Latest news with #AsEquals
CNN
08-03-2025
- General
- CNN
Hear these women speak about an invisible job taking most of their time
For International Women's Day, CNN As Equals interviewed women from Tokyo to London to hear about their challenges as unpaid care givers. This story is part of As Equals, CNN's ongoing series on gender inequality. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Why work is (still) not working for women
Editor's Note: This story is part of 'The Great Illusion,' a series by CNN's As Equals all about work: investigating which industries are most harmful for women workers, revealing the true cost of care work, and exploring how it can all be fixed. For information about how CNN As Equals is funded and more, check out our FAQs. Unpaid work. Sexual harassment. Violence. Low wages. The 'motherhood penalty.' These are just some of the issues that millions of women continue to face at work in 2025. Despite progress made towards global gender equality, men continue to hold the highest paid positions in industries worldwide, while many women still typically handle grunt work across companies and supply chains. Meanwhile, many women around the world are still struggling to find work, with many holding precarious jobs or forced to hustle in the informal economy just to get by. Overall, women continue to carry a disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work, underlining United Nations Secretary General António Guterres' comments that global poverty 'has a female face.' 'If the quantity and quality of employment are failing women, the impact is higher poverty risk,' said Sally Roever, formerly the international coordinator at Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), a global network that aims to improve working conditions for women in the informal economy. Labor experts say that the working world excludes, underpays, overlooks and exploits around half of its available force – and as such, work systems - in their current structures - are failing women. The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines work as 'any activity performed by persons of any sex and age to produce goods or to provide services for use by others or for own use.' But 'most economies just don't create enough jobs,' Roever told CNN, adding that gender norms often dictate which jobs are available or accessible to women, and as such, women are often forced to 'invent their own income-generating activities.' Globally, the most common form of work is informal and unregulated, according to the ILO, who estimates nearly 60% of all workers are involved in this type of work, most of whom are women in the Global South. Although work in the informal economy is most prevalent in developing economies, it is also an important part of advanced economies, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Informal work takes many different forms globally and includes jobs such as street sellers, unregistered taxi drivers, domestic workers and day laborers. For women working in the formal economy, they often don't hold the same legal rights as men, according to a 2024 World Bank report. More than 90 countries do not have laws mandating equal pay for equal work, while dozens of others prohibit women from working in certain industries, such as construction or manufacturing. Some countries prohibit women from working jobs deemed 'too dangerous,' and others ban women from working at night. In the formal sector, women typically hold lower-paying roles and are only likely to hold leadership positions in occupations 'traditionally viewed as female-centric,' according to the ILO. For example, women make up 67% of the global health and social care workforce - providing essential health services for an estimated five billion people worldwide - yet men are estimated to hold 75% of leadership roles in the sector, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Women are, in a way, 'always stuck at the floor,' said Emanuela Pozzan, a senior gender equality and non-discrimination specialist at the ILO told CNN. This, in turn, limits 'the diversity of perspectives in decision-making processes,' she said, which then hinders progress in society and organizations. Women working in the informal economy are over-represented in the most vulnerable types of employment, including domestic work, food production and agriculture, according to the ILO. Unpaid care work is a barrier to women actively engaging in the labor market, leaving women marginalized, and without any social protections or income stability in many parts of the world, experts say. In 2023, around 708 million women worldwide were unable to enter the labor force because of unpaid care responsibilities, according to the most recent ILO global estimates, who said the data 'confirm that care responsibilities continue to be the main reason women are not looking or not available for employment.' Domestic work was 'always regarded as something that women just do, because it's 'their role,'' Adriana Paz, secretary general of the International Domestic Workers' Federation (IDWF), an organization representing domestic workers worldwide, told CNN. And even when domestic work is paid, safety risks are often not accounted for, she said. For example, domestic work is mostly carried out in homes, which are not commonly considered a workplace. Paz said this means occupational health and safety standards are rarely in place to protect people - mostly women - who are paid to do that work. While unpaid care work isn't counted in traditional economic measures, it is vital to economic activity, Pozzan of the ILO added, noting that care work allows others participate in the workforce. 'You cannot have paid work unless you have unpaid care work,' she said. While all workers face some risk and vulnerabilities on the job, women face them in greater numbers, particularly those working in the informal economy across the Global South. This is partly because of the nature of the jobs they do. For example, domestic and factory workers risk exposure to toxic chemicals, industrial workers face extreme pain and farm workers risk prolonged sun exposure. And many women in the agricultural industry - who make up most rural smallholder farmers worldwide - are often not recognized formally as farmers in many countries, leaving them without any rights to the land they work. Across nearly every sector, gender-based violence and sexual harassment at work continues to persist as patriarchal societies have normalized gender-based violence, according to the experts. That violence has a knock-on effect on the overall economy. In Cambodia, a 2017 study by the humanitarian agency CARE said that almost one in three women garment factory workers reported they had been sexually harassed, lowering productivity and seeing many women leave the job – costing employers an estimated $89 million annually. Meanwhile, women are facing risks to the future of work, with big tech and the climate emergency two of the most prominent disruptors. Women's jobs are more at risk of being lost to AI as women typically hold low-skill positions requiring less education and formal qualifications that are more likely to be replaced by automation. Climate change is also disrupting work and affects women differently than men. During an extreme weather event, which is often exacerbated by human-made climate change, women are usually the ones to shoulder a larger burden when it comes to running the household, making cooking, cleaning, gathering resources and childcare more challenging and time consuming. Women are also working longer than men as they typically have less access to state and social benefits – including sick leave, unemployment pay, or pensions. For example, in a high-income country such as the United Kingdom, women retire with an average pension savings of £69,000 (approximately $87,340), compared to men's £205,000. ($259,480), according to NOW: Pensions, a UK-based pension scheme. In developing countries, women often withdraw from the workforce due to family responsibilities, according to Aura Sevilla, also from WIEGO. Maternity policies that aim to fill in income gaps are often inadequate, according to WEF figures. Nearly one in two women who become pregnant aren't protected from income loss if they have their child, according to the ILO, leaving women with less overall wealth just because they started a family. At an average life expectancy of 74, women also live longer than men, whose life expectancy is 69, according to World Bank data. In many heterosexual relationships, this means women need to keep working if their partners are no longer able to work, or die, said Florian Juergens-Grant, also from WIEGO. Experts say that investing in the care economy, changing the culture of care, and strengthening unions and workers protections will help improve work conditions for women globally. For work to really work for women, experts agree that it is important to invest in the care economy, as it can create new jobs and offer a return on investment. Unpaid domestic and care work would equal a substantial portion of global GDP if given an equivalent monetary value, according to the ILO, who said that in some countries that amount would exceed 40%, based on conservative estimates. Chryspin Afifu of the International Center for Research on Women told CNN that care work needs to be seen as a public good and quantified so that governments can take action on subsidizing private care services and reducing financial burdens carried primarily by women. An example of how this action works in practice can be seen in a city-run project located in Bogotá, Colombia, where men are taught basic care skills in a bid to rebalance domestic care responsibilities. More than 400,000 people have benefitted from the Care Schools for Men program since its inception in 2021, and a survey from late 2023 suggests more men and women in Bogotá say that they now distribute household work more equally than in 2021. The city government also runs ''Care Blocks'' to support caregivers - the majority of whom are women - which include laundry services, legal aid, daycare, psychological support, and dance classes, among others. Between March 2021 and December 2023, almost 250,000 caregivers benefitted from these services, and the team is hoping to add a further 23 Care Blocks by 2035. Another way to improve work for women is to encourage multinational brands to audit working conditions all the way across their supply chain, WIEGO experts said. For example, many women in the garment and footwear industry prefer to work from home than in factories to either balance care responsibilities, for cultural or religious reasons, because they are too old to work in factories, or because they live in villages. But they often receive low wages, unstable and irregular pay, and endure poor working conditions. The strengthening of unions and collectives is also key in establishing better workers' rights for women. One success story comes from São Paulo, Brazil, where after years of organizing, the women-led Domestic Workers Union successfully negotiated a minimum wage above the national minimum, and weekly rest periods for live-in domestic workers, among other achievements. Commissioning EditorMeera SenthilingamReportersSophie Foggin, Kara FoxVisualsConnie Chen, Agne JurkenaiteVisual EditorsCarlotta Dotto, Elisa SolinasEditorsMeera Senthilingam, Kara FoxSenior Video ProducerLadan AnoushfarDeveloperByron Manley Senior Video ProducerLadan AnoushfarVideo ProducerEstefania Rodriguez
CNN
07-03-2025
- General
- CNN
Hear these women speak about an invisible job taking most of their time
For International Women's Day, CNN As Equals interviewed women from Tokyo to London to hear about their challenges as unpaid care givers. This story is part of As Equals, CNN's ongoing series on gender inequality. For information about how the series is funded and more, check out our FAQs.
Egypt Independent
03-03-2025
- Business
- Egypt Independent
Facebook enables gender discrimination in job ads, European human rights body rules
Editor's Note: This story is part of 'Systems Error', a series by CNN's As Equals, investigating how your gender shapes your life online. For information about how CNN As Equals is funded and more, check out our FAQs. A European human rights body has ruled that Facebook's algorithm shows gender bias when promoting job advertisements, marking what activists say is a crucial step in holding big tech companies accountable for the design of their platforms. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights said in a February 18 decision that Facebook's algorithm reinforced gender stereotypes by mainly showing 'typically female professions' to female Facebook users in the Netherlands and that Meta (META), the social platform's owner, should have monitored and adjusted its algorithm to prevent that. The Institute's decision follows CNN As Equals reporting revealing that Facebook users in Europe were missing out on job opportunities due to gender bias. The 2023 article was based on findings shared with CNN by international non-profit Global Witness, which investigated Facebook's job ads and found that ads in the Netherlands and five other countries often targeted users based on historical gender stereotypes. For example, ads for mechanic positions were predominantly shown to men, while those for preschool teacher roles were primarily directed to women. Global Witness said its experiments in the Netherlands, France, India, Ireland, the United Kingdom and South Africa demonstrated that the algorithm perpetuated similar biases around the world. The non-profit's investigation led to four complaints from the Dutch human rights group Bureau Clara Wichmann and the French organization Fondation des Femmes. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights said in its February ruling that Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., which manages Facebook ads in Europe, failed to demonstrate that its advertising algorithm does not engage in prohibited gender discrimination. The Dutch body said Facebook must revise its advertising algorithm to prevent further discrimination. The European Union has several directives that prohibit discrimination based on gender, including in online advertising. The Institute's ruling added that 'Meta Ireland has acknowledged that the gender data point can be part of the algorithm. Meta Ireland has not refuted that this data point can promote stereotyping via the algorithm.' A Meta spokesperson told CNN that it would not be commenting on the matter. Meta spokesperson Ashley Settle previously told CNN that the company applies 'targeting restrictions to advertisers when setting up campaigns for employment, as well as housing and credit ads.' Those audience targeting restrictions are in place in the United States, Canada and more than 40 European countries and territories, including France and the Netherlands, according to Meta. 'We do not allow advertisers to target these ads based on gender,' Settle said in a 2023 statement. 'We continue to work with stakeholders and experts across academia, human rights groups and other disciplines on the best ways to study and address algorithmic fairness.' Meta did not respond to questions from CNN at the time about how the algorithm that runs its ad system is trained. In a 2020 blog post about its ad delivery system, Facebook said ads are shown to users based on a variety of factors, including 'behavior on and off' the platform. Berty Bannor of Bureau Clara Wichmann celebrated the Dutch institute's decision, telling CNN that the ruling was significant. 'Today is a great day for Dutch Facebook users, who have an accessible mechanism to hold multinational tech companies such as Meta accountable and ensure the rights they enjoy offline are upheld in the digital space,' Bannor said. 'I see this as a first step in showing that anti-discrimination laws apply just as much to big tech companies as they do to the offline world,' she added. Rosie Sharpe, Senior Campaigner on Digital Threats at Global Witness, said the ruling 'marks an important step towards holding Big Tech accountable for how they design their services and the discriminatory impact their algorithms can have on people.' 'We hope this ruling can be used as a springboard for further action, in Europe and beyond,' she added. While the decision by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights is not legally binding, experts say that, if the case is further escalated, a court will be required to consider the Institute's findings. Dutch lawyer Anton Ekker, who specializes in artificial intelligence and digital rights, told CNN that the Institute's ruling could lead to fines by the Dutch data protection regulator or orders to modify specific algorithms, specifically those that reinforce inequalities and disproportionately harm marginalized groups based on gender, race, ethnicity or religion. If Meta does not take action on the job ads algorithm, NGOs might choose to pursue further legal action to stop the discriminatory use of its algorithms, he said. The Dutch ruling comes as protection of digital rights has been severely undermined, particularly for women and marginalized groups, Bannor said. Last month, Meta said it would end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, change its policies on hateful conduct on its platforms and drop its third-party fact-checking programs in the US. Users are now allowed to, for example, refer to 'women as household objects or property' or 'transgender or non-binary people as 'it,'' according to a section of the policy prohibiting such speech that was removed. A new section of the policy notes Meta will allow 'allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality.' Previously, such comments would have been subject to removal by Meta's moderators. Meta has faced various allegations of discrimination over the past decade, including lawsuits in the US regarding housing, employment and credit ads. As a result, the company has modified its algorithm for these ads in the US. Sharpe at Global Witness told CNN that it's 'outrageous' the same changes were not applied globally, arguing that algorithms and AI are increasingly impacting everyday life and posing significant risks to social justice. CNN's Kara Fox contributed reporting.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Facebook enables gender discrimination in job ads, European human rights body rules
Editor's Note: This story is part of 'Systems Error', a series by CNN's As Equals, investigating how your gender shapes your life online. For information about how CNN As Equals is funded and more, check out our FAQs. A European human rights body has ruled that Facebook's algorithm shows gender bias when promoting job advertisements, marking what activists say is a crucial step in holding big tech companies accountable for the design of their platforms. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights said in a February 18 decision that Facebook's algorithm reinforced gender stereotypes by mainly showing 'typically female professions' to female Facebook users in the Netherlands and that Meta (META), the social platform's owner, should have monitored and adjusted its algorithm to prevent that. The Institute's decision follows CNN As Equals reporting revealing that Facebook users in Europe were missing out on job opportunities due to gender bias. The 2023 article was based on findings shared with CNN by international non-profit Global Witness, which investigated Facebook's job ads and found that ads in the Netherlands and five other countries often targeted users based on historical gender stereotypes. For example, ads for mechanic positions were predominantly shown to men, while those for preschool teacher roles were primarily directed to women. Global Witness said its experiments in the Netherlands, France, India, Ireland, the United Kingdom and South Africa demonstrated that the algorithm perpetuated similar biases around the world. The non-profit's investigation led to four complaints from the Dutch human rights group Bureau Clara Wichmann and the French organization Fondation des Femmes. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights said in its February ruling that Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., which manages Facebook ads in Europe, failed to demonstrate that its advertising algorithm does not engage in prohibited gender discrimination. The Dutch body said Facebook must revise its advertising algorithm to prevent further discrimination. The European Union has several directives that prohibit discrimination based on gender, including in online advertising. The Institute's ruling added that 'Meta Ireland has acknowledged that the gender data point can be part of the algorithm. Meta Ireland has not refuted that this data point can promote stereotyping via the algorithm.' A Meta spokesperson told CNN that it would not be commenting on the matter. Meta spokesperson Ashley Settle previously told CNN that the company applies 'targeting restrictions to advertisers when setting up campaigns for employment, as well as housing and credit ads.' Those audience targeting restrictions are in place in the United States, Canada and more than 40 European countries and territories, including France and the Netherlands, according to Meta. 'We do not allow advertisers to target these ads based on gender,' Settle said in a 2023 statement. 'We continue to work with stakeholders and experts across academia, human rights groups and other disciplines on the best ways to study and address algorithmic fairness.' Meta did not respond to questions from CNN at the time about how the algorithm that runs its ad system is trained. In a 2020 blog post about its ad delivery system, Facebook said ads are shown to users based on a variety of factors, including 'behavior on and off' the platform. Berty Bannor of Bureau Clara Wichmann celebrated the Dutch institute's decision, telling CNN that the ruling was significant. 'Today is a great day for Dutch Facebook users, who have an accessible mechanism to hold multinational tech companies such as Meta accountable and ensure the rights they enjoy offline are upheld in the digital space,' Bannor said. 'I see this as a first step in showing that anti-discrimination laws apply just as much to big tech companies as they do to the offline world,' she added. Rosie Sharpe, Senior Campaigner on Digital Threats at Global Witness, said the ruling 'marks an important step towards holding Big Tech accountable for how they design their services and the discriminatory impact their algorithms can have on people.' 'We hope this ruling can be used as a springboard for further action, in Europe and beyond,' she added. While the decision by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights is not legally binding, experts say that, if the case is further escalated, a court will be required to consider the Institute's findings. Dutch lawyer Anton Ekker, who specializes in artificial intelligence and digital rights, told CNN that the Institute's ruling could lead to fines by the Dutch data protection regulator or orders to modify specific algorithms, specifically those that reinforce inequalities and disproportionately harm marginalized groups based on gender, race, ethnicity or religion. If Meta does not take action on the job ads algorithm, NGOs might choose to pursue further legal action to stop the discriminatory use of its algorithms, he said. The Dutch ruling comes as protection of digital rights has been severely undermined, particularly for women and marginalized groups, Bannor said. Last month, Meta said it would end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, change its policies on hateful conduct on its platforms and drop its third-party fact-checking programs in the US. Users are now allowed to, for example, refer to 'women as household objects or property' or 'transgender or non-binary people as 'it,'' according to a section of the policy prohibiting such speech that was removed. A new section of the policy notes Meta will allow 'allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality.' Previously, such comments would have been subject to removal by Meta's moderators. Meta has faced various allegations of discrimination over the past decade, including lawsuits in the US regarding housing, employment and credit ads. As a result, the company has modified its algorithm for these ads in the US. Sharpe at Global Witness told CNN that it's 'outrageous' the same changes were not applied globally, arguing that algorithms and AI are increasingly impacting everyday life and posing significant risks to social justice. CNN's Kara Fox contributed reporting.
