At around the same time at which Google recently released its widely-panned diversity figures, the Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba ramped up preparations for its highly anticipated IPO, and in doing so, provided investors details into the inner workings of the company. Alibaba revealed that a surprising 9 out of its 27 partners are female. This […]

Just as women are over-represented in traditionally-female fields such as teaching and childcare, they remain a scant presence in the so-called “STEM” fields of science, technology, engineering and math. According to recent U.S. census data, they make up only one-quarter of all STEM workers. Although there are many reasons for this dearth, two new studies […]

Last week saw the close of New York Fashion Week, a magical time when Manhattanites come together with global taste-makers to encourage women of all stripes to display their inner beauty and outer style.  Sort of.  As much as NYFW is a salute to New York’s diverse population and global mindset, it also pays homage […]

From First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign to NBC’s controversial hit show The Biggest Loser, Americans are flooded with messages about the obesity epidemic in this country and what it means for our long-term health.  But there’s been a lot less talk about how being overweight or obese affects individuals who are trying to […]

In a belated celebration of Valentine’s Day, I want to tell a love story. But don’t worry, this won’t get mawkish. This is a story of modern love, of commercial love, of a four-letter (sometimes, three-letter) slogan (“love” or “LUV”) perverted to discriminatory ends. (This also an aviation tale, and if you haven’t read my […]

Last week, the New York Times asked a provocative question: Do activist investors target female CEOs?  Its article by that name considered whether the increased scrutiny that female CEOs attract, from stakeholders inside and outside the organizations they lead, can be attributed to their gender.  The article gestured at a phenomenon receiving significant attention in […]

Getting my pilot’s license was one of the greatest experiences of my life. There’s nothing like the thrill of your first solo flight or nailing the landing in a tough cross wind.  Yet aviation remains a male-dominated hobby, and, more importantly, a male-dominated career.  And it’s been that way for some time.  Why? My flight […]

Earlier this week, news broke that Jeb Bush’s recently-hired Chief Technology Officer, Ethan Czahor, had been purging his Twitter account. What was he trying to delete? Around forty-five sexist, homophobic, and otherwise offensive tweets. Buzzfeed has a good sampling of the deleted tweets, but I’ve pasted two below for your reading pleasure: “When I burp […]

Mother Jones recently published a profile by Mariah Blake on the “Men’s Rights Movement” and the man at the center of the movement, Warren Farrell.  As Blake details in her article, Farrell claimed his place at the center of the Men’s Rights Movement after publishing The Myth of Male Power: Why Men Are the Disposable […]

This week, the New York Times had a fascinating story on the University of Vermont, which has decided to recognize students who do not identify as males or females by a third gender: “Neutral.” The change is the result of a decade of lobbying and internal discussions about how best to include different members of […]