Anonymous Hiring, the Hollywood Epidemic and How Unpaid Work Wreaks Havoc on Women

Is time on your side? The gender gap we’re probably all most aware of is the one in our pay checks, but Claire Cain Miller’s recent piece in the New York Times explores the work women do outside the office that isn’t paid for -- like cooking, cleaning and childcare. “This unpaid work is essential for households and societies to function," Cain Miller writes. "But it is also valued less than paid work, and when it is women’s responsibility, it prevents them from doing other things.” Melinda Gates calls this “time poverty” and this detergent ad from India’s Ariel depicts the problem and its repercussions perfectly:

One of the most impactful ways to shift the gender divide with household responsibilities is by offering paternity leave to new dads. Influencer Chris Parr shares why he's taking a three-month paternity leave, and why it shouldn't be noteworthy for a dad to do this.

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Close your eyes. When it comes to workplace diversity, most companies say it’s a top priority, but the data tells a different story. Researchers have found that the reason there aren’t more women on corporate boards is because women are often only considered to replace other women. Clearly, something has to change. The New York Times reports the key may be in keeping applicants anonymous for as long as possible to reduce bias.

#Chart

Source: Atlas/Quartz 

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And the award for the least diverse industry goes to... The Oscars are this weekend, but the buzz about the movies of the year is overshadowed by outrage about the lack of diversity in the nominees.

Just how bad are things?

Women represent fewer than one in five nominations for non-acting categories, Variety reports. And when it comes to the salary of what women make in these roles, there's another gap. Actress Mo'Nique calls out the double whammy that women who are minorities face in the entertainment industry. “Anytime you hear Patricia Arquette and Gwyneth Paltrow, when you hear those white women say: ‘We’re not getting equal wages.’ Well if they are saying it, what do you think we’re getting?"

Critics have taken to Twitter with the (trending) hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, and a recent study by the University of Southern California found -- unsurprisingly -- that this epidemic extends beyond the Oscars to the entire entertainment industry. “It becomes really important to think about not just the awards but — from television, streaming and cinematic content — who gets opportunities onscreen and behind the camera,” Stacy L. Smith, a USC professor and an author of the study, told the NYTimes. “We might see a very, very narrow slice of humanity getting nominated because the entire ecosystem has a problem.”

Case in point: only two black women directed a major-distributor movie in 2014, the Atlantic reports.

"The gatekeepers are not usually people of color, so they don’t understand you should be looking for way more colors of the rainbow within that one ethnicity."
-Actress Eva Longoria

From the NYTimes' What It’s Really Like to Work in Hollywood (*If you’re not a straight white man.) 

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Radio silence. Kesha's battle to be released from her contract with Sony Music suffered a setback after the New York Supreme Court denied her request to cut ties while the lawsuit is underway. Kesha says her producer, Dr. Luke, raped and abused her, and she can't make any more music with him. “All I ever wanted was to be able to make music without being afraid, scared, or abused,” Kesha wrote on Facebook.

Fellow musicians are coming out in support of Kesha, including Kelly Clarkson tweeting words of encouragement, Adele acknowledging Kesha in an acceptance speech and Taylor Swift donating $250,000 to offset legal fees.

"Every time a girl or young woman sees another woman come out about her experience with sexual violence – especially a famous one – it makes her feel less alone," Melanie Curtain writes. "And every time she sees someone she looks up to take action to support that woman, she sees that maybe there’s hope."

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Breaking the bank. A new report found that even though women have less debt, men have better credit scores. The pay gap is the likely culprit because men make more money and have higher credit card limits. Taking that into consideration, it’s not surprising that men have more savings than women, according to the latest America Saves Week survey. For finance executive and entreprenuer Sallie Krawcheck, the problem isn’t just that women make less, it’s the outdated myths that keep women from investing what they do make.

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What’s Inspiring Me Right Now:

• Real Women As (Role) Models 
• On Losing My Likability 
• Uniqlo launches fashion line for muslim women
• Newly released files paint an intimate portrait of civil rights icon Rosa Parks
• Can Teaching Young Women to DJ and Produce Solve Gender Inequality in Electronic Music?
• Shonda Rhimes on "The Year of Yes" at this year's TED conference

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How about you? What stories caught your attention this week? I'd love to know!

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