The gender gap: Time to quit foolin

Greetings Travelhers, we hope you’ve had a fab week and avoided any humiliating April Fools shenanigans. Equally, we hope you’ve managed to pull off some epic pranks yourself. This one from Expedia about a new airline for redheads is my personal favourite. Besides the jokes, this week has brought up some less than funny realities about gender inequality. Don’t worry though, my cat has just snuggled next to me and these articles are all about progress so by the end you’ll definitely feel warm and fuzzy inside (and probably a touch worried about my cat obsession).​

THE GOOD

+ The Lenny Interview: Melinda Gates

This week’s good article award goes to an interview from Lenny - the feminist newsletter created by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner. If you’ve not yet subscribed to this letter, let me just say that reading it makes me feel as good as it does when my cat jumps up and rubs against me on her own free will . Pretty amazing stuff. 

And this week’s interview with Melinda Gates is probably my favourite one yet.  If you want to hear about actual intelligent solutions to the world’s challenges and actions taken (instead of oh I don’t know, loud rhetoric and fist banging), this interview will restore your faith in general humanity and people who have an obscene amount of money. 

You know you want to pet me.

Excerpt:   “We start with an economic approach. We look at what are the greatest causes of death in the developing world, and what causes the largest amount of disability, which would prevent you from getting a job. We go down that list of deaths and say: Where could we intervene? What new tools, what new research, science, medicines, and vaccines or tools like a bed net, could actually affect the disease and bring the deaths down?”  Continue reading.

THE UPLIFTING

+ 10 of the most inspiring contemporary female adventurers [via The Guardian]

Badass female adventurers may not grace our cinemas or television screens very often, but fear not: they exist. 

The Guardian profiles ten of their favourites in this uplifting piece, which serves as a nice dose of girl power inspiration to fuel you on to accomplish your own worldly aspirations.  
Whether your dreams are of cycling thousands of kilometers, walking across deserts or trekking with headstrong donkeys, these women will show you the way.  Also if there’s anyone out there who knows how to adventure with a cat in their backpack and has some tips on that, I would really appreciate some guidance. 

Excerpt: “She’s a runner, skydiver, bungee jumper, climber, cyclist and world traveller…  and a former banker.  In 2013 she swapped the rat race for marathons and other gruelling challenges and is currently training for the world’s toughest footrace, the 200-mile  Marathon des Sables  across the Sahara.”  Continue reading.

THE UGLY

This is actually an excellent article: what’s ugly is that women still have to go to extreme lengths to get paid what they’re worth. And by extreme lengths, we don’t mean an awkward conversation with your boss. This week, several members of the USA national women’s soccer team filed a federal complaint against U.S. Soccer Federation, accusing it of wage discrimination. As this article from the Boston Globe explains, the age old argument of men earning more revenue is proved false and the girls tried every other avenue to be heard first only to be ignored.  ​

It’s the level of frustration equivalent to when your cat purposely runs between your feet but then acts like it’s your fault when you step on her tail. And like cats abusing humans, wage inequity in sport is a problem that has gone on for too long.  At least the players’ pledge is propelling this topic into the spotlight. 

Excerpt: “When some of the most popular and decorated female athletes in the US history come together to say we have a problem, it forces everyone to lean in and listen. Sports are one of the great unifiers in this country – and by taking a stand, these female soccer stars are fighting for much more than their own paychecks.”  Continue reading.

Thanks for reading Travelhers, we hope you have an amazing week. Until next time, keep your head up and travel on!

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