McDonald’s employees stage first #MeToo strike to bring attention to sexual harassment

Hundreds of cooks, cashiers and workers from McDonald’s, inspired by the #MeToo movement, staged a strike outside company headquarters in Chicago this week protesting sexual harassment in the workplace. Strikes occurred in 10 cities across the country in response to 10 McDonald’s employees who filed charges against the company, according to Fight for $15. The protesters called for more respect in the workplace, better training for managers and more accountability.

Research: Simple Prompts Can Get Women to Negotiate More Like Men, and Vice Versa

Men, and Vice Versa

New research from Harvard suggests that the likelihood of turning to unethical behavior or lying during negotiations is strongly related to gender: men are more likely to act deceptively, and women are more likely to opt for an empathetic approach. But the findings also indicated that both men and women could “activate” the competitiveness and empathic motives in certain bargaining situations.

For women at startups, the equity gap is worse than the pay gap

According to a study by ownership management platform Carta, women hold just 47¢ for every equity dollar that men have. And the equity pay gap gets worse for female founders: Of the 15,000 founders surveyed, 13 percent were women, but they only owned 6 percent of founder equity; they have 39¢ for every dollar of equity held by male founders. One possible reason men hold onto more equity dollars is that early-stage companies are more likely to be founded by men.

ACLU says Facebook ads let employers favor men over women

WIRED reports that the American Civil Liberties Union says Facebook is allowing employers to discriminate against women. The ACLU filed a charge Tuesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that Facebook violated labor and civil rights laws by allowing employers to target ads to men, to the exclusion of women and gender-nonbinary job-seekers. A spokesperson for Facebook told WIRED that, “There is no place for discrimination on Facebook; it’s strictly prohibited in our policies. We look forward to defending our practices once we have an opportunity to review the complaint.”

Gender-equality index highlights big data gaps ahead of 2030 deadline

According to Global partnership Equal Measures 2030, world leaders who have made a commitment to end gender inequality by 2030 will miss their critical target date if efforts are not accelerated to plug significant data gaps – which hold governments accountable and highlight hidden issues — ahead of launching a new gender index. The SDG Gender Index, which aims to measure whether the world is on track to meet its promises to achieve gender equality, includes data on poverty, health, education, employment, violence, taxation and climate change.

Christine Blasey Ford shows that history could repeat itself if her story goes untold

Forbes columnist Avery Blank notes that history could repeat itself if Dr. Christine Blasey Ford does not tell her story. Dr. Blasey Ford, a psychologist and professor of clinical psychology, alleged that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while they were both in high school. She’s said she will consider testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee after an investigation on the matter has been made. The scenario has drawn comparisons to Anita Hill’s accusation against then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Blank says that in sharing her story, Dr. Blasey Ford will “open the door to allow other women to be heard.”