Harvard Seeks Dismissal Of Transgender Discrimination Lawsuit

News from Harvard Business School

“Lawyers for Harvard submitted a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a transgender woman, dubbed Jane Doe, who is alleging that the University violated federal Title IX law and Massachusetts laws by discriminating and retaliating against her after she reported an admissions officer sexually harassed her.

“In the motion, filed March 14 at the United States District Court for Massachusetts, Harvard’s lawyers argued the plaintiff’s claims are ‘procedurally deficient’ and the complaint should be dismissed because ‘she did not exhaust required administrative prerequisites.’

“’The balance of her claims fail because she does not allege – beyond conclusory statements devoid of specific factual allegations – that Harvard took any action based on her gender or gender identity,’ a memorandum filed alongside the motion reads. ‘More importantly at this stage, the claims must be dismissed because Plaintiff’s Complaint contains no factual allegations that support her conclusion that gender bias played any part in Harvard’s admissions decisions.’”

The Committee on the Status of Women met recently to discuss recommendations to address gender pay inequity at UNC. Committee co-chairs Elizabeth Dickinson and Brent Wissick and COSOW consultant Claire Counihan were present during the meeting. Daily Tarheel photo

From 2014 To 2017, Female Faculty At UNC Were Paid 28% Less Than Men

News from UNC Kenan-Flagler-Flagler Business School

“A recent report by Noah Eisenkraft, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at UNC, found that across the University, male faculty members earned 28 percent more than female faculty members from 2014 to 2017.

“’If this is something that people care about — if they care about men and women being paid equally — then this is a sign that we’re not done,’ Eisenkraft said.

“Eisenkraft was invited by UNC’s Committee on the Status of Women, or COSOW, to reanalyze the 2016-2017 Faculty Equity Report from UNC’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, and his findings were not very surprising to those involved.”

According to IESE’s Vademecum on Food and Beverage Markets, some UK supermarkets are warning of price rises. Photo: Unsplash

Brexit May Cause Food Price Increases In UK

News from IESE

“Brexit may break a number of long-standing supply chains in the food and beverage sector because of the U.K.’s dependence on imports and the strength of its exports to all of Europe, according to IESE’s Vademecum on Food and Beverage Markets.

“The sixth edition of the report, a co-production by IESE and Deloitte, was led by Prof. Adrian Caldart and Júlia Gifra. The vademecum is meant to be a practical guide for companies in the context of IESE’s 23rd annual Food and Beverage Industry Meeting.

“The uncertainty surrounding Brexit, coupled with slowing growth, is weighing down on the U.K.’s standing in the report’s ranking of the most attractive destinations for food exports. And the worst could be yet to come if tariffs with EU trading partners are restored. The report highlights that 58% of U.K. food and beverage exports and 61% of imports of have their destination or origin in Europe, respectively.”

Why Breaking Up Big Tech Could Do More Harm Than Good

News from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

“Earlier this month, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren solidified her party’s growing disenchantment with Big Tech by proposing to break up companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook. ‘Today’s big tech companies have too much power — too much power over our economy, our society and our democracy,’ the 2020 presidential candidate wrote in a March 8th blog post. ‘They’ve bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation.’

“Clouding the issue of breaking up Big Tech is that these firms arguably make consumers’ lives better by offering such things as free Google searches, social media connections on Facebook and low prices with fast, free shipping through Amazon. But Warren argues that they are impeding competition by buying up or squashing smaller rivals — and ultimately harming consumers. She cited the antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft in the 1990s that tamed its ways and made room for an upstart — Google — to rise. ‘Aren’t we glad that now we have the option of using Google instead of being stuck with Bing?’”

Rekindling An Old Flame On A Zero-Based Budget

News from INSEAD

“Whether you love or hate his work, Andy Warhol eating a Whopper for 45 seconds during one of the most expensive ad slots in television this year was astonishing. Super Bowl Sunday – the most macho of American sporting events – coupled with the quintessential Pop artist had people talking the morning after. Some were profoundly confused about what they had just watched, others were amazed by Burger King’s latest demonstration of its fearless approach to brand building.

“Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, Burger King was perennially number 2 behind McDonald’s in the burger restaurant competition. After churning through several owners that ran what a New York Times business columnist described as ‘an enrichment scheme for clever financiers,’ Burger King dropped to number 3 in the burger race behind Wendy’s in the early 2010s. A far cry from its earlier iconic campaigns like Whopper Freakout and Subservient Chicken, Burger King continued to air campaigns like SpongeBob SquarePants or Wake Up with the King that were so shocking or weird that the King himself was included on Time Magazine’s 2011 list of creepiest mascots.”

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