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Gender Gap Grows Wider Globally
The World Economic Forum (WEF) began calculating the global gender gap in 2006. Yesterday, it released the results of the 2017 Global Gender Gap Report and the news is bad – for the first time in more than a decade, the gender gap is widening. This year's report revealed that the divide between men and women stood at 32 percent, up from 31.7 percent last year. The Global Gender Gap Index ranks 144 countries and compares them across four ‘pillars’: economic participation and opportunity, education, political empowerment, and health and survival. The best scores overall belonged to three Scandinavian countries. Iceland had the smallest gender gap at 22 percent. How about the United States? While the U.S. has improved its overall gender gap, this year's report showed it moved down the rankings to 49th place. The score was 0.72 or a gender gap of 28 percent. The pillar featuring economic participation, which includes salaries, workforce participation and leadership, has one of the fastest-growing gaps. Globally, women are earning less than men. The WEF believes the economic gender gap will now not be closed for 217 years. When considering a woman's income as a percent of a man’s, the U.S. came in at 13th place, where a woman can expect to make on average only 64.8 percent of that of what a male earns. Why is this the case even though more women than men are graduating from universities? Can this worrying trend be changed? What steps must be taken to make the playing field equal for all in America? Dr. Shannon Wooden, gender studies expert and professor of English at Missouri State University, can provide insight on this topic. She can address the gender pay gap and why companies need more female representation in senior and board levels. Contact her for an interview. Source:
Women in the Workplace – Still an Unfair Playing Field
It’s a trend that has many reeling and wondering how to correct: many women working in the financial services industry on Wall Street today don't believe there are opportunities to advance to the most senior positions. This comes as corporate, academic and government leaders push for greater gender diversity at American companies. A study by Lean In released today showed some startling statistics. Women in the Workplace 2017 took pipeline data from 222 companies employing more than 12 million people. As well, more than 70,000 employees completed a survey designed to explore their experiences regarding gender, opportunity, career and work-life issues. The results were not good. The report showed: “Women remain significantly underrepresented in the corporate pipeline. From the outset, fewer women than men are hired at the entry level. At every subsequent step, the representation of women further declines, and women of color face an even more dramatic drop-off at senior levels. This disparity is not due to company-level attrition or lack of interest: women and men stay at their companies and ask for promotions at similar rates.” In fact, from entry level, women represent 47 percent of all entry level hires, but only one in five women will become a C-Suite leader. For women of color, that number diminishes to one in 30. The report also shows that women are less likely to be promoted, receive raises or be supported throughout their careers. So, what will it take to reverse this trend and make corporate America an equal playing field for all? What barriers need to be removed and what policies need to be changed? Is this a cultural shift, should it be regulated and can it be done? The situation is clearly unfair and there are many questions to be asked. Yet answers and solutions are by no means simple or easy to come by. That’s where experts from Missouri State University can help. Dr. Shannon Wooden is a gender studies expert. She is also a published author. Dr. Wooden can speak about the gender pay gap and why companies need more female representation in senior and board levels. Click on her icon to contact her. Source:
Comparing relief in Haiti, Puerto Rico
Associate Dean of Leadership and retired Army LTG Ken Keen led the relief efforts after the Haitian earthquake in 2010. What are the comparisons and/or shortfalls with the current efforts after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico? Source:
Trump would struggle as business executive
Goizueta's Rick Gilkey told the AJC President Donald Trump would likely struggle with a traditional executive role in the Fortune 500. “The chaos to creation ratio is way off,” he said. Gilkey can speak in detail on many leadership challenges. Source:
This column by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Matt Kempner quotes business expert Peter Klein, Ph.D., professor of entrepreneurship in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business and Senior Research Fellow with Baylor's Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise. Kempner asked several business and management professors to discuss President Trump’s management style. Klein said Trump's "style and manner is the dramatic departure from predecessors, not so much his policy." And regarding the differences in government versus business? “I understand the wish to make agencies more efficient,” Klein said. “But at the end of the day, government organizations are not like businesses.” ABOUT PETER KLEIN Peter G. Klein is Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, and Senior Research Fellow with Baylor's Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise. His research focuses on the links between entrepreneurship, strategy, and organization, with application to innovation, diversification, vertical coordination, health care, and public policy. Source:
In the attached Q&A, Baylor University’s Karon LeCompte, Ph.D., associate professor of curriculum and instruction and an expert on civics education and leadership theory, discusses the importance of investing in student leaders and how parents and teachers can identify leadership characteristics in their children. LeCompte co-directs Baylor’s iEngage Summer Civics Institute, a five-day program that helps students learn how to make a difference in their neighborhoods, schools and communities. "Authentic leaders with experiences that manifest characteristics of extensive skills and high moral values will be on the front stage of our democracy,” she said. “They are the future. It is our responsibility to give them the best gifts that we can – our attention and faith in their ability to lead. Source:
Diabetes Canada’s 20th Annual Professional Conference Comes to Edmonton
Diabetes Canada and the Canadian Society for Endocrinology and Metabolism (CSEM) will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their Professional Conference and Annual Meetings at the Shaw Centre in Edmonton from November 1 to 4, 2017. The event, which brings together thousands of health-care professionals and researchers focused on diabetes care, is the biggest of its kind in the country. Registration for the event opens today. “The treatment and management of diabetes continues to evolve, making it more and more critical to bring together inter-disciplinary health-care teams to discuss the latest discoveries in diabetes care and prevention. I know this year, as we mark this important milestone, we will be pulling out all the stops to provide health-care professionals with the best information, including a sneak peek at the Diabetes Canada 2018 Clinical Professional Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada.”Rick Blickstead, President and CEO, Diabetes Canada. “The Professional Conference is of extraordinary benefit to health-care professionals who attend because of the opportunity to learn about the newest advances in clinical practice and about new data and interpretations. This is also an opportunity to engage and interact face-to-face with colleagues, including world leaders in research.” Dr. Bruce A. Perkins, clinician-scientist at the Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes, Conference co-chair Source:
Trump to Congress: Repeal and replace Obamacare! Is it easier said than done?
On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump called on lawmakers to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). He cautioned that the ACA, which covers 20 million people, is "collapsing." But how will lawmakers dismantle a nationwide healthcare system? President Trump is supposedly in support of a GOP bill repealing Obamacare but still provides protections for those with pre-existing conditions, allows individual states more flexibility on Medicaid and encourages tax credits and savings accounts. Is all of this easier said than done? How long will it take? How much will it cost? What will replace it? Missouri State University's expert can help answer some of these questions. Professor Michael Merrigan is a management expert who focuses on the healthcare sector. He has more than 20 years of experience in senior leadership roles in the industry and is known as a leading expert on a variety of issues related to healthcare, including the ACA. He is available to speak to media about this topic. Click on his icon to schedule an interview. Source:
Since Jan. 20, 2017, America has seen a new style of leadership and authority under President Donald Trump. Trade agreements that were already in place are now under renegotiation, and even agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership that were expected to be scrutinized by Congress have all but been abandoned. On the international stage, even long held reservations and hesitations to comment on sensitive topics like Taiwan and the ‘One China’ policy seem to be off the table when brought up in public conversation. So, what will this mean for the short- and long- term relationships between the world’s two most powerful countries? Can we expect conflict, military posturing, trade wars and currency battles? Or will the two sides have to simply ‘re-learn’ how to negotiate and cooperate in the new Trump era? But a new person in charge isn’t just an American issue. China too may see a change in leadership at its highest levels this fall. That is a factor that has many watching and wondering about that country’s future direction. For America’s economy, and the global economy – there is much at stake and many world leaders are watching. A recent discussion at the Brookings Institution explored the expectations for China’s leadership change and the prospects for U.S.-China relations in the interim. Dr. Dennis Hickey is a global studies expert specializing in Asian politics and American foreign policy at Missouri State University. His extensive experience and perspective have made him one of the leading opinions on this topic. Simply click of Dr. Hickey’s icon to arrange an interview. Source: