Article here. Excerpt:

'Leading automotive companies in the United Kingdom have committed to ensuring that women constitute 30% of their workforce within the next six years to achieve better gender diversity across all roles and levels.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Automotive Council, whose members account for 99% of British vehicle manufacturing and half of the nation's automotive workforce, addresses the current gender disparity as women make up just under 20% of the sector's workforce.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Among the issues with the physical exam was the use of a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) during testing. While that is what firefighters are expected to carry while in the field, “it is both very awkward to carry and not readily available to practice with before the exam.”

It also examined how few women make it from the application process to career firefighter.

In 2021, 406 applicants to the bureau finished the written exam, 6.7% of whom were female. Of those who passed the written exam, 283 completed the physical exam — about 5.3% were women.

Of those 283, 210 made the civil service eligibility list. The other 73 either failed or chose not to continue in the process. Of the 210 who moved on, only 1.9% were women.

“Starting with 5.3% of applicants being female for the physical exam and ending with 1.9% of the female applicants making the eligibility list represents a loss of 64.2%,” the audit pointed out.'

Video here.

'A charter school in Brooklyn is aiming to challenge students and change the conversation about masculinity. For the first time, Brooklyn Lab Charter School is kicking off an inaugural men’s summit that will tackle educating young men on how they can become allies in issues of equality and violence. News 12’s Elly Morillo spoke with organizers on why this workshop could potentially change the narrative and stereotypes these young students may face.'

Article here. Bet she gets probation. Excerpt:

'A Florida woman pretended to be a 14-year-old homeschooled child to prey on middle schoolers for sex, police announced Friday.

Alyssa Ann Zinger, 22, was arrested last week for allegedly engaging in at least 30 sexual acts with at least one student and sending explicit videos to several more.

Zinger allegedly crafted her fake persona and communicated with her victims on social media platforms, mainly Snapchat, according to a search warrant obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.

The New York Post reported that multiple victims, who attended Wilson Middle School in Tampa’s Hyde Park neighborhood, told police they believed the Zinger was their age but was homeschooled.'

Article here. Dated but still very relevant. Short version: LTRs in Ontario are dangerous for men. Excerpt:

'A wealthy businessman will have to pay more than $50,000 a month in spousal support for 10 years to a woman with whom he had a long-term romantic relationship even though they kept separate homes and had no children together, Ontario’s top court has ruled.

Under Ontario law, an unmarried couple are considered common-law spouses if they have cohabited — lived together in a conjugal relationship — continuously for at least three years. But that doesn’t necessarily mean living in the same home, the court found.

“Lack of a shared residence is not determinative of the issue of cohabitation,” the Appeal Court said. “There are many cases in which courts have found cohabitation where the parties stayed together only intermittently.”

Article here. Excerpt:

'We must begin to grapple with the uncomfortable fact that in today’s world, simply “[b]eing male is the biggest risk factor for suicide.” Many have argued that if men would be more open about their feelings the problem might be mitigated. Perhaps. But if men are biologically disinclined to talk about their feelings, then that cannot be the sole solution. If the so-called “social construct” of masculinity is actually derived from men’s biology or the sex differences in cerebral anatomy, as psychologist John Barry has argued, then urging them to go against it might prove to be counterproductive.

Far too often, John Mac Ghlionn argues, we are using “a female model to treat men’s mental health.”

Article here. Ah, ol' Gloria. Still managing to ignore men's real concerns too even at 89. Never worried a day about being drafted and sent to die for political purposes, among other things. Excerpt:

'During the 1970s, Gloria Steinem was one of the main voices campaigning for women's reproductive rights.

She celebrated the US Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in the case of Roe v Wade, which granted women the constitutional right to abortion.

Nearly half a century later she witnessed the reversal of this decision - the Supreme Court's historic ruling in June last year that ended the nationwide right to abortion.
...
For Steinem and other pro-choice activists it was a stark reminder of the need to keep campaigning, to achieve changes she says she hopes to see in her lifetime.

"The most obvious and simplest [change] is that we can determine the fate of our own physical selves, so we can decide whether and when to have children, not to have children… whatever it is about our physical selves.

Article here. Interesting. The long-running debate over the role of women in the more conservative Chrisian churches looks like it's taking off. Personally, I have mixed feelings on the issue but don't lose sleep over it. Excerpt:

'Speaking to members of the International Theological Commission at the Vatican on Thursday (Nov. 30), Pope Francis asked theologians to “demasculinize” the church in an unscripted remark.

“There is something I don’t like about you, if you excuse my honesty,” said Pope Francis, pointing out that there were only five women among the 30-plus theologians. “We need to move forward on this! Women have a way of reflecting on theology that is different from us men,” he added.
...
The pope’s words on Thursday underlined “the need to increase the space given to women in positions of authority and decision-making in the Christian community, in order to treasure the sensibility and intelligence that is typical of the feminine genius and experience,” Coda told Religion News Service.

Video here.

'Sky News host Chris Kenny says the “single-sex school debate” has raised its head in Sydney due to some boys schools going co-ed.

“This single-sex school debate, it’s raised its head in Sydney lately because of a couple big boys school going co-ed,” Mr Kenny said.

“Controversy around that, I know the same has happened in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, this is a debate raging around the country.

“It’s all the boys schools that have to let girls in to address the toxic masculinity apparently.”

Mr Kenny sat down with Psychiatrist Doctor Tanveer Ahmed and Child and Adolescent Psychologist Clare Rowe to discuss the push for co-ed schools.'

Article here. Compelling minors to engage in military training is child abuse. I wonder why people don't so much as flinch if the victims are boys. Excerpt:

'Hundreds of athletes as young as seven are undergoing military training in Shanghai designed to instill discipline and "good fighting ability", the Chinese city said.

The athletes will "deeply study" the Chinese military's "sense of standards and combat spirit", Shanghai's sports bureau said.

Chinese football teams have previously undergone similar training, which is largely performative and part of a wider campaign to promote Communist Party values.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'November 19 was International Men's Day. To men of all walks of life, you are appreciated and valued. While some may argue that there is no need for such a day, I am of the firm belief you are worthy of mention.

It is deeply troubling when the challenges faced by men, such as mental health issues and high suicide rates, are plaguing our land. Dedicating a day to raising awareness about these social ills can encourage conversations about how we can better support our men in their personal journeys.

International Men's Day has significantly provided an opportunity to challenge harmful stereotypes surrounding masculinity. Traditional gender roles place unrealistic expectations on men, forcing them to conform to certain behaviours or attitudes. This can lead to feelings of isolation or inadequacy when they are unable to meet these standards.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Speaking with Rob Whitley, PhD, who’s an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, it’s clear why some men find it hard to take care of their mental health and get help.

The roadblocks are often due to outside factors, and the stigma around the topic is still prevalent in society.
...
The word “masculinity” can evoke negative connotations, perhaps due to its associations with the idea of toxic masculinity.

Masculinity, at its core, is a good thing, according to Whitley.

Whitley says that one of the ideas put out by the academy, not by psychiatric experts, is that one of the reasons for men’s mental health issues is that some men adhere to traditional masculinity norms, and that is bad for their health.

The research shows that isn’t true, according to Whitley.

Article here. I have another idea: draft women. Or is that too nutty an idea even if the US armed forces insists women make even better soldiers than men? Excerpt:

'Excluding the two women in the group, most of these retirees or near-retirees had undergone South Korea’s compulsory military service in their youth. But the decades of rust were showing.

“I don’t remember the rifles being so heavy,” said 62-year-old Kang Shin-kwang.

As a young conscript four decades ago, Kang was a machine gunner stationed near the border with North Korea. But today, as the sticker pasted to his right breast indicates, he serves in the Senior Army.
...
With the Senior Army assembled behind him in military formation, co-founder Choi Young-jin, a 62-year-old university politics professor, recited the group’s oath:

In light of the country’s population crisis, we will prepare ourselves so that we may one day be of service in the nation’s military reserves.
...
But South Korea’s fertility crisis is now complicating its military prowess.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The frequently arrested woman whose false rape allegations about a local grocery store manager cost him more than two years behind bars has been arrested again.
...
With 63 arrests, according to a state database, Steiniger is one of the most often arrested people in Central Virginia. One of her recent convictions involved the theft of a nurse’s scooter from University of Virginia Medical Center. In February, Charlottesville General District Court Judge Andrew Sneathern accepted her guilty plea to that caught-on-video crime, but he assigned no active jail time and gave her a year to pay restitution to the nurse.

Article here. Excerpt:

'When Ohio’s top prosecutor announced the arrest of a sex worker accused of drugging and killing four customers, he failed to consider the victims and instead shamed them, the family of one victim said.

"Don’t buy sex in Ohio — it ruins lives and could cost you yours,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said last month in a news release detailing the indictment of serial killing suspect Rebecca Auborn, who was also charged with trying to kill a fifth customer.

Christyn Crockett, 41, a church administrator in the Columbus area and daughter of victim Wayne Akin, called Yost’s comments “devastating.”

"He’s not wrong,” Crockett said in her first interview about her father, a former postal worker who struggled with drug addiction yet provided a “powerful foundation” for his family. “But for the victims’ sake, it’s just so insensitive.”