Gender equality and free expression are important to achieve, peace, democracy and sustainable development Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Gender-based violence, hate speech and disinformation are being used extensively online and offline, to chill or kill women’s freedom of expression, according to a report by an independent human rights expert …
Read More »Rwandan brewer Skol apologises for sexist jokes on beer bottles
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | A Rwandan brewery apologised Tuesday for printing sexist jokes on its beer labels after its attempt at humour drew a stinging rebuke from some of the country’s top female officials. Skol Brewery Limited also promised to immediately discontinue its “Live Laugh Lager” campaign, which saw …
Read More »Ballon D’Or host apologises as ‘twerk’ request causes storm
Paris, France | AFP | French DJ Martin Solveig apologised and said he was taken aback by the stormy reaction online after he asked the inaugural women’s Ballon D’Or winner Ada Hegerberg whether she could “twerk” live on stage. The awards co-host in Paris provoked a torrent of complaints about …
Read More »Facebook stops requiring arbitration of sexual harassment claims
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Friday said it will no longer require employees to resolve sexual harassment claims via arbitration, mirroring a move by Google. The change of workplace rules at the world’s leading social network will allow complaints of such improprieties to be aired openly …
Read More »Google workers walk out in global protest over harassment
New York, United States | AFP | Thousands of Google employees joined a coordinated worldwide walkout Thursday to protest the US tech giant’s handling of sexual harassment, staging protests from Singapore to London to New York to the company’s California campus. The “Google Walkout For Real Change” account that sprang …
Read More »Annette Bening says women progressing in film biz
Venice, Italy | AFP | US actress Annette Bening said Wednesday she believes women are making progress in the movie industry, despite only one female-directed film making it into the competition selection at Venice, where she is chairing the awards jury. “There is sexism of course, no question. But I think …
Read More »The leggings Twitter storm
Washington, United States | AFP | United Airlines has run into a social media storm after it barred two teenage girls from boarding a flight in Denver because they were wearing leggings. Another girl who was also wearing leggings was allowed to board the flight from Denver International Airport to …
Read More »Nude-photo scandal prompts US Marines to update social media rules
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Marine Corps has revised its social media guidelines amid a scandal involving the nonconsensual online sharing of nude Marines. The scandal centers upon the revelation this month that pictures of female Marines in various states of undress had been shared in a secret …
Read More »US military faces burgeoning nude picture-sharing scandal
Washington, United States | AFP | The Pentagon faced a burgeoning scandal Friday as more pictures of naked female service members apparently shared without their consent by male colleagues have turned up on secret social media sites. US Defense Minister Jim Mattis denounced the practice as “egregious violations of the fundamental …
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