Women talk too much!?

Happy Sunday..

Lets talk about..

The Rihanna, Greta & Meena effect

What happened?

International celebrity tweets in support of the Indian Farmer Protests. Rihanna kicked it off, Greta Thunberg shared a toolkit to use for the protests, while Meena Harris refused to be silenced. The Indian government and its supporters got mad!

The reaction?

• Twitter threats and trolls attacking the celebrities, protest marches were held by Modi supporters and Hindu right wing nationalists who have burnt their pictures.
• Government sympathetic media have framed the national farmer protests as a religious war for independence by Sikhs in North India, funded by international supporters. (No surprises on that religious/global conspiracy rhetoric)
• A criminal case which initially seemed to have been filed against Greta for sharing the tool-kit mentioned in her tweet, was later clarified as being just against the makers of the tool-kit.
• And the cherry on top? The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)/Foreign Ministry breaking protocol! It issued an unheard-of statement against “celebrities and others” for their comments in support of farmer protests, calling them “neither accurate nor responsible.” The MEA doesn’t usually comment on individuals.

What’s the fuss about?

We’ve talked briefly about India’s farm protests and reforms here on the CB. Here’s a simple yet accurate explainer about the fuss over Modi’s proposed reforms that will impact almost half the country’s population. These farmers are poor, spread across the country, from different religions and include significant numbers of Hindus. India’s farming sector does need to be reformed, but those reforms have to be well thought out and implemented to have a positive impact. Neither are a Modi strong suit.

There’s always some upside to Twitter

• It has brought international attention to the farmers’ cause, beyond the more serious news outlets.
• It has put a spotlight on cases of abuse of power, religious persecution, and arrests of people like labour rights activist Nodeep Kaur, comedian Munawar Faruqui and others.
• It has prompted the government to lift the 18 month internet ban in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, to try and kill any idea it might be a fascist or authoritarian regime.

How do you solve a problem like Suu Kyi?

What happened?

The Myanmar military junta doesn’t seem to need the veneer of democracy or the foil of Aung San Suu Kyi anymore. Arrested and placed under house arrest, her recent election win was declared fraudulent by the country’s military. She’s charged with the possession of two illegal walkie-talkies held by her security and is looking at a minimum of two years in prison. Protests are taking place on the streets of the country’s biggest cities. But after initially blocking social media sites, the military has now initiated a total internet blackout.

What happens now?

Ms. Suu Kyi fell from international grace and hard in these past few years, with her refusal to decry the massacre of Myanmar’s Rohingyas. But for now, that’s been put on the back burner in international diplomatic circles. The U.S. and Europe have condemned the coup. Even China (previously opposed to international intervention in Myanmar), has urged all sides in the country to "resolve differences." But others in the region, including Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines have declared it an "internal matter." India has expressed “deep concerns,” but Narendra Modi’s government has seemingly also been cosying up to the Myanmar military. It “gifted” the Myanmar navy its first submarine, late last year.

% Policy Matters

Damning stats

1) Women make up only 10.8% of board seats of companies on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). That is a pretty damning number for the 242 companies listed, from 11 countries.
(Story by Ahram Online)

2) 75% of boards on Ireland’s ISEQ 20 index have less than 30% female membership. It’s not a great look for the 20 largest companies trading on the Euronext Dublin exchange.
(Story by Irish Examiner)

Quotas as solutions?

Last year, 67% of listed companies in the Netherlands didn’t have a single woman on their boards. The government will now vote on a new legislation requiring firms to have at least 33% of women on their supervisory boards. But the new law doesn’t cover management boards, leaving the door open for check-boxing.
(Story by Yahoo)

Women on boards talk too much

The head of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (and a former Japanese Prime Minister) Yoshiro Mori thinks women talk too much. He was responding to a question about raising the Japanese Olympic Committee board quotas to 40%.

“When you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn’t restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying,” said Mori, 83, according to an Agence France-Presse translation

He’s since tried to backtrack his comments after calls for his resignation, but insists he just doesn’t speak to women enough to know any better!?
(Stories by AFP & The Guardian)

But do quotas work?

New research published in the Harvard Business Review looked at the consequences of mandatory gender quotas in India. It suggests, while quotas help get the momentum going, that’s the sum of its impact. Female quota fillers get relegated to less consequential committees.

Tech stuff

Its Starling, darling!

Anne Boden is lining up Fidelity to invest £200 million in the darling of UK fintech, Starling Bank. The deal isn’t done yet, but it would open a whole new chapter for the City of London’s fintech scene, and be a seminal moment for women in fintech too!
(Story by Sky News)

NewNew!

‘TikTok meets Facebook’ and creates NewNew. A new social media network by Canadian Courtne Smith who says, NewNew is an organised way for businesses and influencers to poll people, discuss poll findings and lead them to advertising and purchases based on their votes.
(Story by Dooleysocial)

Caught my eye

Clash of the African titans

Basani Maluleke was the first black and female CEO of a South African bank (Maria Ramos was the other female banking CEO). Over the past three years she led African bank's turnaround, and this week, suddenly resigned. Conjecture and gossip about a difficult relationship with African Bank's chair Thabo Dloti soon followed. The sector is infamous in South Africa for remaining a men’s club.
(Story by Bloomberg)

Hidden Figures

59 years to the day after Katherine Johnson made John Glenn’s mission to orbit the earth a reality, NASA’s ‘Hidden Figure’ will finally be honoured in the way she should’ve years ago. The S.S. Katherine Johnson, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship, will launch to the International Space Station on Feb. 20.
(Story by Collect Space)

Get your Gunn

He’s been dropped by his agents, his record and tv deals stand cancelled. Brian Hugh Warner (best known for songs like ‘Get your Gunn’), A.K.A Marilyn Manson has come face to face with his #MeToo moment. That moment was delivered by Manson’s ex, and actress Evan Rachel Woods.
(Story by Rolling Stone)

New mums are formidable employees

New mums have no time for nonsense. They need to manage their time, be efficient and get stuff done. Confused.com’s CEO Louise O'Shea says Covid and lockdowns might be challenging but if nothing else, it’s going to bring future rewards.

On the move

In Germany

Karin Rådström is now Member of the Board of Management, Daimler Truck AG, responsible for its subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Trucks. She is now the third woman to join the Daimler’s Board of Management.

In France

BNP Paribas is shaking up its executive board:

• Charlotte Dennery has been appointed CEO of BNP Paribas Personal Finance
• Elena Goitini, becomes CEO of BNL
• Pauline Leclerc-Glorieux, becomes CEO of BNP Paribas Cardif

The BNP appointments mean the banking group’s executive committee, (all male even as recently as 2011) now includes 30% women. The bank’s aim is to have 40% women in the executive committee by 2025.

In U.K.

Cordelia Kafetz, is moving to Starling Bank as head of financial risk. Kafetz is known for establishing the Bank of England’s fintech hub in 2018 and most recently worked as leader of the BoE’s Payments Policy Team.

In Switzerland

Cynthia Carroll, (you’ll remember her as the former CEO of London-based miner Anglo American) has joined Swiss commodities trader Glencore as an independent non-executive director. She is the third woman on the Glencore board.

In Australia

Sue Houghton has been appointed as CEO of Asia-Pacific for Australia based insurance company QBE Group. Currently Westpac’s insurance boss, she starts her new role in August.

In Canada

Beverly (Bev) Goodman has been made CEO of Ford Canada. She takes over as Ford in Canada is in the middle of a massive product rollout. The company is the first automaker to build EVs in the country.

Have you met

Sabine Weyand, EU’s punchy, frank & funny #2 trade boss

Becoming the mastermind behind Michel Barnier’s Brexit negotiations put Sabine Weyand on a global stage. Her name was tossed about in the past fortnight’s search for a vaccine scapegoat by Eurocrats, which finally landed on the head of Weyand’s boss. She’s rapidly making her way to the top of the Eurocrat food-chain and is the Director General for Trade for the European Commission.
(Story by EU observer)

Stella Nyanzi, feminist, queer rights activist & insulter of Presidents

Dr Stella Nyanzi Ugandan activist, academic and author has had to flee her country this week to Kenya, to escape political persecution, after President Yoweri Museveni recent election ‘win’. The author and activist has made a name for herself for being blunt, and an adept user of profanity for good. And she is definitely a thorn in Museveni’s side!
(Stories by Okay Africa & African Arguments)

And In this week’s.. discrimination news

Google this!

Google will pay $3.8 million to settle a case of discriminating against more than 5,500 female and Asian engineers. The math tallies to just $530 back pay per employee (who was paid unequally), and $414 in restitution for those not hired on a discriminatory basis. Google’s got away with a relative slap on the wrist.

PIMCO’s got problems

The money manager has already been in the not so glorious discrimination limelight. Now an additional 21 women have accused PIMCO of gender discrimination, harassment and bullying in a legal letter.

Be a sport

Everyone has an opinion

Opinions are heated, extreme, and divided about allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports. For example, Martina Navratilova wants exemptions for elite athletes. To address the divide, this week saw the launch of the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group, an association steered by Olympic winners, seeking to “protect girls and women’s sports and accommodate transgender athletes.”
(Story by Metro Weekly)

The artsy stuff

The Globes are weird

Three female directors ( Regina King ("One Night in Miami"), Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”), and Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) ) nominated for best director at the Golden Globe, a record number in a single year! Yay to that headline!

But then come the usual shock horror nomination controversies!

‘Emily in Paris’-Really? ‘James Corden’ -Seriously? ‘Minari’ in the Foreign Film category -What? Every critic and viewer are asking the same question - Where’s a nod to Mindy Kaling’s ‘Never have I ever?’ Or Shonda Rhimes’ record breaking ‘Bridgerton?’ Or the fabulous ‘I may destroy you?’ (That last one had a writer of Emily in Paris, apologising for its shun!). It makes you wonder what planet the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) lives on, their out of touch choices, and frankly their taste too!

If you’ve forgiven my aggrieved hyperbole above, here is a complete list of nominations. And here’s the best take down of the Globes, I've read!

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