Whether or not to drop the surname given at birth and take the one belonging to one's partner has been around for some time. It has become the ultimate tool for some women to affirm independence and empowerment. In the US especially – where it is legally allowed to choose what surname to use upon marriage – some are vocally rejecting this tradition, that is still the norm there. The claims against it, expressed in growing numbers not only by the newer generations, go from the feeling of "ownership" it implies to the desire to honour the family of origin line. And, especially among the highly educated, more women...

    Schoolchildren are struggling. Well beyond the stress to keep their scores up. Data show a worrying drop in levels of their mental health, which many experts link to the effect of pandemic closures—directly caused by the loss of social contacts, the deaths of loved ones and the impact of the jobs setbacks in their families. Warnings on the possible tolls on children's development and the potential effects of widening inequalities have been published starting from day one of the first lockdowns. But Covid-19 has reinforced some trends that, in many cases, were already latent. Undoubtedly, it has affected children's...

    Men and women do not perceive and use cities equally. And not only for the different purposes and activities they perform in urban areas. A lot has to do also with how they reach their destinations, the type of routes they take, and if they complete them in single (primarily men) or multiple stops (usually women). If they have exclusive use of a car or need to rely upon the availability of public transport and even how safe spaces are. During the 20th century, cities were mainly designed to accommodate the travel pattern of a sole (male) breadwinner who commuted from suburban areas and residential neighbourhoods toward,...

È stata (ufficialmente) una Van Gogh per ventuno mesi - prima di diventare, giovanissima, vedova. Eppure senza di lei molto probabilmente questo cognome non sarebbe scampato all’oblio già poco dopo la morte del più famoso dei fratelli. Grazie a lei, non c’è angolo della terra che non riconosca lo stile e non celebri il genio di Vincent. "La signora Van Gogh", traduzione italiana del romanzo di Caroline Cauchi (Piemme), ricostruisce due anni della vita di Johanna Bonger-Van Gogh dal suo arrivo a Parigi e dall’incontro con Theo, mercante d’arte e amatissimo fratello minore dell’inquieto artista. Pur ispirato fortemente...

    A Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is typically a white, middle-aged man. In the United States, he most likely graduated from a top raking public university, majoring in accounting, and with an MBA. Chances are that he spent time in one of the largest accounting firms. This profile makes sense, considering the primary responsibilities of a CFO that fall under financial management. Yet, in recent years, events and trends worldwide have brought this leadership position toward the need for a more comprehensive set of skills. In a way, consequently, the need for (more) diversity in the role has started to enter mainstream...

    Secondo i dati del Ministero della Giustizia, in Italia a metà dicembre 2022 erano 400 i detenuti negli istituti penali per minorenni. Di questi, 390 erano maschi di età compresa, per la gran parte, tra i 16 e i 20 anni e circa nella metà dei casi cittadini italiani. Secondo la Direzione centrale della polizia criminale, rispetto al 2019, il numero dei minori di 18 anni autori di reato è aumentato del 14,3%. Programmi alternativi al carcere Tendenze a parte, nel confronto con altre realtà europee emerge chiaramente il ruolo centrale ricoperto in Italia da interventi e programmi alternativi al carcere. Questo sistema...

    In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, women who open a business undertake a gruelling path. Female entrepreneurs face some of the highest levels of discrimination in accessing capital or productive resources: 45%, compared to the world average of 27%. In an area with one of the highest unemployment levels, over half of the female workforce is hired informally, and women tend to spend six times more on domestic work and unpaid care. If already worldwide, girls and women are the most impacted by economic downturns. In this region, they are also threatened by disasters related to climate change, economic...

    In which state are maternity protection policies around the world? How many days are entitled to dads when their child is born? The International Labour Organization (ILO) has gathered data to help answer these questions. And has recently announced two new digital tools: the Global Care Policy Portal and the Care Policy Investment Simulator. As ILO describes, its open-access portal is “a knowledge hub on legal and statistical indicators on national care leave policies and services.” While the Investment Simulator, free to use previous registration, “calculates the investment requirements in 4 care policy areas and...

    Artificial Intelligence has been around for quite a long time. Aware of not as we may be, it takes care of part of our everyday lives. We rely on machine learning for almost everything. Periodically, discussions arise and make the news worldwide about the timely questions regarding its development. Will AI ever become independent? Is it biased? Will there come a time when it won't need human input anymore? Over the years, we have seen the attention going to evolved specimens designed with anthropomorphic appearances to result less intimidating, the first attempts at conversations between machines, and the frenzy around...

  When asked how the pandemic affected their businesses, according to recent surveys*, half of female early-stage entrepreneurs agreed it created new business opportunities; one quarter reported it prompted the use of new digital technologies; and over half confirmed they expect to adopt more digital technologies in the coming months. Yet in 2023, men entrepreneurs are still twice as likely as them to raise more than 100k $ in funding. More often choose more innovative sectors, and start their businesses earlier in their lives (40% begin before 35, and 8% before 25.) Globally women are active entrepreneurs. And almost...