THE HOT STORY

Italy 'has not yet achieved equality between the sexes'

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has said that Italy has not yet achieved equality between the sexes, adding that this would only come about when women are no longer expected to behave like men to do their jobs. At a ceremony for International Women's Day, Mattarella said: "How many resources, how much talent we have lost over the years" for failing to give equal opportunities to women. "The challenge concerns millions of women, workers, professionals, mothers. The journey can only be said to be complete when women are no longer asked to adopt male behaviour patterns in various areas of society in order to have their role, abilities, and qualities recognized . . . Until this happens, there will continue to be a loss of values and opportunities for Italian society as a whole."

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

Germany starts breaking the menopause 'taboo'

According to a survey, one in 10 women in Germany has left, or plans to leave, employment due to menopause symptoms, while one in four reduces her working hours. Fatigue, sleep problems and difficulty concentrating can directly affect productivity, precipitating sick leave or a change of employer, and the cost to the German economy is estimated to be as much as €9.4bn annually. But now, faced with labour shortages, more German companies are beginning to adapt and break what has been described as one of the last taboos affecting women at work.

France 24

LEGAL

Luxembourg is shrinking employment and management gender gaps

Luxembourg has made faster progress closing its employment gap - the difference in the share of women and men who have jobs - than other EU countries. The gap reduced by 1.1 percentage points across the bloc in the decade between 2014 and 2024, but in Luxembourg it shrank by 7.4 percentage points. Luxembourg ranks fifth in the EU, behind Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Sweden, which have the lowest employment gaps. However, it still faces the highest gender pension gap in the EU, with women's median pensions 43.4% lower than men's.

Luxembourg Times

WORKFORCE

How job cuts and the AfD fuelled Germany’s far-right ‘alternative union’

Growing rightwing support is straining ties between dominant IG Metall and its members; self-proclaimed “alternative union” Zentrum lays the blame for auto industry job losses on the leading industrial union.

Financial Times

RISK

Ukraine accuses Hungary of detaining seven Ukrainian bank workers

Ukraine has accused Hungary of detaining seven employees of state-owned Oschadbank and illegally seizing a cash shipment during a convoy trip. In a post on X, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote that the well-being of the seven Ukrainians, who were travelling in two armoured cars between Austria and Ukraine, was unknown. Hungary and Ukraine are embroiled in a feud over Hungary's access to Russian oil through a pipeline that crosses Ukrainian territory.

U.S. News

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION

Turkish-Swiss hijabi-wearing woman is first to be elected to Zurich council

Vera Çelik, a 20-year-old Turkish Swiss candidate, has made history as the first headscarf-wearing member elected to Zurich’s municipal council. Representing the Social Democratic Party (SP), she secured 4,772 votes in Sunday's municipal council election. Currently training as a dental assistant, Çelik has been active in advocating for social justice and against discrimination. Her election is celebrated by the Turkish community as a significant step towards greater political representation. Turkish Ambassador to Bern, Şebnem İncesu, remarked: "There could not have been a better gift on International Women’s Day."

Daily Sabah

INTERNATIONAL

FCC proposes English proficiency requirement for overseas employees

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr is proposing English proficiency requirement for overseas employees. Carr said the proposed rules would encourage communications providers regulated by the agency to bring call-centre jobs back to the US. “Americans get frustrated when they call a US business and end up connecting with a call centre located abroad,” he said. “Language and communications barriers often make it difficult for callers to promptly and efficiently get the results they want. And these foreign-based call centres often create a heightened security risk as well.” The proposal includes requirements that call-centre workers “be proficient in American Standard English and otherwise be trained appropriately for resolving issues with US customers.”

Bloomberg

Australian firms duped into hiring remote North Korean workers

Australian companies face warnings about breaching sanctions laws by hiring North Korean IT workers based in China and Russia. These workers are reportedly part of schemes that funnel money to Kim Jong-un's regime, rather than engaging in cyber espionage. Hamish Krebs, executive director of digital forensics at CyberCX, said such operations are automated by AI to generate hard currency for the regime in Pyongyang.

Financial Review

Xiaomi tests humanoid robots in EV factory

Xiaomi has begun testing self-developed humanoid robots in its car manufacturing plant, with plans to deploy a large number of them across its factories over the next five years, according to chief executive Lei Jun. During recent trials, the robots operated autonomously for three consecutive hours, completing vehicle assembly tasks without human intervention. In a demonstration video, the robots were shown picking up and fastening screw nuts onto car floors, achieving a 90.2% success rate while meeting Xiaomi’s rapid production pace of 76 seconds per vehicle. The company said key technical challenges included precise alignment with locating pins, handling variations in nut structures and overcoming magnetic interference affecting grip stability.

South China Morning Post

OTHER

Spanish ⁠women's ⁠rights activist wants stricter online rules

Carla Galeote, a lawyer and women's rights activist, has criticised the Spanish government's recent pledge to regulate social media, saying it falls short of necessary measures. Galeote, who has faced online abuse including AI-generated fake nude images, emphasized the need for traceability of anonymous accounts to combat digital violence. "Social media isn't new - and the violence is brutal, systematic, 24/7," Galeote said. She dismissed the proposed ban on under-16s accessing social media as "paternalistic," and said that all users require protection from abuse.

U.S. News

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