There is an old adage that says we all smile in the same language. Although that’s a warm and fuzzy thought, a recent study from Northeastern University makes me hope that the intentions and attitudes behind toothy grins cannot be so easily generalized. My colleague Maya has already written about how smiling is freighted with gender implications. The Northeastern study…
The issue of same-sex marriage is once again before the United States Supreme Court. Last time the Court addressed this topic, the Court rightly invalidated Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which restricted the federal definition of marriage to a marriage between a man and a woman. This time around, the Court will be considering two discrete questions…
When applying for a job as a police officer, you might expect to have to meet certain educational, physical, and mental health requirements. But what if I told you that in Indonesia, you can be rejected for a civil service job because you are not a virgin? Or because you are married? And what if I told you that you…
At we cover many of the hurdles that women face in the workplace. In addition to on-the-job issues, women can face discrimination in how they are treated following a workplace injury. According to recent news reports, Californian women who apply for workers’ compensation following an injury on the job receive lower compensation or can be excluded from the system altogether. Workers’…
As most everyone knows by now, Patricia Arquette issued a very blunt call for equal pay and gender equality during her recent Oscar acceptance speech. After thanking her family, friends, colleagues, and others who have helped her along the way, Arquette stated that she wanted to say thank you “To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of…
In the midst of the Ellen Pao trial, much chatter has erupted on gender politics in the tech industry. Ellen Pao, a former junior partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, is suing her former employer for gender discrimination. Among Ms. Pao’s claims is an allegation that Kliener failed to promote her to top positions, instead of promoting less-qualified men over…
March is Women’s History Month, and if you’re anything like me, you probably treat that announcement with less than overwhelming enthusiasm. BUT, maybe we’re off on that front. Here are some facts you might not know about Women’s History Month. First, it wasn’t a thing until pretty recently. As in, 1987. Second, after President Carter originally designated a week in March, 1980 as…
We have written, on this blog, about the persistent gap in pay between men and women in America today. We have written about the injustice of men being paid more for doing the same work, about implicit gender-based bias, about unjustifiable double standards—it is by no means easy (or fair) to have to navigate the American workplace as a woman. And we’re working hard to…