Week of March 30

Many articles discussed the current COVID19 pandemic, explaining how this crisis is not gender-neutral. Most articles highlighted that women makeup a higher percentage of health and service workers, putting them more at risk of contracting the virus. Other articles highlight how the same women who are keeping public life functioning are often underpaid for their labor. One article projects that women’s unpaid work is set to increase since they are often responsible for domestic chores and care work. The article also explains that many women will not be rescued by social safety nets, such as health insurance, paid sick and maternity leave, pensions and unemployment benefits since a lot of their participation in the labor force is not formal. 

One organization claims that more feminist leadership should be enabled during this pandemic since most policy makers are men and historically, women are disproportionately affected by disasters. Queen Mary University of London published a joint research article with the University of Melbourne arguing that solely analysing sex and gender will not accurately portray the impact of coronavirus and that an intersectional approach must be taken.

Gender equality and neutrality in the workforce was another important topic in the news today. Multiple articles emphasized the importance of including gender-neutral practices and policies in order to promote gender equality in the workplace. Companies that use Hibob’s Human Resources platform will allow their employees to choose their gender identity and pronouns in order to “give their workers power over how they are addressed and identified by their coworkers.” Microsoft’s Office 365 adds a new feature that attempts to decrease gender biases by suggesting gender neutral terms, such as “firefighter” instead of “fireman.” Google has also transitioned to using facial recognition in a gender neutral fashion in order to avoid reproducing gender stereotypes and biases. 

Students continued to advocate for more gender-neutral bathrooms on campus. Temple University students started a petition to install more gender-neutral bathrooms in order to be accommodating to trans, nonbinary, or diasbled students. Student advocacy groups at Park University also pushed for more gender-neutral restrooms on campus in order to provide safe spaces for transgender and gender nonconforming students. Oxford University recently added a gender-neutral bathroom at their Sheldonian theater.

Acquiring forms of identification for trans and nonbinary people was another topic in the news this week. The High Courts in the United Kingdom have ruled against allowing a third gender-neutral “X” option on passports. Wyoming’s Supreme Court is currently determining whether or not trans people are granted the ability to change their gender on their birth certificate. A recent study by the Lancet Public Health Journal shows that trans people who have forms of identification that match their gender identity have a “lower rate of suicidal thoughts and suicidal planning, and a reduction in psychological stress.”