founder, peace activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Jane chose a lifetime commitment to social reform over marriage and motherhood.

Jane and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr, traveled to England in 1881.

They were inspired by the Toynbee Hall in London (a special place to help the poor).

In 1889, they moved into an old mansion in an immigrant neighborhood in Chicago, where Jane ended up living for the rest of her life.

This house provided a place for immigrants from diverse communities to gather.

Jane and other residents of the house sponsored legislation to get rid of child labor, establish juvenile courts, limit the hours of working women, recognize labor unions, make school attendance compulsory and ensure safe working conditions in factories.

She openly wrote about and lectured that she was against the First World War.

After the armistice, she founded the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, where she served as president from 1919 until her death in 1935.

Jane will always be remembered as the mother of social work, as she shaped social legislation that to this day has an impact on the world.

Claudette Colvin: Teenage Civil Rights Activist

This woman inspired many.

One day she was too tired to give up her seat on the bus home from high school, on March 2, 1955, refusing to move for a white passenger.

Claudette said she felt inspired by the memories of earlier pioneers to stand or sit her ground.

She told Newsweek: “I felt like Sojourner Truth was pushing down on one shoulder and Harriet Tubman was pushing down on the other—saying, ‘Sit down girl!’ I was glued to my seat.”

She was then arrested for violating Montgomery, Alabama’s segregation laws, and her family feared for their safety as news of the incident spread.

Claudette bravely pled not guilty and was given probation.

She wasn’t selected by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to challenge segregation laws in the south due to her youth.

However, later she became one of the four plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, which ruled that the Montgomery segregated bus system was unconstitutional.

Hedy Lamarr: Invented Tech Behind Wi-Fi

Nicknamed “The Most Beautiful Woman in Film,” Hedy Lamarr was more than just a beauty.

While Hedy’s screen time made her one of the most popular actresses of her day, she was also an inventor with a sharp mind.

Along with composer George Antheil, Hedy developed a new method of “frequency hopping.”

This was a technique for disguising radio transmissions by making the signal jump between different channels in a certain pattern.

Their “Secret Communication System” was created to tackle the Nazis during World War II, but the U.S. Navy ignored their findings.

It wasn’t until years later that other inventors realized how groundbreaking her work was.

We all use a smartphone today, right?

Well, you can thank Hedy as her communication system was a forerunner to wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias: First Female Sports Star

Nicknamed as “Babe,” Mildred Didrikson Zaharias, played her way into national fame in 1932.

She entered the US women’s track and field championship as the sole member of her team.

Not only did she compete in team events in team events alone, she won five events and the overall championship.

Then at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, she took home three medals—one silver and two gold.

Babe got her way onto the golf scene in 1934, when she was the first woman to play in an all-male PGA Tour event.

To this day, she holds the record for the longest winning streak in golf history, which she accomplished between 1946 and 1947.

Have you heard of the Ladies Professional Golf Association?

Well, it was Babe along with 12 other female golfers, who formed the pro tour in 1950.

She amazed the crowd a final time in 1954 when she won the U.S. Women’s Open by a record of 12 strokes, just a year after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

The Associated Press named her “Female Athlete of the Year” six times, and we cannot disagree.

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