Daily Archives: March 9, 2021

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 8

International Womens Day celebrations were held in various educational institutes across the city. While some organised exhibitions, some held webinars, games, slogan-writing competitions in honour of women.

Law Dept, GNDU regional campus

A webinar on International Womens Day was organised under the guidance of Dr Rupam Jagota, HoD and associate professor, Department of Laws, GNDU regional campus, Jalandhar, on Changing counters of womens rights. CJM-cum-secretary, DLSA, delivered the keynote address. He highlighted the practical aspects of issues relating to women ensuring legal justice as well as the use of mediation and conciliation in justice delivery system. He depicted two stories relating to women with special reference to custody rights of children and protection of women from sexual harassment at their work places.

DAV University

DAV Universitys Women Empowerment Cell organised inter-department event for girl students and women staff to commemorate International Womens Day. The event was organised in association with the department of sports and physical education. The celebrations revolved around the theme Fit Women Fit India. Rajwinder Kaur, a noted judo player who represented India in national and international judo events, was the chief guest. Dr Jasbir Rishi, VC (officiating), said Womens Day celebrates the struggle, strength and efforts in maintaining the balance on personal and professional fronts. Participating students fought for supremacy in various sport events including mini-football, tug of war, kho-kho, 100m race, 4x100m relay race and special tug of war. Women working in teaching and non-teaching departments also participated in different events.

Apeejay technical campus

Apeejay Institute of Management and Engineering Technical Campus celebrated International Womens Day with great fervour. A special lecture on Ensuring Conducive Work Ambience to Enhance Psychological Well-Being of Women was delivered by Dr Rajesh Bagga, director, Apeejay Institute of Management and Engineering. He elaborated on the theme of this years International Womens Day #ChooseToChallenge and said challenge fosters change. Dr Bagga said to forge a gender equal world, both men and women should challenge and speak against gender bias and male hegemony. He highlighted the fact that the increase in employment opportunities for women, calls for taking measures to make work place ambience and culture conducive to their wellbeing.

Shiv Jyoti Public School

Shiv Jyoti Public School arranged special live telecast on Womens Day during Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishanks, interaction with girl students, women VCs of universities and women principals of colleges. Principal Neeru Nayyar apprised the students of Classes I to XII about the importance of this day. Students and teachers participated with full enthusiasm.

Innocent Hearts Group

To celebrate International Womens Day, motivational webinars were organised by Innocent Hearts School, Innocent Hearts Group of Institutions and Innocent Hearts College of Education. The theme was Journey of a Girl. The resource person was Amandeep Kaur, director, DVM Educational Group. She talked about different government policies to make women strong. A webinar for teachers aligned with the theme of Women Empowerment Mission and Vision was also held. They discussed the mission and vision of women and emphasised them to be focused.

Sanskriti KMV School

Sanskriti KMV School marked the International Womens Day with high spirits. The day called in for an energy-packed event involving teachers to participate in Fit India Movement programme, giving ground for sports events dedicated to National Mission swayed by women power as launched by the PM. Principal Rachna Monga, students, teachers and parents planted saplings. Womans sacrifice, effort and contribution holds a place of high dignity, be it in our family or in society, she said, adding that the generations must be nourished with values of respect towards feminism.

St Soldier Law College

St Soldier Law College celebrated the day by organising a webinar on the theme Discriminations against women and the law. Four women experts shared their views on different aspects of the seminar. Prof (Dr) SC Sharma, college director, introduced the theme and welcomed the experts. Asst Prof Ravinderjit Kaur was the moderator. Key speaker Prof (Dr) Aman Amrit Cheema of Punjab University presented the paper on Womens Property Rights - From Inequality to Inequality highlighting the legal efforts like making daughter a coparcener in 2005, gift laws, constitutional provisions and policy initiatives regarding affirmative discrimination in favour of women to ground-level realities. Dr Rupam Jagota, HoD law, GNDU campus, Ladewali, presented a paper on Removing discrimination against women: The constitutional remedies underscoring the provisions in fundamental rights, directive principles, transgender rights and women reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions. Dr Pankajdeep Kaur shared her views on sharply increasing crime against women resulting from patriarchal mindset. Advocate and social activist Gagandeep Kaur underscored large scale discrimination and exploitation of women workers employed in MGNREGS.

Lyallpur Khalsa College technical campus

Authorities at Lyallpur Khalsa College technical campus took an initiative to provide a platform for female students to discuss and interact with renowned women doctors about their health and wellness. Dr Divya Kalra, dietician and ayurveda expert and Dr Shikha Chawla, MBBS (radiation oncology) HOD, radiation oncology, Patel Hospital were the resource persons. They motivated students and inspired them to remain healthy as female health was imperative for family and society. Nine women principals from different schools were also honoured for their contribution to education in the leadership role. Sukhbir Singh Chatha, director AA, KCL Group, congratulated everyone on International Womens Day. Dr RS Deol, deputy director AA KCL Group, appreciated the synergy and enthusiasm as well as the efforts of the organising committee for organising the event and said a woman has a major role in shaping society.

GNDU Media Dept

An interactive programme was organised by the department of journalism and mass communication, GNDU, Ladhewali, to mark International Womens Day. The department invited its women alumni, who have excelled in various media houses over the years. Nine former students, from different media fields like the print media, radio, web TV, TV news channels etc. came to grace the occasion. They interacted with students, shared their experience and motivated students to choose their fields wisely in future. They exhorted students to have self-confidence and self-respect to deal with situations in a male-dominated environment. They asked students to focus on their work rather than on male-female power game. Many of them recounted the struggles they faced at home and at work to reach their present status. HoD Dr Namarta Joshi asked women to raise their voice against any injustice done to them or to others. Dr Charan Kamal Walia, Sukriti and Rama Shankar were also present.

Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya

International Womens Day was organised at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya in collaboration with the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation under the aegis of innovation cell and women empowerment cell. MC Comissioner Karnesh Sharma, Joint Commissioner Gurvinder K Randhawa, Dean, academics Dr Kanwaldeep Kaur, RJ Deepak, RJ Luveena, RJ Dheer were also present. Dr Anjana Bhatia conducted the stage. Principal Prof Dr Ajay Sareen said women were better managers and they should be financially independent. She should be given equal rights at every level as she possesses qualities of multi-tasking, creating lives, handling pressure and is a great caretaker.

Ivy World School

IVY World School, under the ageis of the Vasal Education Society, organised Womens Day as Masti ki Paathshala. The celebration began with a song dedicated to women presented by schools performing arts team. The educators apprised and appreciated all mothers virtually by appreciating their contribution towards their families and overall support for children virtual classes. All mothers were dressed up as children with school uniform and two plaits with ribbons. The aim was to make all women feel important and loved as they are all-rounder in day-today life. The mothers were welcomed with fun games, tongue twisters, old songs, guess the movie and many more fun-filled activities to make them feel special. Principal S Chauhan highlighted the multitasking abilities of a woman. CEO Raghav Vasal extended his greetings to all mothers and educators and also spoke on women empowerment.

Army Public School, Beas

The NSS wing of Army Public School Beas celebrated the day by organising slogan-writing, poem composition and sketch-making contests on women empowerment.

MGN College of Education

The women welfare committee of MGN College of Education celebrated Womens Day by organising a webinar on the theme Women Health. Kamal Kishore Aggarwal, president, Bhartiya Yoga Sansthan, was the resource person. Aggarwal emphasised the need for taking care of womens health, hygiene and diet. He suggested that health science along with Ayurveda emphasised the important role of balanced diet to ensure health, especially for women, whose body undergoes many changes. He said most of the women generally neglect their own dietary needs but it need to be ensured to have healthy diet to improve mood, boost energy and maintain healthy weight. He suggested certain dietary tips regarding intake of water, quality of food intake, amount of salt and sugar in our food and avoiding junk food to maintain good health.

Lovely Professional University

The faculty and staff members of Lovely Professional University participated in Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh-led International Womens Day celebrations through state-level video-conferencing from Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh. Observing Covid-19 restrictions, the celebration was held at the spacious Shanti Devi Mittal Auditorium of the university.

Police Lines

International Womens Day was celebrated at Police Lines, where women police personnel and women dependents of policemen of Jalandhar participated in the event. It included talks by Dr Gurpreet Kaur, senior gynaecologist, and Dr Ranjana, dietician, both from Shingara Singh Hospital, and Dr Anamika Lal from PAP Hospital making women aware of problems and safeguards relating to breast cancer, menopause and lifestyle and diet-related issues. The senior doctors interacted and removed the doubts and phobias of the participants and encouraged them to take good care of themselves, exercise regularly, eat healthy diet and go for regular medical check-ups. Some women recited poems related to women issues and mentioned the general problems being faced by working women, who have to tackle both home and work pressures. The doctors suggested that yoga and meditation can help them strike the right balance. Subsequently, a medical checkup camp was organised for the general health examination of the ladies. The events were held with the active help of Punjab Police Mahila Mittar and Saanjh staff.

Pushpa Gujral Science City

Pushpa Gujral Science City, Kapurthala, celebrated International Womens Day virtually. Around 200 students and 100 rural women of Self Help Groups (SHGs) from different districts of Punjab participated in the programme. Dr Neelima Jerath, director general, Science City, said a large number of women in India have successfully broken the glass ceiling and were in leadership positions in industry, government and as entrepreneurs and social media had played an important role in making their voices heard, especially in micro businesses. She said in 2018, Niti Aayog launched the Women Entrepreneurship Platform, a portal to provide knowledge and support to women entrepreneurs. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry has also launched a network for women entrepreneurs, Udyam Sakhi, in 2018 to aid, counsel, assist and protect womens interests through a single portal. Rajat Arora, policy programmes manager, Facebook, India and South Asia, during his special talk on Social Media For Livelihood Development said digital transformation was especially critical for the uplift of women, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, facing job losses and taking up increased household and childcare responsibilities.

Jasmin adjudged Miss DAV, Anjali runner-up

Hoshiarpur: The Kalpana Chawla Women Development Club of DAV College of Education (B Ed College), Hoshiarpur, celebrated International Womens Day. Secretary of college managing committee DL Anand (Retd Principal) was the guest of honour and Dr Jasveera Anoop Manhas was the chief guest. Anjali was adjudged the second runner-up, Aasha first runner-up, while the overall title of Miss DAV was won by Jasmin.

Rupinder Kaur, Suman Sood and Tushti Sharma judged the talent of students during stage performances. Students participated in different activities such as ramp walk, dances, poems and speeches highlighting the significance of women in society. They presented a play titled Women-A Never Ending Story directed by Dr Harpreet Singh. Priya bagged the title of Miss Beautiful Hair, Divya Miss Beautiful Dress, Simran Miss Glamorous Look, Priya Miss Ramp Walk, Nitika Miss Beautiful Eyes, Priyanka Sharma Miss Fashion Icon, Aasha Miss Glowing Skin and Latika Spectacular Eyes. Dr Archna Sharma and Dr Chetna Sharma were honoured for the recent completion of their doctorate. Roma Ralhan was also honoured by the college for receiving an honour from the Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner to start the NGO Care and Share for serving humanity and Rupakshi for getting third prize in poster-making competition at the district-level. OC

Excerpt from:

Of women and their empowerment - The Tribune India

Fitness Industry in todays date approxes to over $100 Billion net worth. And why is that? Technology, as we know, has played a major role in this extravagant leap resulting in a 3-4% hike each year! Isnt that something? With newer advancements taking place, every fitness enthusiast is on the lookout for something unique and transforming. Abiding by that, Jean Fallacara, a Canadian French born entrepreneur and an exceptional athlete/fitness enthusiast introduced Neuroscience Calisthenics.

This transformational concept is the Worlds first human optimization program in the fitness industry that offers workout plans based on neuroscience. Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary science that seeks to understand how the various components of the body interact and function together. Calisthenics is a form of fitness that involves various movements performed to varying rhythms and intensity with almost no equipment. Fallacara with his holistic approach combined neuroscience and calisthenics utilizing theories from neuroscience, biohacking, to induce neuroplasticity and get in flow state to help athletes achieve better and faster results. This fitness training is meant to build the body to a great form and not only that but also facilitate Self Empowerment and Self-control. As it is backed by tremendous scientific research and application, Neuroscience Calisthenics has proved to offer significant results, which can also be seen in the founder himself.

Reading about such a concept that underlines the role of the mind in the transformation of the body can be overwhelming, but this breakthrough conceptual training is designed to unveil the huge unused potential of your mind to unlock your full body potential. Imagine waking up as your best self How do you feel? How do you look? Who are you next to? What is the purpose that guides your everyday life? This is what Life Programming is all about. Guiding you through the journey of becoming your Best Self. And this is what Fallacara aimed at when he discovered Neuroscience Calisthenics. Guiding people through the journey of transformation and revolution.

Fallacara with this concept helps people understand how neurobiological effects will make them stronger, faster, and more explosive. With this unique concept, he is set out to help people set scores and beat their personal best, encouraging them with that extra push to take a leap of faith and see for themselves how technology, when merged with routine, can do wonders. Not only that, Neuroscience Calisthenics is expected to have 100% effective results.

As with every other aspect of the world, technology and science are destined to transform sports, offering athletes newer ways to replenish their mental and physical attributes needed to up their performance. At the forefront of this, Fallacaras vision and scientific insight are definitely on the path of discovering new opportunities and bringing a revolution in the fitness industry.

Published March 8th, 2021

Originally posted here:

Scientific Backed Techniques Neuroscience Calisthenics Gets you Smarter by Working Out With Jean Fallacara - Influencive

A century later, the election of Donald Trump lent credence to Lippmann's thesis. Trump's primary communication method as president was Twitter, an unfiltered channel connecting him directly to voters. Trump's election and presidency broadly disempowered elite intermediaries including GOP party elders, liberal business leaders and mainstream media institutions long accustomed to directly influencing American governance.

As Lippman predicted, it did not go well. Paradoxically, Trumps Twitter version of direct democracy sharply decreased the strength of democratic self-governance, culminating in Trumps Twitter-organized mob storming the United States Capitol as Congress certified the presidential election.

This rise in democracy has only intensified in the four years since Trump was elected, as the intermediaries between power and the people continue to disintegrate.

Social media is the preeminent example. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram allow politicians to bypass traditional media gatekeepers and communicate directly with voters. Anyone online can instantaneously publish their thoughts, with each tweet or post potentially reverberating around the globe. This personal empowerment has coincided with a troubling rise in populism around the world.

The revolution has disrupted finance, too. Take, for example, the extreme volatility of GameStop's stock. Driven by Reddit's online forums and Robinhood (which empowers people to effortlessly trade stocks without a middle-person collecting fees), GameStops stock has swung violently for weeks. The gyrations have wiped out many small investors.

Warren Buffetts longtime business partner Charlie Munger recently said that this trading on Robinhood is really just wild speculation, like casino gambling or racetrack betting. Theres a long history of destructive capitalism, these trading orgies whooped up by the people who profit from them.

Are these democratic revolutions a good thing? Put another way, is civilization better off with sophisticated elites controlling the framework of society or is it better having the people, unrestrained, barreling forward with the shackles thrown off?

The United States Constitution is a guide. While imperfect, the Constitution deftly harnesses the competing impulses between elite control and democratic rule. The founding fathers' solution: strike a balance. On the one hand, the American people elect members of Congress and the president. At the same time, however, government power is consistently shielded from the governed: judges have lifetime appointments; the electoral college overrides the popular vote; and the people have no direct legislative role.

A balanced approach likewise makes sense when confronting today's vexing problems. For example, everyone can have a Twitter account, but inciting violence must be prohibited. And everyone can trade stocks, but new forms of market manipulation must be regulated.

Striking the right balance between elite influence and popular control is as complex as it is important. Yet it is fast becoming merely an academic subject. The trend line is clear: Lippman's intermediaries are dying on the vine. For better or worse, the future belongs to the herd.

William Cooper has written for The Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Sun, New York Daily News, and USA Today, among others.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.

See original here:

Letter: Power to the people | INFORUM - INFORUM

Take a scroll through Huda Kattans Instagram page, press play on one of her Youtube videos or just glance at her brands website and it becomes instantly clear that the influencer-turned-beauty boss is as real as it gets. While she can contour the sh-t out of her nose, shes also the first to admit that shes had work done. Shell edit her photos here and there, sure, but you better believe the 37-year-old mogul is telling her fans when she uses Facetune.

And after a year of self-reflection, breakthroughs and a life-changing makeup-free campaign for her new skincare brand Wishful, Kattan is calling on all beauty brands to stop perpetuating toxic beauty standards and for consumers to work towards self-empowerment. To get her message across, Kattan is posting a video on the topic to her Youtube page on Saturday, March 6, and Us got the first look!

Why cant we just normalize normal things? Theres this pressure from these big beauty companies that are not allowing us to be ourselves. They keep telling us, No, you cant be yourself. You have to be something else. Im just sick of it, Kattan tells Us Weeklys Stylish in an exclusive interview. She admits that there are a few brands being open and honest in the industry, but others are promoting a false beauty standard by selling skincare via models wearing makeup or campaigns with photoshopped faces.

Kattan became intimately familiar with the industrys flaws when creating her new skincare line, Wishful, which launched in February 2020. After noticing the smoke and mirrors used in campaigns, she decided to take a different approach with her line. That meant no makeup, real people not models and no Photoshop.

But standing in front of a camera bearing all can be challenging. Our Wishful campaign was a really emotional one for me. I know I have self-worth issues and there I was facing them. I had to have a conversation with myself, like, Look at that girl, she is good enough. You said you wanted to do this photo shoot without makeup, without Photoshop, so be in that moment and accept it. And there was a moment where I really shifted. Im going to cry, thinking about it, Kattan tells Stylish. The Photoshop and the makeup is like your armor sometimes.

When stripped of that armor, Kattan says that her whole outlook on beauty pivoted. For the longest time, I was covering myself up with makeup because I thought I wasnt good enough. I thought, Oh, Im not this perfect beauty standard. And through a lot of therapy and life coaching, Ive come to understand that makeup is just this tool. Makeup is not the full of who you are, its just an addition to and an expression of who you are.

The Huda Beauty founder says that the mental shift from using makeup to fit societal standards to glamming because I want to, not because I have to happened once she stopped seeking acceptance from the world around her. People almost feel like they need permission to feel empowered. We say it, We want to feel empowered, we want to feel all these things. But that permission aspect is there, Kattan says. You need to accept yourself and you need to know how amazing you are. Everybody around you does not define you.

To help catalyze change in the beauty industry, Kattan is pledging to run both her professional and personal accounts with honesty at the forefront. Im the influencer as well as a brand. And if I dont start being honest, then Im part of a problem, she tells Us. I may still use Photoshop and Facetune, but we just have to be honest about it. Weve got to set a fair playing field and tell people what youre actually doing.

She adds: Theres been so many amazing shifts in 2020 where we, as a community, were able to demand so many things from equality to recognition. And if we dont come together here [the beauty industry] in the same way, were not going to be able to make the change.

Read more:

Huda Kattan Calls for a Change in the Beauty Industry: Watch - Us Weekly

The International Womens Day (IWD) theme for 2021 is choose to challenge.

What a fitting theme for a year when 5.4 million women lost their jobs and over 2.1 million women left the workforce, while the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc, and social and racial inequity issues were raised to the forefront of the international consciousness. There was certainly no shortage of challenges for women to choose from this past year.

However, the IWD initiative website elaborates on the choose to challenge theme by noting that a challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. It is that idea that should really resonate with us, as we move past 2020 and into 2021. There have been many examples this year of women who have chosen to rise to the challenges presented in 2020 and by doing so, have created change for other women.

In keeping with this theme, Lighthouse is featuring five such women in the legal and technology fields. Five women who have risen to the challenges presented this year and created change. Those five women are:

We had the honor of interviewing these inspirational women about the choose to challenge theme including the stressors of 2020, how to empower other women, how to leverage innovation to shape a more gender-equal world, and how to address social justice issues. That discussion led to some powerful lessons on how to rise to our current challenges and create meaningful, lasting change.

EMPOWERING WOMEN DURING A PANDEMIC

Like any societal change, empowering women starts small, at the individual level. We do not have to wait for some grand opportunity or postpone our effort until we have the time to volunteer especially during a pandemic when our personal time may feel even more precious and many in-person volunteer opportunities have halted. Empowerment can happen by simply reaching out to the women around us women we work with, women in our personal lives, and women within our own families.

Laura Ewing-Pearle noted, One principle to keep in mind is that women are not a monolithic bloc, and that empowering women usually means empowering the individual. A woman with twenty years experience in the legal world caring for aging parents has a different set of stressors and goals than a woman fresh out of school with a toddler, especially under the new Covid protocolsSeeing past woman to the individual brings us all closer to a more gender-equal world.

In our professional lives, empowering at the individual level can mean reaching out to our women co-workers, teammates, and those that may be on lower rungs of the corporate or law firm ladders and offering them a chance to sit down (virtually) for a cup of coffee to talk about their personal goals and challenges. This provides women a space to be heard and seen, first and foremost. It is from these conversations that the seeds of change are often planted.

Rebecca Sipowicz stated, During the summer I became responsible for co-oversight of our back-office team in India, which is approximately 25% female. For at least the past 10 years, the India team has not reported, directly or indirectly, to a woman. I have reached out on an individual level to these women to discuss their career goals and how we can work together to achieve them. I also started a monthly catch-up where, in this virtual environment, we can meet for 30 minutes to talk about work, life, and the state of the world. Through these conversations, I have not only gotten to know better my colleagues who are located off-shore but also have been able to share life experiences, such as how to take advantage of our remote work world while parenting and managing online school. The continued growth of this group of employees is one of my most important goals for 2021.

These conversations often help us learn not only about individual ambitions and challenges, but also may help us learn about unsung accomplishments and milestones that women often are less apt to tout about themselves within their own organizations and networks. In turn, this can provide an excellent opportunity to be a champion for those women, by calling out successes that would otherwise go unrecognized.

Gina Sansone said, I am a strong believer in being a vocal cheerleader for the women around me who may be less comfortable with promoting their strengths and accomplishments. Women often play multiple roles at work and at home that are not obvious to others and get overlooked because they tend to be less measurable in a traditional sense. These contributions are nonetheless valuable and crucial to an organization and the lives of others, and its really important to notice and appreciate them along the way.

Empowering at the individual level also means leading by example during these conversations. The stressors of the pandemic have changed our lives dramatically, both professionally and personally. It is unchartered territory for everyone, and studies are showing that women are shouldering the brunt of the burden at home often juggling full-time virtual schooling with children while working full-time jobs or dealing with the bulk of household maintenance. Leading by example and being honest about ourselves and our own hurdles during our conversations can empower women to be honest about their own struggles and needs.

Jenya Moshkovich stated, [I empower other women by] being honest about my own challenges and creating and holding space for others to be their true, authentic selves with all the complexities and messiness that can bring. The line between our private lives and work is blurrier now than it has ever been and we have to let go of trying to pretend that we have it all together all the time because no one does, especially these days.

The example we set and the honesty with which we portray ourselves can especially be important for those closest to us the people within our own families and homes.

Rebecca Sipowicz mentioned, Having my children home from school for six months enabled my 11-year-old daughter to witness firsthand how involved my job is and to learn how difficult but rewarding it is to juggle parenting and a career. This is a valuable lesson for all children, not just girls.

LEVERAGING INNOVATION TO SHAPE A MORE GENDER EQUAL WORLD

If the legal and technology industries have anything in common, it is that women have been historically under-represented in both spaces. Fortunately, technological innovation can help close the gender gap in both industries:

Rebecca Sipowicz shared, The pandemic really pushed all of corporate America to take steps that will help to advance gender equality in the workplace namely the move from in-office to remote work. This unquestionably provides working mothers with more equal access to the workplace. Through the use of video software such as Zoom and Teams, and the ability to work around parenting responsibilities, fewer women should feel the pressure to leave the workforce in order to parent.This flexibility allows women to continue to contribute to the workforce and grow in their careers while caring for their families, without feeling like they are short-changing either side. This should enable women to continue to take on more prominent roles and push women throughout the world to request an equal seat at the table.

Technological innovation can also help people push their organizations and law firms to empower women and support equality. Many companies have seen how innovation and technology can help close the gender gap, and we can work within those systems to further those efforts.

Gina Sansone said, I really dont know how we can begin to work toward a gender-equal world without leveraging innovation. To me, innovation means creating a dynamic work environment that encourages everyone to move forward, which could mean training and managing members of the same team differently. While consistency is important, recognizing differences, being flexible, and empowering people to think differently and not simply check a box are steps toward shaping a more gender-equal world.

Laura Ewing-Pearle added, Encouraging and leveraging more on-line training certainly helps anybody juggling family and career to keep pace with new technology and change. Im grateful that Baker Botts as the firm encourages everyone to create new, innovative ideas to improve business processes and culture.

Jenya Moshkovich mentioned, I am very fortunate to work for a company that has started innovating in this space years ago and where I am in the position to benefit from these efforts. Since 2007, Genentech has more than doubled the percentage of female officers from 16 to 43% and today over half of our employees and over half of our directors are women. In our legal department, ALL of our VPs are women. Genentechs efforts to move towards gender equality have included senior leadership commitments, programs to drive professional development and open up opportunities for career advancement, among others.

Going forward, it will be equally important to continue efforts to support changes in our industry. While we have come a long way and made considerable progress, it is still important to push companies and law firms to recognize equity gaps and encourage the use of innovation and technology to help close those gaps.

Amy Sellars stated, Corporate practices favor men, and Covid exacerbates this problem. Will companies acknowledge that women took on most of the additional burdens of children at home, education at home, of people at home all the time (more dishes, more cleaning, more cooking, less dry cleaning, and more laundry)?

Rebecca Sipowicz said, It is up to all of us to make sure that the realization that flexibility can result in increased productivity and satisfaction continues long after the pandemic, allowing women (and men of course) to have the best of both worlds.

ADDRESSING SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUALITY ISSUES

2020 was also a devastating year for people of color, as well as underrepresented and low-income communities. The tragic events throughout the year brought social inequality issues and systemic racism to the forefront of the conversation in many families, workplaces, and social circles. Many of the lessons learned in the fight for gender equality can also be applied to the fight for racial and social equality. For instance, just as empowering women can start at the individual level, the fight for social and racial equality can also start with small, individual acts.

These acts can be as simple as personally working to educate ourselves on the work to be done, so that we can act on social justice issues in the most impactful way:

Jenya Moshkovich said, 2020 was a difficult year in so many ways including the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery and many incidents of xenophobic violence against Asian Americans. My personal focus has been on educating myself, speaking up for others, listening, and fostering belonging. And there is so much more that needs to be done.

Gina Sansone added, The social issues raised in 2020 were unfortunately just a magnification of issues that have existed for a long time. It was a perfect storm of events that certainly made me and others face the thought patterns, inequalities, and general civil unrest that has been festering in our society. It is very easy to live in a bubble and lose sight. I think one of the most important things that happened was people stopped being quiet and just accepting. Change will not happen unless it is absolutely forced and we need to continue recognizing that the world is not equal.

Creating social justice change also can mean utilizing the education we do have about these issues, and working within our communities to help in any way possible both at the individual level and on a broader scale:

Amy Sellars stated, My husband and I have always been passionate about voting rights and participate in get out the vote efforts. 2020 was a particularly important year for voting issues, as so many people were isolated and had even less access to register to vote or get to polls than normal. Working with the League of Women Voters, we did neighborhood registration drives, and we volunteered as non-partisan poll watchers. We also picked up Meals on Wheels shifts. All around the country, meal recipients who used to be fed at central locations were transitioned to home deliveries, and it has taken an army of volunteers in personal vehiclesWe are also volunteering on the domestic crisis hotline.

We can also leverage the networks and programs put in place within forward-thinking organizations to help bring about social change. More and more law firms and organizations are working to help close the gender gap and fight racial and social inequity. Employees of those organizations are in a unique position to join those initiatives to make more of an impact:

Laura Ewing-Pearle said, While (Baker Bots) had resources in place prior to the events of last year, the firm has also increased efforts over the past twelve months to address social issues including greater outreach to diverse communities, and creating a significant pro bono partnership with Official Black Wall Street, among other major initiatives.

Rebecca Sipowicz added, I am a member of the Ocwen Global Womens Network (OGWN), which supports the attainment of Ocwens goals in diversity, inclusion, and talent development. I am also on the planning committee for the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) mid-year meeting. NAWLs mission is to empower women in the legal profession, while cultivating a diverse membership dedicated to equality, mutual support and collective success. Membership in and support of organizations such as NAWL and OGWN provide me with a platform to address the diversity and social issues that permeated 2020.

CONCLUSION

The lesson learned from these strong women during a year full of challenges is that seemingly small acts can have big impacts. Change starts with all of us, at an individual level, working to empower women and make impactful societal changes one person, one organization, and one community at a time.

Thank you to the five women who participated in our 2021 International Women's Day Campaign! Take a look at our 2020 and 2019 International Women's Day campaigns for more inspiring stories of women in our industry making bold moves to promote gender equality.

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The Fearless 5: Spotlighting 5 Women Who Choose to Challenge Gender Bias in the Legal and Tech Fields - JD Supra

March might have gotten off to a bad start, but Maltas musicians are here to save the day.

Instead of spending your days at restaurants or snack bars, you can now spend them indoors, catching up with the latest tracks released by Maltese musicians.

And theres plenty of new tunes to check out on our list

It has been a busy few weeks for Maltese musicians, from rappers to pop artists and a couple of big names out there.

Stalwarts in the local rap scene, Kapitlu Tlettax are back with an inspiring new track featuring a powerful message about resilience and self-empowerment.

Ma Twegganix is the motivation track everyone needs during these tough times and resonates with the local community as it is sung entirely in Maltese.

The song is accompanied by a violinist and the music video is shot primarily in Valletta, showing off the magnificence of the grand harbour.

Ma Twegganix has received over 1,000 reacts on Facebook with many taking to the comment section to praise the track.

Oxygyn has released a compelling music video for its latest track, Mercy. The brother/sister fronted band recently had the track feature on BBC Music Introducing and followed up the critical acclaim with a music video series continued from their previous track, Wicked White Lies.

The music video is a portrayal of how society deals with social issues in which individuals are made vulnerable, the band told Lovin Malta.

We become angered by a social cause when it first emerges, but we are quick to break it down within our own minds and forget. Instead, we focus on our own personal issues, and are not able to overcome them, they said.

Renowned Maltese band Red Electrick have released a music video for a new rendition of their song Mistake featuring powerful vocals by Maltas very own Destiny and beautiful, breath-taking choreography from Concept of Movement.

Mistake forms part of Red Eletricks award-winning album Tragic Optimistic which came out in 2019. This revamp of the song takes Destinys distinct and soulful voice and soars with it.

The New Victorians have made their Maltese debut in their latest track Min Jaf and who better to show them the ropes than a master of the language himself, Lapes.

Min Jaf is a beautiful and fun amalgamation of pop and hip hop featuring an innovative music video with clever cuts and cool choreography.

Indie singer Michael Azzopardi is reminding us that sometimes less is more with a DIY music video for Tiblagni L-Art.

Tiblagni L-Art is one of four songs from his latest EP, Pistola, and features Cheryl Camilleri joining Azzopardi on vocals.

The poetic track features both musicians singing away to a small crowd in an intimate setting a reflection of the down-to-earth and simplistic nature of the track.

Maltese rapper Caro has been keeping himself busy this year, releasing track after track, each bringing its own vibe and edge to his growing catalogue.Drowning is a laid-back, cruising track with a mellow, guitar-driven backbeat and harmonising, ethereal vocals.

The song touches on personal struggles and drowning under the pressures of everyday life.

While instrumental music is typically reserved for a very niche audience, local musician Tempju knows how to make it appeal to the masses with her latest track, Ana.

The mellow, instrumental hip hop track is cleverly put in a way that is both groovy and laid back, encompassing catchy hooks and passages in the span of two minutes and thirty seven seconds.

The Perseverance rover landed on Mars the other week, so it was only fitting that aerospace engineer and pianist Leonardo Barilaro released a tribute track.

Barilaro teamed up with composer Zakarias Gunnarsson to create a space music cinematic composition with a synthwave downtempo nuance that uses martian wind, thanks to the samples recorded by NASA.

This experimental piece also has a combination of hacked piano, retro-synth and analogue drum machine and is aptly named Perseverance.

Exactly 257 years ago one of Maltas most important writers, linguists and philosophers was born Mikiel Anton Vassalli.

The anniversary of his birth was almost forgotten amidst the rumbles of the pandemic, but local acoustic folk fusion act Skald did well to commemorate Anton Vassalli with a track dedicated in his name.

Former X Factor contestant Marija Bellia has released a new song titled Love, X. The acoustic-driven pop track delves into the emotions we feel when we meet that someone special and start to fall in love.

Tag someone who needs to give these tracks a listen

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Music For March! Here's A Rundown Of The Latest Tracks Released By Maltese Musicians - Lovin Malta

My first impressions of Outriders was concerning. While the marketing was sparse, there were two painfully generic trailers and nothing else, I was more than curious to see what People Can Fly could do with modern hardware and Square Enix footing the bill. But as the recent shelving of Anthem Next can attest, the online looter shooter craze is dying down. While Outriders shares similarities with these games, it isn't setting out to be the next big blockbuster, and I'm OK with that.

I don't make comparisons to Anthem lightly;in fact I was getting flashbacks to its infamous E3 demo while playing through Outriders' prologue. Both of them start with a group of armored soldiers on an alien world scouting out the local wildlife, only for an unnatural storm to move in and cause complete chaos. These comparisons didn't stop at Anthem either. The loot and armor system from Destiny showed up, and there are even elements of realism with the focus on cover-based shooting and class synergy like in Ubisoft's The Division. From the beginning, it felt like Outriders was going to be the last big leap into a trend that is on the way out.

But as I let the experience settle, a few key details came into focus. While the E3 demo of Anthem was mostly fabricated and more a tool of marketing, Outriders' opening was a tangible declaration of intent. Your character is the main focus, and the game's setpieces are around your personal empowerment. This is exemplified in the gunplay which become much quicker and dynamic once your class abilities are introduced like teleporting or launching waves of fire. Even when you get to the hub town full of vendors and side missions, you don't see other players roaming around to give the world a sense of community. Furthermore, those aforementioned side missions have a lot of thematic and narrative contextyou're avenging someone's death or searching for a missing person, and almost none of it is typical looter-shooter busywork.

It is through this distinct game and level design that Outriders reminds me of the action-shooter trend near the end of the Xbox 360's life cycle. Cover-based combat was still the focus, but there would be attempts to make the environment and gun battles more exciting. It was also the beginning of RPG elements taking more focus, and a greater push for online elements. If you could totally run through the entire campaign with three other friends online in Gears of War 3, difficulty curve be damned for example.

In fact, the entire prologue's tone feels lifted wholesale from the late 2000s. Enemy and alien designs are some combination of overmuscled beefcakes, bony and slimy monstrosities, or covered in power armor. The main characters are all perpetually bitter and violent, hopping back and forth between maudlin angst about war and pitch-black comedy. If there are any fantastical elements, they're either handwaved or undercooked, and all of it usually in service of a dark and gritty battlefield drama full of explosions, dirt, mud, and metal. It was the style at the time, and there's a certain juvenile charm to it: a holdover from the game industry's general teenage years.

Once you look at the game through this lens, a lot of Outriders' opening hours makes sense. The worldbuilding is generic action sci-fi fare with sparse worldbuilding because it doesn't have an ambitious, epic storyline that will unravel over 10 years. Online co-op is a small bonus feature if you just want to hang out with friends, which is why there have been no noticeable pushes for intricate content like Raids or Dungeons. The looter-shooter RPG elements are just there to give the campaign structure and forward progression, not unlike the most recent God of War game.

In a climate where too many games are treated more like second jobs, I am more than content with Outriders just wanting to be a straightforward action title. People Can Fly are such an underrated developer that have put out impressive action titles before, and I enjoy that they are leaning into their strengths here. This was a studio that got on the scene by taking an action subgenre people thought was dead and putting their own spin on it with Painkiller, so why shouldn't it be any different 16 years later?

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Outriders is Not The Next Destiny and That's OK - TechRaptor

On the auspicious occasion of Women's Day, Sonal Jindal, the voracious businesswoman shares her journey and the work-life hacks that help her stay upbeat even while juggling between her business venture and family each day.

Today on Womens day Sonal is honored to give an empowerment session to Amul women. Sonal believes it is an opportunity to address these superwomen who struggled each day with the odds of managing their ambitions while juggling the responsibilities of their family.

The webinar celebrates various roles donned by a woman throughout their lives, first a child, a wife, an employee, a mother, and several other prolific characters played by a woman in a lifetime.

To begin with, the award-winning and virtuoso businesswoman, who has a remarkable career in the International Sourcing industry and an event management company MEDUSA, and donning so many hats is possible only when you follow a set of guidelines to swear by, let's get a sneak peek of Sonal's top mantras.

Her number one tip to each woman to ace their work lives is to segregate their priorities and talk it out to the people around them, whether amongst family or colleagues, it is always better to segregate what needs your most attention and the things that can be avoided, remember to lead a life of balance, you need to stack items in a list that has important things at the top and the remaining in the order of importance, this way one can take spontaneous decisions at the time of crisis to sail smoothly.

The next tip that Sonal shares to become the master of all trades is via delegation, this process has proved its mettle by letting working women delegate most of the things that they know can be done smoothly without their physical contribution, so keeping house helps to ask the kids to keep aside the laundry, delegation is pivotal.

Another most important tip for working women is to keep calendars that help in managing each minute of the day, it's weird but when you spend your time and consciously plan your days, you can be so much more productive.

As a founder and director of the company, Sonal Jindal is single-handedly leading multiple ventures, which include some of the big fashion houses, hospitality groups, lifestyle companies, and real estate magnates, henceforth she has consistently been following these life-saving habits that can bring major changes into their productivity patterns.

While an increasing number of women are breaking the glass ceilings in diverse spheres, Sonal Jindal exemplifies the new-age Indian legacy of entrepreneurs in India.

She has shown amazing skill in multi-tasking to inspire her followers by turning concepts into brands with sustainable operations.

Besides MEDUSA, Sonal Jindal is also a Director at the Moodboard Consultancy, a specialized consultancy for corporate and retail clients. It launched its first Asia-Pacific business operations in 2018.

Being a mother of two children, Sonal Jindal carries her family and business responsibilities with remarkable ease. The drive to change the future for women entrepreneurs makes her a successful entrepreneur with a professional and personal journey worth recounting!

Sonal at Amul webinar said Spanning more than six decades is the journey of Amul is advocating sexual equality on the face of all genders and acknowledging their leading contributions to venture out and add to the family pay. With milk being an impetus in this development, it appears to be just fitting that Amul raises a glass to lady power, this womens day and every day.

Exuding confidence, Sonal Jindal has created a fine balance between her professional and personal lives. Talking about her daughters dreams, she said, I understand my daughter wants to be a painter. I just want to support and help her grow at every step.

We can almost see another leader in the making under a robust businesswomen's tutelage!

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Sonal Jindal businesswoman on her journey to Champion Woman Empowerment - THE WEEK