Computer programmers have largest gender pay gap, study says
Computer programmers, some of the oldest workers in the tech industry, have the largest gender pay gap compared to all other professions across all industries, according to a new study. Female programmers earn on average 72 cents per dollar earned by their male counterparts, according to research conducted by Glassdoor Inc. Glassdoor found that the industries in the US with the largest pay gaps include healthcare, insurance and mining. But while the pay gap in the tech industry overall is close to the US average, some tech jobs have far higher pay gaps. “Computer programming is one of the more traditional professions within the tech industry,” said Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at Glassdoor. “It tends to be heavily male dominated and an older crowd.” Jobs that employ younger workers, such as software engineers and mobile developers, have smaller gender pay gaps. Amazon last week said it found women and men earn essentially the same in its US workforce. Apple and Intel have said they found little-to-no compensation discrepancies among their US workers. (Wall Street Journal)
Corporate Reputation
NFL rejects comparison to Big Tobacco over concussion research
The National Football League (NFL) has pushed back against a New York Times investigation comparing its handling of health research to tactics used by the tobacco industry. For more than a decade, the NFL supported studies that concluded that brain injuries sustained by football players did not lead to long-term consequences. But the Times found that the research omitted data, making concussions appear less frequent than they actually were. Retired players have likened the crisis to that of the tobacco industry, which was notorious for using questionable science to play down the dangers of cigarettes. And while the Times admitted it found “no direct evidence that the league took its strategy from Big Tobacco,” its story lays out a series of overlapping ties between the league and tobacco giants, from hires to requests for advice. In a letter to the Times, a lawyer for the league said, “The NFL is not the tobacco industry; it had no connection to the tobacco industry,” which he called “perhaps the most odious industry in American history.” (Mother Jones, New York Times)
Energy
Electric car sales tripling in China
BYD Co, the Warren Buffett-backed Chinese car-and-battery manufacturer, may boost deliveries of electric vehicles by as much as three times this year in China, due to rising demand. China has stepped up the building of charging infrastructure and rolled out incentives to encourage automakers and consumers to switch to electric vehicles as part of a broader initiative to mitigate the rise of car ownership is exacting on the environment. “The Chinese government has more comprehensive policy support on new-energy cars than other governments, leading to the industry’s explosive development last year,” said BYD Chairman, Wang Chuanfu. US-based Tesla Motors is also expanding production. The automaker said last month it has started taking orders for its Model X in China with deliveries to begin in the second quarter, giving customers in the world’s largest auto market access to the new sport utility vehicle before it debuts in Europe. (Bloomberg)
China’s job-saving coal fix could see exports increase
The Chinese government wants to cut 9 percent of its coal production capacity to shrink its industrial sector and clean its polluted skies. That would mean dismissing 1.3 million coal workers, risking social unrest that Beijing wants to avoid. An alternative touted by the northern province of Shanxi, which produces more coal than any country other than China, is to keep mines running and ship the excess overseas. Shanxi produced 944 million tonnes of coal last year, the biggest contributor to China’s 3.68 billion tonnes of output and more than the entire US. The region depends on coal-related industries for 80 percent of its economy. Shifting from manufacturing, China is confronting the aftermath of decades of expansion that left it with excess industrial capacity. It’s responded by raising exports, causing havoc for global steel producers, aluminium smelters and oil refiners. If its biggest coal producers follow suit, it spells trouble for a market beleaguered by the weakest prices in a decade. (Bloomberg)
Environment
‘Bleaching’ devastates 95% of northern Great Barrier Reef
An air survey of Australia’s northern Great Barrier Reef has shown that 95 per cent of the reefs are severely bleached, far worse than previously thought. Bleaching occurs when water is too warm, encouraging corals to expel the algae living in their tissues and causing the coral to turn completely white. Corals can survive a bleaching event, but are under more stress and in greater danger of dying. In early March the reef’s guardians – the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority – said that reports of bleaching were mounting after sea surface temperatures reached up to 2.5°C above average over summer. “This will change the Great Barrier Reef forever,” said Professor Terry Hughes, who led the survey team. He said it was too early to determine the long-term outcome, but scientists carrying out parallel surveys underwater were reporting that half of all bleached corals are dead. “When you look at those stark, white photos, you’re looking at the face of climate change,” WWF spokesman Nick Heath told Australian Associated Press. (The Times)
Image source: Bleached branching coral by Acropora / CC BY 3.0
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