United Kingdom V: Son of a beach

[QualityChimp]

What method would you use (I ask without having any possible idea what I would suggest myself...)?

The board of directors need to sit in chairs facing away from prospective candidates, fielding them questions, but their name, age and gender aren't given and a voice changer hides this information.

The job can then be given to the best candidate, not one of their mates from the old-boy network.
To select the client, the directors can activate a button.

->Open Spoiler<-

[Dogg Thang]

Not sure if the post was only meant as a joke, QC, but it is often found that women don't apply for positions they don't think they are qualified for where men do. And men carry themselves with a confidence that comes with growing up in a world where those opportunities are theirs. And if you're in a field where there truly is lots of institutional discrimination, then many of those men will actually have more experience and this system will only perpetuate that. So even a blind merit system would need more in order to make meaningful change.

[QualityChimp]

It was a joke, but started when thinking of a solution.

If you start bringing in quotas to fill and boxes to tick, people end up feeling "token" rather than wanted.

[Brad]

We’re tacking the issue of a lack of female software engineers by running stem projects in schools. 95% of computer science grads are male so if we had a 50% female engineering staff we’d have to explain how that happened and the only answer would be positive discrimination. As it is we ha e about 5% females, as you’d expect.

[Dogg Thang]

If you start bringing in quotas to fill and boxes to tick, people end up feeling "token" rather than wanted.

I guess... maybe... I don't know. But your point does actually bring me a bit of clarity because my thought when reading your post was, who am I to tell women or any underrepresented group that they might feel token? So the best suggestion I have in what has no easy solution is that I'd get together a large group of women in the field that needs to be tackled (in this case, board members) and I'd leave them to it until they have an idea and then we'd just go with that. Whether they know it or not, men tend to get protective of their spaces so I wouldn't trust us to make meaningful change ourselves.

Edit: sorry, one more very important part of this process that I left out - if it worked, I would take all the credit and they would erect a statue of me. And they would employ my sons in senior positions. I don’t have sons but I’d get some.

[charlesr]

Great news. Unless you ARE the news

https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/british-newspaper-publishers-hit-by-rising-newsprint-costs-because-of-brexit-vote/

[prinnysquad]

Wilko cutting sick pay down to one day a year for its staff. Zero days if you’ve been there less than a year. Good move.

That’ll:
- encourage staff retention
- reward work
- help to prevent extra strain on public health issues.

Are we heading back to the Dark Ages ffs? And what an announcement to make during this corona fanfare. Stupid and naive.

They should be hauled across the coals for policies like this. It’s socially and economically irresponsible. It sends the wrong message. They go on about persistent abusers of their sick pay policy. Well, Wilko wankers, perhaps look at the underlying reasons for that, rather than make sweeping wholesale punitive changes to punish all of your staff. And, are all of them on the fiddle? No. They’re punishing everyone due to the actions of the minority. Morons.

[dvdx2]

Wilko cutting sick pay down to one day a year for its staff. Zero days if you’ve been there less than a year. Good move.

That’ll:
- encourage staff retention
- reward work
- help to prevent extra strain on public health issues.

Are we heading back to the Dark Ages ffs? And what an announcement to make during this corona fanfare. Stupid and naive.

They should be hauled across the coals for policies like this. It’s socially and economically irresponsible. It sends the wrong message. They go on about persistent abusers of their sick pay policy. Well, Wilko wankers, perhaps look at the underlying reasons for that, rather than make sweeping wholesale punitive changes to punish all of your staff. And, are all of them on the fiddle? No. They’re punishing everyone due to the actions of the minority. Morons.

One day? That’s going to be useful for a chest infection, flu or food poisoning...

[Cassius_Smoke]

Let's not forget that the NHS are getting an extra 350 million a week and 40 new hospitals so we won't need sick days.

[Brad]

Good point Cassius! There’ll be more hospitals than houses soon. We’ll all basically live in our own hospital. This will eradicate the need for ambulances too.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2020/mar/09/markets-plunge-crash-financial-crisis-coronavirus-ftse-italy-oil-price-dow-business-live

The Stock Market continues to freefall furthering fears of an impending global recession just as the trade agreement phase for the UK will end and the US will go to the election polls. Hope all those side pockets MP's hope to line their accounts with by rigging no deal are the first to implode.

Crude Oil has also dropped by 30%

[Cassius_Smoke]

I think this intersects perfectly with current events. Remember... This was a real advert.

https://youtu.be/LtlGN8wVnis

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/mar/09/coronavirus-live-updates-outbreak-italy-lockdown-quarantine-uk-usa-america-australia-recession-fears-update-latest-news

Australia begins emergency planning for Virus caused Recession

A sixth nation in Sub-Saharan Africa emerges with infections

Egypt restricts travel and gatherings nationally

The entire of Italy is to be put on lockdown with a full ban on movement barring work and emergencies

Madrid is to close all school and universities for two weeks

Canada has suffered its first Coronavirus death

The French Culture Minister has tested positive for the virus

A fifth person has died in the UK and within a fortnight the government will advise self-isolation for anyone with mild respiratory symptons for 7 days.

Romania is to close schools and kindergartens

So far, according to Rueters numbers, 3.48% of infected individuals do not survive. Of those that do not survive the most susceptible are the over 80's with a 20% mortality rate. Children are the lowest with little evidence of severe symptoms so far and as yet there is no evidence of pregnant women's babies being at risk.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/mar/09/second-person-cleared-hiv-adam-castillejo-reveals-identity

Adam Castillejo has gone public as the London Patient, the second recorded case ever of someone being cured of HIV. Whilst the procedure is not viable for mass use it confirms that the first recorded case was not a chance occurrence offering hope that progress towards one will be met.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51804212

Last month Johnson reaffirmed the UK's plan to be Carbon Neutral for 2050 and for cars to be neutral by 2035. Today a government funded research report says the UK will fail to meet that target unless the UK population abandons eating red meat and the use of airplanes which it states is basically not going to happen. It states that trying to beat the 2050 date 'pushes the bounds of plausibility'. It does however advise politicians that the UK can at least meet being Climate Neutral for 2050 is more aggressive progress is made.

It also advises a cut of dairy and meat by 50% rather than 20% and also that the government invest heavily in small scale nuclear reactor plants around the country to provide power to three quarters of homes.