IBM ditches facial recognition tech business amid racial profiling concerns June 9, 2020 Computing giant IBM has called time on its facial recognition business, after saying that it opposes the use of technology for racial profiling and mass surveillance. IBM chief execuvite Arvind Krishna said the company will no longer sell facial recognition services, as it seeks to “advance racial equality”. In a letter to members of US [...]
Women put off by gender pay gaps when looking for new jobs, study finds October 10, 2018 Almost two thirds of women look at a prospective employer’s gender pay gap before applying to a job, a new study has found. Women also said their motivation is reduced when employed at a company with a pay gap, and they are less likely to recommend working there to a friend. A poll by the [...]
Beyond Petroleum: Is BP finally moving from rhetoric to reality? June 22, 2020 Kneeling in prayer for a sin he doesn’t regret, Shakespeare’s Claudius, Hamlet’s fratricidal uncle, ruefully admits: “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below, / Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” Claudius knew that empty rhetoric is entirely unpersuasive — a lesson many corporate executives have since learnt. In 2000, BP hired the advertisers [...]
Queen’s Birthday Honours: the full 2021 list June 12, 2021 Below the full list of names for this year ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) The Rt. Hon. Frederick Richard Penn Curzon, The Earl Howe. For political and parliamentary service. (Amersham, Buckinghamshire) ORDER OF THE BATH Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) [...]
Government says shared parental leave take-up in the UK could be as low as two per cent February 12, 2018 The government said today that despite around 285,000 couples each year qualifying for shared parental leave, actual take-up could be as low as two per cent. Half of the general public aren’t even aware that the option exists for parents. The announcement came as part of a new drive from the Department for Business, Energy [...]
Donald Trump is right about the UN – and the UK should follow him September 5, 2017 As Britain leaves the EU, is it time to re-examine our membership and funding of another international institution – the United Nations (UN)? Asking such a question will no doubt rile those who see the UN’s existence as inherently virtuous. A genuine forum for sovereign nation states to discuss international affairs and cooperate is a [...]
Forcing working mothers out of jobs is costing British businesses £280m a year October 27, 2016 British businesses are losing hundreds of millions of pounds every year as a result of women being forced out of jobs after having a baby. According to a study by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), businesses are losing nearly £280m a year, largely due [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign launch: Here’s what he said about business July 21, 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn delivered a confident speech today as he launched his campaign to retain his place at the helm of the party. In a good mood, Corbyn announced that he would fight to rid the UK of its 21st century "five ills" of inequality, neglect, prejudice, insecurity and discrimination. His speech included a dig at [...]
Businesses must proactively confront how they treat ethnic minorities September 1, 2016 Theresa May has not defined herself as a great defender of the rights of minorities, but in practice she has been taking an active interest in the issue. As home secretary, she reformed stop and search policies because of concerns about their negative impact on minorities. Now she has announced a new audit of how [...]
From the gender pay gap to the minimum wage, the politicisation of pay threatens the UK’s business-friendly reputation August 19, 2016 Economic logic suggests that free determination of employment contracts, like free trade, normally benefits both parties and leads to high levels of employment and economic growth. But this view has never been popular. Fifty years ago, it was the accepted belief that governments should determine pay increases, leading to the dead end of incomes policies [...]