Why I am a feminist, reason 867: “women who work full time and have never taken time off to have children earn about 11 percent less than men with equivalent education and experience.”
Ok, so women should just get better at asking for money, right? But wait, it’s not that simple:
“…men and women get very different responses when they initiate negotiations. Although it may well be true that women often hurt themselves by not trying to negotiate, this study found that women’s reluctance was based on an entirely reasonable and accurate view of how they were likely to be treated if they did. Both men and women were more likely to subtly penalize women who asked for more — the perception was that women who asked for more were “less nice”.

“This isn’t about fixing the women,” Bowles said. “It isn’t about telling women, ‘You need self-confidence or training.’ They are responding to incentives within the social environment.””
Washington Post.

Mainstream DRM-free tracks

“Vivendi’s Universal Music has said it is to test the digital sale of songs from artists without the customary copy-protection technology.” BBC
This is great news – I can buy tracks from a mainstream publisher without worrying about whether I’ve got it on my home or work computers and without being slightly illegal.

Arts vs Olympics

Excellent article from John Tusa of the Barbican Centre:
“If the government is truly serious about the arts, it would first restore the Olympic theft. Then it would aim to keep up arts funding overall in real terms as the base of the next three-year settlement. Only then should it start to consider what extra new money it should put into the arts to showcase to the whole world how healthy, vibrant, vigorous, original, creative and dynamic the national arts scene is.
To do so requires some big ideas. Here are a few. Set the arts world the challenge of commissioning, for performance in 2012, new works in all its major fields. We deserve a 2012 portfolio of works that will be looked back on as artistic landmarks – the next great British opera, drama, sculpture, installation, public event, painting, novel, film, TV drama, TV documentary, exhibition. That would be worth funding. It would create a true legacy. It would stimulate the run-up to the legacy, the ‘pre-legacy’ as the cant has it.”
A Cultural Olympiad? Great idea – now give us the money

Howard out, now

Gay couples face overseas adoption ban
“For a government to deliberately set out to stigmatise same-sex couples and their children to win a few votes in the lead up to an election is beneath contempt”.
Also, Gay lobby hits out over adoption bill.
I didn’t think I could hate or despise John Howard more, yet it turns out it’s possible. What is his problem? I can’t believe he can be so callous.