LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index breaks down the challenges and strategies that Canadians are applying to the job hunt by gender, Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media gets the green light, and some temperature scanning devices prove to be super inaccurate.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Tuesday, March 9, and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
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International Women’s Day sparked a conversation about women in the workforce during a pandemic. Women make up 39 per cent of global employment but account for 54% of overall job losses. A new report by Mckinsey & Company estimates that global GDP growth could be $1 trillion lower in 2030 than it would be if women’s unemployment simply tracked that of men in each sector. Canadian Small Business Minister Mary Ng posted on LinkedIn that If we’re going to rebuild our economies, we need to take an inclusive feminist approach. Due to COVID-19 women have had to drop out of the workforce at a higher rate than explained by labour markets alone as well. For example, the time women spend on family responsibilities increased by 1.5 to 2.0 hours in the United States. The report suggests employers adopt employer- or state-funded provision of childcare or tax policies that encourage both spouses to work, flexible programs and part-time programs to support workers experiencing an increased childcare burden during the pandemic and beyond, and a special focus on women-owned enterprises. [LinkedIn]
EU approves Microsoft’s $7.5 billion Bethesda acquisition from technology
The European Commission has approved Microsoft’s $7.5 billion deal to acquire ZeniMax, the parent company of video developer Bethesda Softworks, the brains behind Doom and Fallout. Once the deal closes Microsoft’s list of first-party studios will be sitting at 23, and you can expect future Bethesda releases to end up on Xbox’s game subscription service Xbox Game Pass.
Those fever scanners that everyone is using to fight covid can be wildly inaccurate, researchers find from technology
You know those fever scanners and kiosks that were the latest craze for temperature checks? Researchers have found they are largely inaccurate. The thermal cameras and “temperature tablet” kiosks have been used as the first line of defence against COVID-19 outbreaks. But recent studies show they can actually suggest a normal temperature for an infected person. The Washington Post reported on the research findings from the Food and Drug Administration. A public alert was issued, warning about how the devices could lead to inaccurate measurements and “present potentially serious public health risks.” The agency will also be sending “warning letters” to the companies behind the scanners for selling “unapproved, uncleared, and unauthorized thermal imaging systems.”
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