Sunday, March 29, 2020

"It’s 2016, but women – even in elite professions – still earn less"/ "Gender-swapping voice experiment suggests new factor in tech gender gap"

I'm posting this in honor of International Women's Day Mar. 8.

Jul. 30, 2016 "It’s 2016, but women – even in elite professions – still earn less": I found this article by Virginia Galt in the Globe and Mail today:

Just as the United States women’s soccer team’s “Equal Play, Equal Pay” campaign is symbolic of a more widespread gender pay gap issue in the United States, new research indicates that many women in Canada – even in the elite professions – have that T-shirt, too.

In the legal field, a 2016 survey of compensation paid to in-house counsel found that female lawyers who work as corporate counsel earn 15 per cent less than their male in-house counterparts.

“This wage gap cannot be fully explained away by the assertion that ’men have been in the workplace longer,’ as men have fewer average years as both legal counsel and senior counsel and [yet] still earn a higher base salary,” according to a report by the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and The Counsel Network, a national legal recruitment firm.

“For in-house counsel, the gender wage gap is real and it is not shrinking… In all sectors, except government, where woman have wage parity, men earn a higher salary than women.”

(The average annual salary for all in-house counsel surveyed is $165,000.)

A 2015 survey conducted by Chartered Professional Accountants Canada uncovered similar results: “At the total level, female members have a median total compensation of $99,000 versus $120,000 among their male counterparts.”

Some – but not all – of this is explained by the preponderance of men in more highly paid executive roles, said the CPA, which also provided a compensation breakdown by role and gender, based on 2014 pay stubs.

Examples: median annual compensation for male accountants in chief financial officer roles was $180,000, compared with $140,000 for females; $125,00 for male treasurers, compared with $98,000 for females; $133,000 for male professors, compared with $109,000 for females; $250,000 for male partners in accounting practices compared with $190,000 for females.

“It’s a fairly recent thing that we have looked at the data and gone on the record with it. That’s obviously good, because just recognizing that there is a problem can lead to change,” Robin Taub, volunteer chair of the CPA Canada’s women’s leadership council, said in an interview.

The most recent in-house counsel compensation survey – the fourth such survey conducted since 2009 – “was shocking” in that the gender pay gap has not narrowed “and it’s 2016,” said Dal Bhathal, Toronto-based managing partner of The Counsel Network.

This time, however, perhaps because it is 2016, “I can tell you that, absolutely, in the in-house counsel community, it has definitely received attention,” Ms. Bhathal said.

At a time when the federal government has its first-ever gender-balanced cabinet and securities regulators now require publicly traded companies to disclose the percentage of women on their boards of directors and in executive positions, the issue of gender equity is not only on the corporate radar, it’s on the agenda.

The U.S. women’s national soccer team is selling T-shirts with the “Equal Play, Equal Pay” message to raise awareness of their legal fight for equal compensation and playing conditions as their male counterparts. By extension, the soccer stars say, they are advocating for a level playing field for American women in all walks of working life.

In Canada, as in the U.S., the gender pay gap is a complex issue, with overall national averages skewed by a higher concentration of women in lower-paying occupations, at lower levels of the corporate hierarchy, or in part-time work.

But when women are working the same hours, producing at the same level, in the same roles as men, it becomes more difficult for employers to explain away the differences, pay equity advocates say. The differences are often non-existent or less pronounced in unionized workplaces covered by collective agreements or in public sector settings where job classifications and pay levels are clearly spelled out.

Colleen Moorehead, chief client officer at the law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, said her firm’s compensation committee has a fair and transparent process around the determination of partners’ pay.

Through her work with The Judy Project – an executive leadership program for women operated in conjunction with the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management – Ms. Moorehead has seen growing commitment to gender equity from the leaders – male and female – of Canada’s big law firms, accounting firms, banks and other corporate entities.

“I do feel there is a real wind of change,” Ms. Moorehead said in an interview.

The regulators’ requirement that corporations explain what they are doing to promote women to their boards and C-suites “has kind of created a top-of-the house framework for oversight, which I think is important in terms of pay equity.

“You can’t pay a man director differently than a women, I mean, it’s ludicrous to think so. And when you have a more diverse board talking about gender diversity and oversight on compensation and so many of the things [that affect the progress of women], they can ask those questions” about what’s happening throughout the organization.



"Gender-swapping voice experiment suggests new factor in tech gender gap": Today I read this article by Karen Turner in the Edmonton Journal:

When Aline Lerner worked as a tech recruiter, she saw a lot of biased hiring.

"The kind of discrimination and bias I witnessed went beyond gender and race, though those are certainly palpable and very, very real. It was discrimination against people without pedigree, as well," she said, mentioning that a prestigious university or previous experience at a big tech company seemed to matter more than technical ability.

It inspired her to create interviewing.io, a platform that allows people to practice technical interviews in a bias-free environment with people from major tech companies such as Google and Twitch.

The candidate's education, employment history, name and other identifying features are stripped out of the process, leaving only the ability to solve technical problems. Sometimes the experience can lead to a job opportunity.

But now Lerner is using the platform to also examine the gender gap in tech after she discovered a notable trend.

Men were 1.4 times as likely as women to advance to the next round on the website and on average scored 3 out of 5 on technical ability, while women scored 2.5.
"I was surprised," she said.

"To me, there is nothing about programming a computer that ought to favor one gender over another. And technical interviews, especially, are a learned skill."

The data inspired her to adopt voice-masking technology as part of the interview process. 

The tool modulates the candidate's voice in real time, either to the opposite gender's voice or to a gender-neutral one. The tool also preserves the candidate's vocal inflections so that the person does not come across as a robot.

When Lerner began the experiment, she asked participants on her website whether they wanted to opt in to using voice-masking software, but she did not tell them their voices would be modulated to sound like the opposite gender.

Interviewers were informed that participants' voices might sound slightly processed. Candidates were asked not to mention their genders throughout the interviews. Sixty-three participants opted in for a total of 234 interviews.

The result?

The men whose voices were modulated to sound feminine were rated slightly higher than those whose were not. On the flip side, women's voices that were modulated to sound masculine were rated a bit lower than when unmodulated.

Lerner stresses that the trend was not enough to be statistically significant but does point toward something surprising.

Why, given that result, were women on average performing worse?

The answer may lie in another data trend that Lerner noticed: rate of attrition.

After an interview was rated poorly by the interviewer, women were seven times as likely to leave and never return to the site as men who also received poor ratings. 

After the second interview, poorly rated women continued to leave at a higher rate than poorly rated men.

The data suggests that the more people returned to the site to try again, the more their performances improved. 

Lerner tested this: She threw out the users who quit after a bad interview and found that the performance gap between men and women closed.

"In our experience, after two or three interviews, people tend to start finding their groove. Like any other learned skill, practice makes you better," Lerner said.

But she stresses the limitations of this experiment, including a small sample size and the limitations of using voice-swapping alone to communicate one's gender.

But the experiment's conclusions do fall in line with other studies that examine possible reasons for the gap between women and men in tech.

In a Cornell University study, researchers tested scientific reasoning skills in women and men. They found that there was no difference in ability but that women repeatedly underrated their own performances.

 And in a study published by the independent organization Sage Publishing, researchers examined diary entries of college students in science, technology, engineering and math studies.

They found that when female students encountered evidence that they were not performing at the top of their classes, "the experience [triggered] a more fundamental doubt about their abilities to master the technical constructs of engineering expertise" than it did with men.

This issue is not confined to the tech space.

Kevin Miller, senior researcher at the American Association of University Women, agrees that the confidence gap is an important factor in gender disparities within the workforce.

I do hope that we can start a conversation around the gender gap through the lens of grit . . . rather than just the narrative that the tech industry is biased against women as a whole.

"Men are more likely to apply for jobs in the first place, even if they aren't fully qualified, whereas women will assume that they need to be fully qualified in order to apply," he said, citing a Harvard Business Review study.

He also noted that one reason for the gender gap in political office is that women do not run as much.

Still, Miller said, using tools such as voice-masking software to make the interview process anonymous can help remove potential unconscious bias on the hiring end.

 He said the Toronto Symphony Orchestra introduced blind recruitment in the 1980s by auditioning musicians behind a screen.

The result was a much more racially diverse orchestra with a roughly even split of male and female players.

Blind recruitment has been introduced in many companies in recent years.

Deloitte, HSBC and the BBC are among those that have chosen to recruit employees based on résumés stripped of names and schools. The hope is to remove possible bias, promote social mobility and introduce employee diversity that could better reflect an increasingly diverse customer base.

For Lerner, her platform is just one step toward a more meritocratic and diverse playing field.

"I do hope that we can start a conversation around the gender gap through the lens of grit . . . rather than just the narrative that the tech industry is biased against women as a whole," she said.

"That's not to say that biases don't exist or that the playing field is level. I just think that this problem is going to need a lot of different approaches to fix."


My opinion: I bolded that part because I have read about that part before.

"Men are more likely to apply for jobs in the first place, even if they aren't fully qualified, whereas women will assume that they need to be fully qualified in order to apply," he said, citing a Harvard Business Review study.

Women should apply even if they are not 100% fully qualified, like at least 60% qualified.  You can learn the other things on the job.

This reminds me of The Social where the question is: "Should you go for a job where your friend is applying for it too?"

Yes, because if she gets hired, then she has an in.  She can then refer you for another position in the company.  A lot of jobs aren't advertised.  Or if you get hired, you can help her get hired too.

Here are the job articles I posted about women in the workplace:

"It's time women stop asking permission to be in power"/ "Sponsorship- a key to unlocking women's potential"



"Corporate leaders give sage advice to future CEOs"/ "Focus on retaining and rebuilding the trust of your consumers during a company crisis" 



"Closing the language gap between business and AI"/ "Women don't have to change to become leaders"


"Extending mat leave won't help women returning"/ "Will my pregnancy impede my career ambitions?"

http://badcb.blogspot.com/2020/03/extending-mat-leave-wont-help-women.html

My week:


Sun. Mar. 22, 2020 Post Secret:



Mon. Mar. 23, 2020 I filed for COVID- 19 EI: I woke up early and got to Service Canada when it opened at 8:30am.  When I got there, there were 30 people in line.  I did bring a magazine.  They gave us paper forms to fill out.  I was there for an hr.  

I went there in- person because I would have questions filling out the forms.  If I was at home and on the computer, and had a question, then I would have to call, and the phone line is busy and then I would have to wait.  I'm there in-person and a worker is answering the questions there.

The Waiting Game: I filed for EI and now I have to play the Waiting Game to get the EI.  I'm sure a lot of people are playing that when this pandemic is over.

The Simpsons: Homer aired his commercial for Mr. Plow.  

Homer: Now it's time to play the Waiting Game.
There is a pause as the family sits on the couch.
Homer: This is boring, let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Michael Drayer: Last night I was watching A Million Little Things ep "The Lunch."  I saw the guy who played Derek and I thought he kind of looked familiar.  Then after the ep like less than an hr later, I was like: "Wasn't he on the 2016 TV show Shades of Blue?"  Yeah, he played Joaquin.  I see that he also played Houdini on Timeless.  I forgot about that and I didn't recognize him then.  Other than that, I have a good memory.


https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1826988/?ref_=tt_cl_t13


Stuck in the house: I went out for fun on Feb. 14.  Then the next 3 weeks, I only went to work.  Then I went out for fun as in Meetups 3 nights in one week.  I didn't go out for fun for 3 weeks because it was winter time and I don't like to go out in the cold.

The quarantine happened.  You go out when you have to.  Also it's cold.

Work from home job search: I have been busy looking for a work from home job.  I have written some more blog posts on this.

Do you know of any work from home jobs?  If you do, please email me.  Thanks.



Wed. Mar. 25, 2020 Hyperwallet: I just found out about this company.

"Hyperwallet’s payout technology does more than just send payments. Our full stack approach gives marketplaces and enterprises the payout flexibility and control they need to streamline their operations, scale their business, and delight their payees."

https://www.hyperwallet.com/

Hope Mission: Today I got a call from Causeworx who called in behalf of Hope Mission.  The COVID- 19 pandemic is making the homeless people struggle even more.  The woman asked for "Are you willing to donate $10 or even $5?"


https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/hope-mission/

This is Us: I saw the season 4 finale of this show.  It's good.  This show is consistently good with the writing.

Stumptown: I saw the season 1 finale of this show.  The whole season was good with all the action and comedy.

A Million Little Things: I saw the season 2 finale of this show.  I find this show to be solid and average.  These are one of the few TV dramas about people not killing each other.  There was a surprise in the finale.

So Eve gives birth.  Rome is talking to the doctor.

Rome: She can't be!

My opinion: Let me guess, Eve is dead.  I was wrong.

Mar. 26, 2020 Ignite Your Power from Within by Missy Beck: I have been listening to this online event series and posting this on my Facebook:


Heather Quisel has become one of the leading experts in building an authentic brand and message online.

Having mentored and trained hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs in her sales organization and Level Up coaching programs, Heather has traveled around the world teaching and mentoring coaches, leaders and business owners to get the strategies they need to identify their mission, eliminate doubt and obstacles, and monetize their message.

She’s been awarded Top 50 Women in Business in Idaho twice, featured on news programs and stages for her ability to succeed and lead through adversity, and was invited and introduced by Russell Brunson himself to speak in front of 5,000 people at Funnel Hacking Live 2020.


My opinion: The question is: "Are you creating or consuming?"

I am both.  I'm creating blog posts by copying and pasting articles and making comments.  I'm consuming by reading those articles.

They talked about overcoming perfection.  Put up something you created even if it's not perfect.  Good and done is better than perfect and not done.

I'm like that with my blog.  I have been writing emails like daily since 2005.  I started weekly emails in 2006.  If you knew me back then, you may have gotten them.  

In 2008, I started my blog.  What I write form 2005-2007 are pretty similar to what I wrote in 2008-2009.

http://igniteyourpowerfromwithin.com/day-18-heather-quisel/


"Pennsylvania grocery store loses estimated $35K in food after woman's 'twisted' coronavirus prank, co-owner says":

A grocery store in northeastern Pennsylvania had to throw away an estimated $35,000-worth of products after a woman went through the store coughing on food in what the store's co-owner called a "twisted prank."

The incident happened Wednesday at the Gerrity's Supermarket in Hanover Township, according to a post on the small chain's Facebook page. Co-owner Joe Fasula said a the woman "came into the store and proceeded to purposely cough on our fresh produce, and a small section of our bakery, meat case and grocery."

Fasula said the estimated value of the lost food is "well over $35,000." He added police are investigating and the district attorney's office is involved. Fasula added efforts are being made to have the woman tested for coronavirus, though she is not believed to be infected. 
The Hanover Township Police Department confirmed it was investigating the incident in a Facebook post late Wednesday. The department said the woman has been identified and is being evaluated at a local hospital "for a mental health evaluation." Police said criminal charges will be filed in the incident. 



  • There was a lady at our Albertsons this weekend who was in the toilet paper section when supply was running low. When she saw a senior shopper or a person with a disability, she stopped them and asked if they needed toilet paper, and handed them a pack to make sure that they were able to purchase what they needed. When the supply was down to the last pack, the woman put that single pack in her cart. She didn't hoard anything, and took only one 6 pack. She made sure that those who appeared to be the most needy or vulnerable were able to get something for themselves before taking her own. 

    A short time later, I saw her in the pet food aisle trying to get canned cat food only for some greedy shopper to grab every case of it, leaving maybe 3 cans. I saw her pick up the 3 cans, look at the label, then put them back. I asked her is she was going to buy those cans. She said, "No, they have fish. My cat is allergic to fish. There was some here just a second ago but someone beat me to it all... I'll just have to go somewhere else and try to find something for him. I was going to order it on line, but everyone's out" Then she pulled out a bus schedule, and I realized that it was going to be a difficult trip for her to find food for her cat. I felt so bad for her, because she was very kind in making sure that others got what they needed, yet she wasn't able to get the food for her own cat. 

    I did something naughty. I followed the greedy cat food grabber who had at least a dozen cases and lots of cans in her cart and when she walked away from her cart to get something off another shelf, I snagged a case from her cart and took it to the first lady, and asked if her cat could eat the food that I took. She grinned at me and said, "Yes, this is one of his favorites! Where did you find this?" I just said, "The Lord fills the hungry with all good things and sends the rich away empty. Thanks for looking out for those other folks." 

    I thought she was going to cry. We have to watch out for each other and be kind. Maybe it was wrong for me to take that case of food from the other woman's cart, but this first lady deserved to have her kindness to others repaid. Greedy people also need to be brought down a level.

    Show replies (137)         
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https://ca.yahoo.com/news/pennsylvania-grocery-store-loses-estimated-035712933.html


Mar. 27, 2020 "‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans shocked by blazing quick puzzle solve: ‘Is this sorcery?’":

Wheel of Fortune contestant Mark Franco was in a winning mood Thursday night. The avid outdoorsman from Brentwood, California, impressed everyone with a very quick puzzle solve.

Early on in the game, Mark found himself apologizing for winning a puzzle which a previous contestant had missed on a technicality. Host Pat Sajak told him, “That's alright, never apologize for winning.”

Maybe Mark had something to prove to Pat or the audience, but soon after that he nailed a Triple Toss Up puzzle. At almost the same time that the first letter popped up on the board, Mark hit his buzzer.

The puzzle read “_  ‘ _ - _ _ _ _ _ G - _ - _ _ _ _”. And within a second of it appearing Mark answered, “I’M HAVING A BALL.”

Mark surprised both Pat and fans at home. Many viewers took to Twitter to voice their shock and dismay.

OhhJustSTFU 7 hrs ago
i remember watching some show about how some people win at game shows it turns out that game shows repeat a lot of the same puzzles or questions a lot so people study past episodes

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