Search Results for: Gen Z

Recruitment via artificial intelligence must be monitored to avoid adopting human bias

Recruitment via artificial intelligence must be monitored to avoid adopting human bias

by • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Recruitment via artificial intelligence must be reviewed to avoid adopting human biasArtificial intelligence systems need to be accountable for human bias at AI becomes more prevalent in recruitment and selection, attendees at the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion’s annual conference have been warned. Hosted by NatWest, the conference, Diversity & Inclusion: The Changing Landscape heard from experts in ethics, psychology and computing. They explained that AIs learnt from existing data, and highlighted how information such as performance review scores and employee grading was being fed in to machines after being subjected to human unconscious bias.  Dr David Snelling, the programme director for artificial intelligence at technology giant Fujitsu, illustrated how artificial intelligence is taught through human feedback. Describing how huge data sets were fed into the program, David explained that humans corrected the AI when it used that data to come to an incorrect conclusion, using this feedback to teach the AI to work correctly. However, as this feedback is subject to human error and bias, this can become embedded in the machine.

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Countries with greater gender equality have a smaller proportion of women taking STEM degrees

Countries with greater gender equality have a smaller proportion of women taking STEM degrees

by • News, Workplace

Countries with greater gender equality see a smaller proportion of women taking degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), a new study by Leeds Beckett University and published in the Psychological Science Journal has found. The research found that countries such as Albania and Algeria have a greater percentage of women amongst their STEM graduates than countries lauded for their high levels of gender equality, such as Finland, Norway or Sweden. The researchers, from Leeds Beckett’s School of Social Sciences and the University of Missouri, believe this might be because countries with less gender equality often have little welfare support, making the choice of a relatively highly-paid STEM career more attractive.

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Neurodiversity not on the agenda for 9 out of 10 UK organisations

Neurodiversity not on the agenda for 9 out of 10 UK organisations

by • News, Wellbeing

Just 1 in 10 organisations say consideration of neurodiversity is included in their people management practices, despite around 10 percent of the UK population being neurodivergent in some way, according to a poll of HR professionals from the CIPD. Neurodiversity refers to the natural range of differences in human brain function. Amongst employers, it’s used to describe alternative thinking styles including dyslexia, autism, ADHD and dyspraxia as they relate to diversity and inclusion. These can have unique strengths, ranging from data-driven thinking to sustained focus over long periods, an ability to spot patterns and trends, and the capacity to process information at extraordinary speeds. It is estimated that at least 10 percent of the UK population is neurodivergent.

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Business leaders increasingly optimistic about benefits of artificial intelligence in the workplace

Business leaders increasingly optimistic about benefits of artificial intelligence in the workplace

by • AI, News, Technology

Executives at major organisations increasingly believe that pairing humans alongside machine intelligence will create a more effective, engaged, and meritocratic workplace, according to a new study released by software provider Pegasystems Inc (registration required). The authors surveyed 845 senior executives working globally across industry sectors including financial services, insurance, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications and media, and government, on the increased role of automation and artificial intelligence in the workplace of the future. The potential impact in the workplace seems to outweigh any lingering fears, the report claims. Around 69 percent of of respondents say “workforce” will refer to both humans and machine intelligence in the future. Nearly three-quarters of executives said using machines to augment human abilities would lead to increased efficiency. Over 60 percent said it could be used to improve customer service.

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Part time work and career breaks are a fundamental driver of gender pay gap

Part time work and career breaks are a fundamental driver of gender pay gap

by • Flexible working, News

gender pay gapParents are being hit by a “pay penalty” if they work in part-time jobs, according to a new study from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The report found that mothers in particular tend to spend more time in part-time employment, so they do not benefit from pay rises associated with more experience, research found. By the time a first child reaches the age of 20, mothers earn around 30 percent less on average than similarly educated fathers, said the report, and the issue is a fundamental driver of the gender pay gap.

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Creators of the Edge in Amsterdam to develop new generation of Smart buildings

Creators of the Edge in Amsterdam to develop new generation of Smart buildings

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The Edge in AmsterdamThe creative team behind the development of the world’s most sustainable building – The Edge in Amsterdam – has announced the launch of a real estate technology company. EDGE Technologies, launched by OVG Real Estate CEO Coen van Oostrom will focus on creating a new generation of buildings which feature the latest innovations in sustainability and wellbeing. Whereas parent company OVG is focussed exclusively on the development of its existing portfolio, EDGE Technologies will focus on both the development and the long-term operations of this new generation of buildings, aiming for a cohesive experience across cities. Each EDGE building will be built and operated on the same technology platform and offer consistent user-centred design, created to serve the needs of today’s fast-changing and demanding workforce. To help achieve this the new company is launching a product that will capture and aggregate data across its properties in order to optimize, measure and inform both the user experience and the building’s environmental performance.  (more…)

Gender discrimination is rife across the workplace says management body

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Gender discrimination is rife across the workplace says management body

More than four in five (85 percent) of women and 80 percent of men report that they have witnessed gender-discriminatory acts at work suggests the results of new research by the Chartered Management Institute. The CMI’s latest report ‘A Blueprint for Balance: time to fix the broken windows’ looks into gender diversity best practices, and found patchy results. Despite some leading exemplars, the majority of organisations are still struggling to make a meaningful difference to achieving a gender balanced workplace.  According to the report’s survey of 856 managers, just one in four (25 percent) say that their peers and senior leaders ‘actively and visibly champion gender initiatives’. The lack of action cascades down the ranks, with only 19 percent of junior and middle managers believing their senior leaders are committed to the target of gender balance in their organisations. This is in spite of a recent study by management consultants McKinsey that found globally the most gender diverse businesses are 21 percent more likely to financially over-perform than their peers.

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UK in 8th place for global talent competitiveness but gender equality lags behind

UK in 8th place for global talent competitiveness but gender equality lags behind

by • Cities, Legal news, News, Workplace

UK in 8th place for global talent competitiveness but gender equality lags behindThe UK has been ranked as the eighth best country in the world for the ability to attract, retain, train and educate skilled workers, but while its ability to leverage diversity for talent competitiveness is boosted by its global knowledge skills – the UK is undermined by its weaker performance on tolerance and gender equality. According to the Global Talent Competitiveness Index GTCI) produced by the Adecco Group, with international business school INSEAD and Tata Communications, the UK has a particularly strong pool of global knowledge skills, a variable for which it is ranked third in the index boosted further by its strong regulatory, market and business landscape. But this is undermined by its internal openness, where it still lags behind, especially when it comes to gender equality. The report also suggests that although Article 50 was triggered in 2017, the ongoing negotiations and continuing lack of clarity over the UK’s position once it leaves the European Union in 2019, means the impact of Brexit is not yet clear.

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Culture shift needed to drive a better gender balance in property and construction

Culture shift needed to drive a better gender balance in property and construction

by • Comment, Property

Despite compelling evidence of the bottom line benefits of gender diversity, too many sectors remain stubbornly male dominated. This is certainly the case with the property and construction industry where women still represent only 15 percent of the workforce. The growth of prop-tech, entrepreneurialism amongst women and a growing emphasis on service, demonstrated by the growth of the flexible office and serviced apartment sectors, which tend to have more balanced gender ratios, is helping to address this balance. However, many women in the industry still do not occupy managerial roles, and so the gender pay gap stubbornly remains. For these imbalances to be addressed a cross-industry, cultural shift needs to occur, and individual companies must work to drive change from the top down.

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Promotion: Humanscale launch Quickstand Eco to lead next generation of sit/stand workstations

Promotion: Humanscale launch Quickstand Eco to lead next generation of sit/stand workstations

by • Company news, Furniture, Products

Humanscale, has launched its next generation of portable sit/stand products. The QuickStand Eco claims to unite function and sustainability at an accessible price point to improve employee performance and encourage a more active workplace. This new height-adjustable solution is sleeker, easier to install and comprises more sustainable materials than ever before. QuickStand Eco utilises minimal parts and pieces, limiting it’s environmental footprint and maintaining a minimal, clean aesthetic. It features simple setup and is easy to transport, making it a flexible option for both corporate and home offices. The instant height adjustability encourages users to sit and stand more often and the product can also be integrated with Humanscale’s OfficeIQ software, which sends periodic alerts when it is time to adjust one’s position.

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Chinese government to create a $2.1 billion industrial park dedicated to artificial intelligence research

Chinese government to create a $2.1 billion industrial park dedicated to artificial intelligence research

by • AI, News, Technology

The Chinese government is preparing to build a technology park in Beijing dedicated to research into artificial intelligence, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua and Reuters. The scale of the development can be gauged by the level of investment – some $2.12 billion (13.8 billion yuan) to build the park, located in west Beijing. The park is also forecast to generate revenues of $7.7 billion (50 billion yuan) a year from the 400 enterprises that are expected to be housed there. Zhongguancun Development Group, the developer of the project, will look to partner with foreign universities and build a “national-level” AI lab in the area, according to the reports.

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Choices and expectations perpetuate higher education gap and gender pay gap, UCL research finds

Choices and expectations perpetuate higher education gap and gender pay gap, UCL research finds

by • News, Workplace

Teenagers’ own career aspirations could be perpetuating both the gender pay gap and the higher education gap, a study from researchers at UCL Institute of Education (IOE) suggests. The new research reveals that, while teenage girls are more likely than teenage boys to have high hopes of going to university and having a professional or managerial occupation, when it comes to salaries it’s the boys who are aiming highest. The research team at the IOE’s Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), analysed data collected from over 7,700 teenagers in the UK who are all part of the Millennium Cohort Study, a study which has followed their lives since they were born at the turn of the century. When they were 14, the teenagers were asked a series of questions to find out their future aspirations.

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