#TimesUp Is Making Progress, But Women Still Face An Uphill Battle In Business
#TimesUp has officially kicked the year off with a focus on women and gender inequity in Hollywood. Many of the headlines have focused on the entertainment industry, but where do women in business stand?
Milena Berry, Co-Founder of PowerToFly, and Dr. Patti Fletcher, Author of "Disrupters: Success Strategies From Women Who Break The Mold," look at the progress being made on gender inequity and what still needs to be done. While business leaders identify inclusion and diversity as problems, Berry and Fletcher say that they aren't taking enough action.
In some cases, Fletcher says companies are convinced that they've solved the problem already, even when that's not the case. Berry points to issues within the tech industry around company culture and hiring. She says many women aren't hired because they are not so-called "culture fits," and that's because the culture itself is the problem.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.