Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

CHICAGO, Oct. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) has signed a definitive agreement to sell TransUnion Healthcare, Inc. (TransUnion Healthcare) to nThrive, Inc. (nThrive), a leading healthcare revenue cycle management (RCM) software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with certain affiliates, Clearlake).

The transaction consideration is $1.735 billion in cash, and the transaction is expected to result in approximately $1.4 billion in after-tax proceeds at current tax rates. The parties are targeting to close the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The proceeds will help TransUnion prepay debt and fund future M&A transactions that reinforce, extend and scale its core positions and which can be leveraged globally such as the pending acquisitions of Neustar and Sontiq, both of which are expected to accelerate TransUnions long-term revenue growth.

With the divestiture of TransUnion Healthcare, TransUnion will bring greater focus to our position as a global information and insights company providing credit, marketing and fraud mitigation solutions to help businesses and consumers transact with greater certainty, said Chris Cartwright, President and CEO of TransUnion. The transaction will also allow TransUnion Healthcare to benefit from ownership whose priorities and expertise are solely focused on healthcare revenue cycle management.

Clearlake intends to combine TransUnion Healthcare with its portfolio company, nThrive, to strengthen its portfolio with powerful healthcare data and analytics capabilities that enable simple, efficient and accurate end-to-end RCM outcomes for healthcare providers and payers.

We are confident that nThrives outstanding leadership and complementary portfolio make nThrive an ideal home for TransUnion Healthcare, and we look forward to a seamless transition, added Cartwright.

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About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing a comprehensive picture of each person so they can be reliably and safely represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good.

A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people.

http://www.transunion.com/business

About TransUnion Healthcare

TransUnion Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of TransUnion, makes trust possible by creating simplicity and transparency throughout the healthcare ecosystem to improve health and financial outcomes. TransUnion Healthcare is expected to generate approximately $190 million of revenue in 2021 at a mid-40 percent Adjusted EBITDA margin. TransUnion Healthcare helps over 1,850 hospitals and 650,000 physicians collectively recover more than $1.2 billion annually in revenue. TransUnion Healthcares Revenue Protection solutions leverage comprehensive data, accurate insights and industry expertise to engage patients early, ensure earned revenue gets paid and optimize payment strategies.

https://www.transunion.com/industry/healthcare

TransUnion Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of TransUnions management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Any statements made in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, including our guidance and descriptions of our business plans and strategies. These statements often include words such as anticipate, expect, guidance, suggest, plan, believe, intend, estimate, target, project, should, could, would, may, will, forecast, outlook, potential, continues, seeks, predicts, or the negative of these words and other similar expressions.

Factors that could cause TransUnions actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements include: the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the timing of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; the possibility that the expected benefits of the proposed TransUnion Healthcare divestiture will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period; failure to obtain governmental approvals of the proposed TransUnion Healthcare divestiture in the expected time period, or at all; the impact of the proposed TransUnion Healthcare divestiture on TransUnions businesses and the risk that consummating the proposed TransUnion Healthcare divestiture may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; the possibility that the proposed TransUnion Healthcare divestiture does not close, including failure to satisfy the closing conditions; failure to realize the synergies and other benefits expected from the proposed acquisitions of Neustar and Sontiq; delays in closing the proposed acquisitions; the possibility that the proposed acquisitions, including the integration of Neustar and Sontiq, may be more costly to complete than anticipated; risks related to the distraction of management from ongoing business operations and other opportunities due to the proposed acquisitions and the proposed TransUnion Healthcare divestiture; business disruption related to the proposed acquisitions and the proposed TransUnion Healthcare divestiture; the effects of pending and future legislation and regulatory actions and reforms; macroeconomic and industry trends and adverse developments in the debt, consumer credit and financial services markets and other macroeconomic factors beyond TransUnions control; risks related to TransUnions indebtedness, including TransUnions ability to make timely payments of principal and interest and TransUnions ability to satisfy covenants in the agreements governing its indebtedness; and other one-time events and other factors that can be found in TransUnions Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and any subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Current Report on Form 8-K, which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on TransUnions website (www.transunion.com/tru) and on the Securities and Exchange Commissions website (www.sec.gov). Many of these factors are beyond our control. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release.

Contact

Dave Blumbergdblumberg@transunion.com 312-972-6646

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TransUnion Announces Agreement to Sell TransUnion Healthcare to Clearlake Capital Group-Backed nThrive for $1.7 Billion - Yahoo Finance

When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to be interviewing Clementine Ford, she said she was curious to read Fords new book, How We Love: I want to hear about love from someone who has known so much hate.

I tell Ford this when we connect over Zoom late one Friday afternoon, Ford sat on her sofa in the plant-filled Melbourne home she shares with her young son. Her face lights up with the writers appreciation of a neat turn of phrase and the long-time self-promoters awareness of something she can use. Thats a great line! I might borrow that. I love that.

It is no wonder that Ford writer, podcaster, self-described sassy social media bigmouth, Hardline Feminist per the Daily Mail and HYSTERICAL FEMALE per her T-shirt today is attuned to ways to describe herself. She has spent nearly a decade embroiled in highly public controversies, most of them attempts to silence her no-holds-barred brand of popular feminism and some, she allows, of her own making.

As the feminist academic Anita Brady recently wrote: In Australian media culture, it is difficult to imagine a figure more visible as a vector of popular misogyny than Clementine Ford. Ford seems to have a particular ability to provoke, flushing out sexism where it might otherwise go unstated but also dividing progressives with her attention-grabbing approach and occasional misfires.

Out-and-proud anti-feminists, meanwhile, Ford whips into a frenzy. In 2017, having cemented her position in the public sphere with her first book, Fight Like a Girl, Milo Yiannopoulos performed his disgust of Ford to live audiences throughout Australia, and millions more online.

All of it, praising or scathing, amounts to make Ford arguably the most famous feminist in Australia, whose celebrity, Brady argues, is indistinguishable from the work of her feminism and often in response to misogynistic attacks.

Julia Baird described the bestselling Fight Like A Girl as having been shaped in combat; after spending almost her entire 30s what might be termed feministing in public, the same could be said of Ford herself.

People always assume that Im coming from a place of anger and hate, says Ford, now 40. How We Love represents Fords attempt to change that narrative or at least enlarge it.

As much as I am quite impervious, now, to peoples opinions of me, I also feel the same human instinct and need to be understood, which is what so much of the book is about: to be loved, to be known, to be seen, she says. For much of my career, I have felt very misunderstood and wilfully, in many cases.

Now Ford is making a gentle request for understanding: Im not asking you to go easy on me. Im just asking you not to reduce me to a stereotype.

The memoir is in the style of the British writer Dolly Aldertons hugely successful Everything I Know About Love, focusing on the most meaningful relationships of Fords life, starting with her family.

Born in Queensland, Ford grew up between Oman, rural England, Brisbane and Adelaide and uncool in each of these places, she writes. She describes herself as a theatre kid at heart, chronically performative as only the youngest of three can be.

Fords father, an Australian, met her Guyanese mother while she was working in an English pub. How We Love opens with her mothers harrowing death from cancer at age 58, having refused further treatment, and concludes with Ford becoming a mother herself.

Compared with the manifesto Fight Like a Girl (which has been optioned for TV) and the 2018 follow-up Boys Will Be Boys (a takedown of the patriarchy and toxic masculinity), How We Love is strikingly devoid of politics and reveals a surprisingly softer, more self-doubting side to Ford.

That was the point, she says to ground her activism in a place of love for men, of wanting them and the world to be better. (I see this in the boundless patience she shows her son in his frequent interjections through our interview; and in her respectful exchange with her father when he stood for One Nation in 2017.)

Far from a departure from her political work, Ford sees How We Love as a natural companion. But she had a personal motivation for writing it, too.

After her challenging pregnancy and childbirth, the furore over the man-hating Boys Will Be Boys, and the breakdown of her relationship with her sons father, Ford says she was on track for a mental health crisis if she continued on her highly public, combative path. It is quite bruising, being in a space all the time where you feel like youre constantly primed against attack.

Where once Ford spoiled for the fight (I really did get off on it a little bit ... that provocative youthful energy), motherhood changed her. It exposed a soft underbelly that I didnt necessarily realise was there and part of becoming a softer person is being willing to be more vulnerable in front of people.

Pitching the idea for How We Love in mid-2019, Ford told her publisher she wanted her next book to be one requiring no research, that would be really nice to write. It was also somewhat strategic.

For some time, Ford has been conscious of a ceiling to her potential progression as a mainstream feminist voice because I never gave an out to the men who run the show, she says.

In 2019, Ford quit her long-running column for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Age, claiming that she had previously been disciplined for tweeting that prime minister Scott Morrison was a fucking disgrace. Television producers have told her that she has been knocked back for various projects for being too aggressive, she says.

Ford paints a picture of having been backed into an increasingly tight corner: expected to always write something angry, but not so angry as to actually threaten the status quo.

But even people who agree with Fords politics may disagree with her tactics: always straight-shooting, often oppositional, occasionally artless and even arguably counterproductive.

In May 2020 Ford shared vile abuse sent to her by a teenage boy alongside his name and photo with her tens of thousands of Instagram followers (she removed the post in response to pleas from the boys mother). That same month, she tweeted that the coronavirus wasnt killing men fast enough: a misjudged mic-drop concluding comments about the increased domestic burden on women through the pandemic.

Ironic misandry is par for the course on Twitter what Ford now regards as completely toxic and not a healthy place for me to be but predictably inflammatory beyond it. After tweeting on Saturday afternoon, Ford doubled down on Saturday evening, apologised Sunday morning, and now rarely tweets.

It was an own goal, she says. Im frustrated for having written it, in part because now anyone who wants to disagree with anything just sends that tweet right back to me. In among the genuine distress, she says, there were some notably News Corp columnists simply gleeful for the chance to lambast her.

She only felt moved to apologise after a Black woman in the US told her that, there, Black and brown men were overrepresented among Covid-19 death rate: I was still operating in a theoretical space in which men were in a position of power.

It was not the first time that Ford has been criticised for perpetuating feminism as a concern of middle-class, cis white women. She volunteers now that she has historically perpetuated racist rhetoric, as a white person who lives with white privilege.

She likens this to the ways men benefit from structural sexism simply by being men. I dont want them to say Well, Im not the enemy, Im not a misogynist. You may not be actively doing these things, but you benefit from a system that privileges you.

In recent times Ford has made an obvious effort to share her platforms with those who are not so readily afforded them. One of the problems is weve always siloed voices, she says of feminism.

Not only has that denied other people the right and the privilege of being heard, but it also places an enormous amount of pressure on the one voice who, for whatever reasons, gets to be chosen.

How We Love, Ford agrees, is at least in part a strategic attempt to become more well-rounded and diversify her offering. There must have been a part of me that thought: for how long can you be the provocative feminist voice? And if thats the only thing that you do at what point does that begin to actually be the performance that everyone says that it is?

I never want to be palatable. But professionally and pragmatically, Im trying to improve my options.

If Ford had been feeling unsure about her future direction, the pandemic forced her to act. She started a podcast called Big Sister Hotline, a weekly gas bag on Instagram Live, and influencing for a sex toy company (use CLEMFORD for 20% off). Ford also receives donations through her Patreon page, supporting her feminist critique, comedy and unassailable truths lately, rallying against anti-vaxxers.

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The pivot makes explicit the argument of Brady, the academic: that Fords celebrity is both the product and the site of her feminist work, presenting visibility of feminism as an end, not a means, on platforms that are safely affirmative.

If she was once considered a radical feminist voice if only by virtue of being foulmouthed (to quote from her Twitter bio) in well-mannered spaces Ford may now more closely resemble a girlboss: a woman making feminism work for her, through the neoliberal logic of self-empowerment.

Its a charge Ford engages with admirably. Obviously theres massive problems with the way that feminism has jumped into bed with capitalism, and Im certainly guilty of being part of that, she says. I think [that critique] is important. But once again, it seems to be directed away from the richest, most privileged people in the world: largely, white men.

When people fighting for social justice feel unable to influence those in power, Ford suggests, it can feel more effective to throw your tomatoes at the people theyre going to hit. Some of those lobbed at her have been very fairly thrown, and landed as they should, she says. But now Ford wants to get out of the firing line.

It is not that she is reinventing herself, or running away, Ford says. I just want the opportunities to tell stories that make people feel things not just angry.

How We Love by Clementine Ford is out 2 November through Allen & Unwin (RRP$29.99)

The rest is here:

Clementine Ford pivots to love: For how long can you be the provocative feminist voice? - The Guardian

Its that time of the year when the Sanderson sisters come back to our small screens, and little witches run around our neighborhoods with pointed hats and brooms, asking for treats at our doors.

I do love Hocus Pocus as much as the next person, but (and now comes the feminist killjoy) hunting witches is actually no laughing matter. In fact, its downright deadly.

Im leading a study abroad in London this fall. One of my classes is on gender, race, class and religion in the UK, and so a couple of weeks ago we talked about Europes medieval witch hunts and visited Colchester Castle, the scene of the most witch executions in Britain. From the 15th to 18th centuries, more than 500 people were executed as witches in Britain; estimates suggest 40,000 to 100,000 people were killed across Europe, three-quarters of them women.

Medieval people deeply believed in witches, and the 1486 publication of Malleus Maleficarum, the Hammer of the Witches, gave them details about how to identify and deal with witches. Specifically, Malleus Maleficarum pointed out that women were more susceptible to witchcraft because of the inherent weakness of their gender. Most importantly, Malleus named witchcraft as a form of heresy and ordered it prosecuted along the lines of the Inquisition.

Those accused of witchcraft, interestingly enough, were most often on the margins of society women, poor people, older people, odd people who didnt quite fit in, those with some little resource (like a plot of land) someone wanted to take. Some of these women were traditional healers; they used plants and herbs for healing and may have made potions and cast spells to aid in healing.

Margery Jourdemayne was known in her community as someone who could provide spells and potions for her neighbors to help them find love or get pregnant or end a pregnancy. In 1441, she was accused of using witchcraft in a plot to assassinate King Henry VI. She was found guilty of being a witch and a heretic and was burned at the stake at Smithfield in London.

In Lancashire in 1612, feuding families began to accuse one another of making pacts with the devil. Eventually 19 people were tried, and 10 were found guilty and hanged.

Joan Peterson administered cures for migraines and other small ailments. When a wealthy woman died, Joan was accused of murdering her. Despite a doctors testimony that the woman died of an incurable disease and the protests of those who knew Joan, she was hanged for witchcraft at Tyburn in 1652.

The Malleus also directed witch-finders to use torture to extract a confession from an accused witch. One common method used across Europe was sleep deprivation. Another was the ducking stool. The accused was forced to sit on a chair that was lowered into water. Witch-finders believed that if the accused were guilty, she would float to the top of the water; if she were innocent, she would sink and drown.

King James yes, the very same one who commissioned the translation of the Bible into English fancied himself a bit of a theologian and in 1597 wrote Daemonologie, his own guide to witch hunting. He advised witch-finders to look for a mark left by the devil the witchs teat. This guidance led to invasive searches of womens bodies, and, while the occasional mark, usually a mole or birthmark, was found on a throat or belly, more than likely they were discovered in the accuseds genitals.

Witch-finders also believed that the devils mark could be invisible and discovered only by pricking. A whole profession of women witch prickers developed who would prick the accused with knives and needles looking for the devils mark.

Little is known about the early life of Puritan Matthew Hopkins until he began his career as a witch-finder in 1644. In 1645, he designated himself Witch-Finder General, although he never was actually appointed by Parliament. He traveled from town to town with his witch prickers to try and examine women for witchcraft, all for a reasonable price. Hopkins and his entourage were responsible for around 300 deaths across a two-year period. In 1647, Hopkins published The Discovery of Witches, a publication that later influenced witch trials in Salem, Mass.

Over a period of about 300 years, people who considered themselves devout Christians were drawn into a hysteria that led them to torture and brutally kill people for being different.

Misled by sincere belief, agitated by self-proclaimed experts, and engaged in a bit of self-serving behavior, Christians participated in some of the worst atrocities committed against fellow human beings.

Sound familiar?

At this contemporary moment, we see commonalities with the times of the witch hunts. Sincere and devout Christians are being misled by self-proclaimed and self-serving leaders who lead them to participate in atrocities that do indeed lead to trauma and even death.

Think Im exaggerating?

Lets take COVID. Donald Trump and his cronies misled many Americans into believing that the coronavirus was a hoax, that refusing to wear a mask was an assertion of freedom, that quack interventions could cure COVID, that Anthony Fauci was a liar, that the vaccine couldnt be trusted. Researchers at Columbia University said that between 130,000 and 200,000 COVID deaths were the result of the governments abject failures. We also know that the people most vulnerable to this misinformation were white evangelical Christians.

Another example is conversion therapy a refuted practice of trying to change someones sexual or gender identity. While many believers genuinely believe people can pray the gay away and change their sexual or gender identity, many LGBTQ people who have experienced conversion therapy have found it torturous and traumatizing. And it doesnt work. In fact, research shows that conversion therapy is linked to depression, increased substance abuse, and more serious suicide attempts. Yet, around 700,000 LGBTQ people have undergone this process.

Abortion access is another issue where ideology trumps reality. We know what lowers abortion rates access to contraception, accurate sex education, womens economic and personal empowerment, and access to affordable, legal, safe abortion. Thats right. Abortion access actually helps lower abortion rates. About 68,000 women worldwide die each year from unsafe abortions; the more restrictive a countrys abortion laws, the more likely women will die from unsafe abortions. Alabama should take heed.

How many Christians held up signs that said All Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter in response to 2020s Black Lives Matter protests after the killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor? Yet we know that Black people are disproportionately killed by police and disproportionately incarcerated.

We watched Christians join white nationalists and other hate groups in an insurrection to overthrow the American government. They beat Capitol police officers. They chanted, Hang Mike Pence. They searched the Capitol looking for Nancy Pelosi to shoot her. Images of the day show people carrying crosses, waving signs that said, Jesus Saves, Moultrie Co., IL loves Jesus, the Constitution, and Donald Trump, Hold the Line Patriots. God Wins. They had flags that said, Jesus is My Savior. Trump is My President. People died that day. Many more were severely injured.

We are not so far from medieval witch-finders after all.

At a recent right-wing event sponsored by Turning Point USA, an audience member asked founder Charlie Kirk, At this point, were living under corporate and medical fascism. This is tyranny. When do we get to use the guns?

He continued, No, and Im not thats not a joke. Im not saying it like that. I mean, literally, wheres the line? How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?

We are not so far from medieval witch-finders after all.

The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear, but we see large swaths of Christianity in the United States dominated by fear, fear of the loss of power, fear of change, fear of difference. And they try to allay that fear by rooting out the people theyre afraid of powerful women, Black, indigenous, and people of color, LGBTQ people, Muslims, immigrants, moderates and progressives.

The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear, but we see large swaths of Christianity in the United States dominated by fear.

I have a sense of dj vu all over again watching the new self-proclaimed conservatives in the Southern Baptist Convention trying to oust the so-called liberal and woke Southern Baptists who have simply suggested the denomination pay attention to issues of race and sexual abuse. Mind you, most of these people now being targeted for liberalism are the very same people who led the fundamentalist takeover of the convention in the 1980s in an attempt to purge liberals from their midst. I wonder if they see the irony in that.

In this moment of heightened divisiveness, we are all tempted toward greater sectarianism. And let me be clear: I know that we on the Left can also trend toward sectarianism, but I am not going to set up a false equivalency. The Left is not passing laws to discriminate against a group of people, limit voting access or control womens and LGBTQ bodies; the Left is not dealing in the mire of misinformation and lies; and the Left is not approving of insurrection.

Over and over, we see on the Right messages of fear, especially fear of those who are different. Our responses matter. When people set themselves up as the arbiters of truth with a divine right to dispense judgment, disaster and death are inevitable, as we see in the medieval period and today.

Convinced of their singular grasp of truth, many conservative Christians honestly believe they are keeping us safe, maybe not from witches, but from being overrun by Black and brown hordes, being dominated by angry feminists, being corrupted by lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender and non-binary people, being terrorized by Muslims, losing out to the Other.

But I wonder, whom should we fear most? Witches or witch-finders? People who are different from ourselves? Or the Christians who would torture and kill them?

Susan M. Shawis professor of women, gender and sexuality studies at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore. She also is an ordained Baptist minister and holds masters and doctoral degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Her most recent bookis Intersectional Theology: An Introductory Guide, co-authored with Grace Ji-Sun Kim.

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The return of the witch hunters Baptist News Global - Baptist News Global

Witches and wishes mix on a Lewes beach

A bright, brilliant moon and beachfront fire make for a positive setting for Mandie Stevenson's "Full Moon Gatherings" that mix spiritituality and sand.

William Bretzger, Delaware News Journal

Mandie Stevenson is in lovewith the 1993 Halloween comedy Hocus Pocus, except for one major complaint.

The self-proclaimed witch and psychic medium claims the film (like every other in Hollywood) misrepresentsher and her sisters and brotherswho cast spells in real life.

It was a great movie, but like, really… a talking black cat? I mean, come on, said the 45-year-old witch from Lewes. And [theres] witches chasing children ... trying to eat them. Is this Hansel and Gretel? Witches dont eat children.

Stevenson is so enchanted with the craft that its become her livelihood.

On Nov. 6 in Pike Creek, this real-life witch will host agrand opening for her second retail shop, Mandies Magical Marketplace(4837 Limestone Road, Pike Creek).

Her first location in Lewes, which began in a hotel basement about five years ago, features witchy clothing and crystals meant for healing. Customers can havetarot card readings and sessions with a certified Reiki practitioner, Stevenson said.

Her business offers courses on mediumship (how to connect with spirits), psychic development and self-empowerment. Multiple times throughout the year, she and her staff hostmeetups for full-moon ceremonies on Lewes Beach, and the public is welcome.

Aubrey Plaza pens witchy children's book: Set for release in fall

The latest full-moon celebration was Oct. 21. It wasextra special because its close to Samhain, apagan festival celebrated on Oct. 31, which inspired Halloween.

Witches commonly refer to the season ofSamhain as "the thinning of the veil," Stevenson said,because it's a time where spiritsbecome more visible to them. That means people might seesubtle things like random shadows, if theyre sensitive to it.

So, where did the tradition of wearing ghoulish costumes on Halloween come from? Someone came up with the idea that ghosts wouldnt mess with humans if humans were camouflaged.

The spirit activity was so high [people] would sense them and they were so scared of them, Stevenson said. They wanted to disguise themselves from the spirits.

Stevensons Pike Creek storewill include more healers and readers than at her Lewes location, she said.

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It was important to bring her new shop to Pike Creek, Stevenson said, because New Castle County has the largest population of residents, with lots of witches (or witch-curious people) in the Wilmington area.

Sussex County also has its fairshare of witches, she said.

Students from the University of Delaware have frequented her Lewes shop.Over the last year, Stevenson said she has noticed a lot of customersunder the age of 21, and thatgroup isbecoming more curiousaboutthe New Age movement.

"It's becoming for the younger generation a huge thing," the 45-year-old witch said."They're starting to kind of see that the old way of thinking, [from traditional religion],isn't really working out for them."

At the same time, she said, there are Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and members of many other religions or philosophieswhopractice witchcraft.

More: Ancient Celtic festival gains popularity in pandemic year thanks to rise in hip witches

Chelsea Fitzgerald, new store manager forMandies Magical Marketplace in Pike Creek, said shes come across people of all backgrounds at the Lewes store. A fraction of those customers, such as those with severe illnesses, have turned to magic because theyre desperate.

They're coming in here because they don't know what else to do, said Fitzgerald, 25, of Milford. They're kind of at the end of the road. And they just want something that will make them feel a little bit better.

Theres a stereotype that all witches are bad. But Stevenson says thats not true, although dark magic is real.

Each witchmakes a personal choice how they want to conduct themselves, she explained.

There arethree types of witches: White, black and gray.

White witches are good. Black witches can do curses against others. There's a meme about gray witches being "bi-hexual," since theyfall in-between black and white witches. Yetthey strive to be white. Butif somebody really makes them mad,theyre going to attackback.

That's where I am, Stevenson said. I'm wanting to do good for the world. But if you attack my family or my children its on.

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Stevenson said its her understanding that most witches are gray like her. Fitzgerald and Chrissy Conn, who both work at Mandies Magical Marketplace, both identify as gray witches, too.

The shop owner explained that she believes many witches are born into the lifestyle.At some point in her bloodline, she suspects she probably had a witchy auntie in there.

To be clear, there are also male witches. In fact, Mandie Stevensons husband, Josh Stevenson, is the only male witch in their coven, or witches group. Back in the day, male witches used to be called warlocks. But that title is frowned upon today because it has a negative connotation.

There are lots of spells in witchcraft. Some are said to help with healing, protection and even prosperity. For some spells, ingredients mightinclude, urine, candles, a lock of hair andspices.

Fitzgerald, who doesnt castdark spells unless its justified, said she recently performed a banish spell on someone who was being awful to me. The spell prevents the person from messing with her, she said.

For thatspell, Fitzgerald typically uses a mason jar, which is a popular tool for spells, and shell mix ingredients like vinegar and hot spices such as crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper. She likes to burn ablack candle and let itmelt over the jar.

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Yet Stevenson and Fitzgerald warn that casting dark spells is serious business. The person doing the casting should not be lazy, they warn, because if you accidentally targetthe wrongperson, or you don'thave a goodreason to do the spellin the first place, that spell can backfire on you.

In hersituation, Fitzgerald said she was being kind to the person who was botheringher, andkilling them with kindness. But it got to a point where they kept attacking her, so she had to keep them away from her.

It won't hurt them. Nothing bad will happen to them. It'll just remove them from my life.

Princess Llucky, a 37-year-old witch with a full beard (who prefers the pronouns she/her), said she doesn't seeall spells as being spooky.

Llucky described spells as trying to manifest something from the unseen world (or your imagination) into the material world.Hence, any person who says a prayeris casting a spell, according to the Rehoboth Beach resident.

Awitch believes they can use magic to create prosperity, which is a light spell.For example, Stevenson said, if a witch needs to pay a bill or debt, they can write that amount on a piece of paper and put it in a mason jar. Then they can add honey and sugar to the jar.

What that does is, it sweetens that intent to happen in your life. So it's going to help it work, she said. It's kind of like signaling in the universe that you need this done.

Growing up was rough for Stevenson. As a young girl, she used to get haunted by spirits that would hover over her bed, or theyd be hanging out in the corner of her room.

Ghosts would ask her for help.

I would always sleep with my lights on in my room, because it was so scary, she said. I would try to hide from them.

She would tell her mom, but the spirits didnt stop bothering her. Even when she hid under the covers, she could still see them. With terror in her heart, shed tell them to leave her alone.Sometimes it worked.

Her otherstrategy was to pretend she couldnt see or hear them.

Scared straight:13 Halloween events that will terrorize (or tickle) you in Delaware

At the age of 16, Stevensonwas drawn to spellcasting and began reading books onitfromthe library. As time went on, she had a spiritual awakeningand finallyaccepted that was she different, and she started to embrace being a witch and psychic medium.

As a psychic, Stevenson said, she can predict things about people. And as a medium, she tries to connect clients with spirits, usually their loved ones who died.

Some will look exactly like an old lady, like a grandmother. Some look young. Some are just blurry gray, the Lewes witch said. Sometimes I can hear them talk very easily and have a whole conversation. And sometimes it's broken up or distorted.

Conn, her coven member, isnt a psychic or medium. But she has seen spirits.Last week, the Rehoboth Beach resident said she was driving in the dark near Crabby Dicks restaurant in town.

She said she saw somebody dart across the highway. So she slowed down, because she wasnt sure if the second person, who was off the highway, was gonna chase after their friend. Before long, Conn realized the first pedestrian vanished.

I was waiting for the other person to run across and they disappeared. That was weird, the 53-year-old witch said, adding the second person vanished, too.

She now thinks it may have been ghosts."When I started thinking about the figure, it was very dark, but it was light. But I can't even really describe it.'

First and foremost, witches and Satanists are from two different groups, althoughits a popular belief that they're similar, because both have pentagrams.

But those pentagrams arent the same, Stevenson said.Satanists have an upside-down pentagram, while witches have one thats right-side up.

Witchy pentagrams, Fitzgerald said,are a symbol of protection and representfive elements: earth, air, fire,water and spirit.

Fellow witch Robin Ward, who shares a coven withStevenson and Fitzgerald, said most witches, including her, dont even believe in the devil. Yet there are outliers.

Unfortunately, there are black witches, the ones who really do worship Satan, which Im starting to learn a little bit more about that, said Ward, of Lewes, who showed up to last week'sfull-moon ceremony wearing a witch's hat and shirt witha broom on it that read: "Frequent Flyer."

Along with the theme that all witches are evil, Ward also wants todebunkthe myth that all witches are unattractive and ugly, since she considers herself to be fabulous.

Stevenson pointed out that many of their peersare peaceful people who care about the environment and helping others. Her own goal, she said, is to work with the homeless.

Seven months ago, she started the private Facebook group Witches of Delaware, which has nearly 2,000 members.While everyone doesnt live in Delaware,a number of them do, and the Lewes witchfeels theres finally strength in numbers to help make the community a better place.

Stevenson also has a traditionof waiving costs for some of her customers who come to her for healing. I do a lot of pro bono for like rape victims, molestation, things like that, because I don't want to charge them."

While the pagan festival Samhain is commonly associated with witches, pop culture has perpetuated themyth that the event is pronounced as "Sam-Hayne." But the true pronunciation of the festival, Stevenson said, should be"Sow-Win," where the first partof the word rhymes with"cow."

She's still salty about howHollywood continues to falsely portraywitches, often reducing them to just cat-loving and broom-riding women whoplaywith magic.

Stevenson would drop a house on some of those Hollywood script writers. But she's trying to be a goodwitch.

I watch some and I actually get pissed off. I mean, people [in Hollywood] try. But they never truly get it.

To learn more about Mandie's Magical Marketplace, visitmandiesmagicalreadings.comor call (302) 313-5950

Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.

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Delaware witches have come out of the broom closet, casting spells and having fun - The News Journal

Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, recently held a webinar aimed at encouraging women empowerment and development in Nigeria. The event-themed Lattes (Ladies At the Table Empowerment Series) was designed to furnish women with the required information to enable them to succeed in their businesses, careers, relationships, and homes.

The inaugural Lattes session themed: Balancing Career Success, and Personal Wellness featured a Human Resource expert as well as a wellness specialist who shared tips on work-life balance and healthy living respectively.

The Executive Director, Business Development at Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, Nike Bajomo stated that Stanbic IBTC has always been at the vanguard of women empowerment. She said:

We believe that there are opportunities for every woman to thrive and blossom, and as such, we consistently create avenues to help women make the most of these opportunities. At Stanbic IBTC, empowering women remains a core priority for us. The pandemic particularly impacted women like many of us had to balance our natural roles as nurturers with showing up every day at our jobs with our A-game intact while dealing with all the challenges that came with the new normal. We, therefore, are hoping that Latte will be an avenue to help women bounce back quicker and continue to thrive well after the pandemic is completely behind us.

Lattes featured Tolulope Agiri, the Group Chief Human Resources Officer for Interswitch, and Sherese Ijewere, the Founder of Carib Health Limited. They both shared insights and experiences with participants on how women can balance work and wellness in their chosen field.

Tolulope opined that lots of women find it hard to create time for themselves and mostly play the role of caregivers while altering career paths. Sighting the pandemic as an example, She went further to explain how women struggled to keep their homes and their jobs amid the covid19 pandemic.

In her remark, Tolulope said :

it is of paramount importance to set aside time for family and dedicate a portion of that time for self-care and personal development. While no one has it all, a strong support system that ensures women thrive at home and work cannot be overemphasised. A support system is critical to your growth and mental wellness as it helps create work-life balance.

She advised women to make demands that will make their jobs easier in their respective places of work and urged them to aim for leadership positions and work synergistically with their employers to make work-life balance a reality.

Sherese Ijewere spoke on how women can incorporate wellness into their day-to-day lives, stating that maintaining a healthy lifestyle contributes to a successful life. She added that an imbalance in self-care could instigate unwanted illnesses. She admonished women to take care of themselves through a deliberate practice of self-care resulting in higher productivity levels, reducing fatigue, and enabling them to take care of others.

Ibiyemi Mezu, Executive Director, Business Development at Stanbic IBTC applauded the initiative in her closing remark and restated Stanbic IBTCs commitment to creating initiatives such as this to help women harness the genius in them at all times, regardless of their profession and ensuring that women have all the support required to be the best version of themselves. Participants were also reminded that Stanbic IBTC was available to offer pension support and financial advice and can be reached via 01 271 6000 or [emailprotected]

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ICYMI: Here are some highlights from The Ladies At The Table Empowerment Series - BellaNaija

Women feel safer in the UAE than any other country, according to a major survey by Georgetown University.

The Women, Peace and Security Index is in its third year and gives insight into the changing patterns in womens empowerment across the globe.

The UAE was ranked first in terms of community safety, with 98.5 per cent of women saying they felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhoods at night. Singapore came second at 96.9 per cent.

The index plotted the percentage of women aged 15 and older who reported if they felt safe walking alone at night in the city or area in which they lived.

Tracking the progress of women and pinpointing persistent structural gender inequalities are critical to informing equitable policymaking

Jeni Klugman, Georgetown Institute

Researchers said measuring this safety perception was critical to a woman's mobility and influenced her ability to look for opportunities outside the home.

The study was published by Georgetown Universitys Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the Peace Research Institute Oslo.

Afghanistan was listed as the nation in which women feel the least safe, with Syria faring the worst globally on counts of organised violence and regionally on community safety.

In the developed world, more men than women felt safe walking alone at night in countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

Latin America performed poorly on community safety. A little more than one woman in three felt safe at night, compared with almost four women in five in East Asia and the Pacific.

More than 80 countries showed improvements, with the number of Malaysian women who felt safe rising to 49 per cent from 31 per cent.

Earlier this year, a separate survey by Numbeo named Abu Dhabi as the safest city in the world, with Dubai and Sharjah also in the top 10.

Singapore's crime rate is among the lowest in the world. Reuters

The survey seeks to highlight how lasting peace is possible when women have better access to jobs, are represented in decision-making and involved in conflict resolution.

The UAE climbed to 24, from 43 four years ago. The Emirates placed just behind the US, Belgium and Australia in the list that was led by Nordic countries.

Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark were the top performers based on public polices that promote inclusion, ensure parental leave for women and men, and offer state-sponsored childcare.

Mothers and fathers had access to at least one year paid parental leave to even out childcare responsibilities in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the study said.

Tracking the progress of women and pinpointing persistent structural gender inequalities are critical to informing equitable policymaking, especially in efforts to build back better in the wake of Covid, said Jeni Klugman, managing director of the Georgetown Institute.

The UAE was also among 16 countries where the representation of women in parliament increased by at least 10 per cent. Womens parliamentary representation still averages only about one in four globally.

The research reflected a worsening of inequalities among countries at the bottom of the list.

The rise of the Taliban and the threats faced by girls and women in Afghanistan resulted in the country being the worst performer on the index, followed by Syria, Yemen, Pakistan and Iraq.

For the first time, South Asia featured as the worst performing region, showing high levels of discrimination, violence by intimate partners and discriminatory norms that disenfranchise women. Fewer than one woman in four in the region was in paid work that is less than half the global average.

Researchers said the Covid-19 pandemic triggered further challenges for women who juggled paid jobs and unpaid care.

The pandemic caused major reversals in rates of paid employment for women. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 17 million women lost paid work compared to 14 million men.

Globally, nine in 10 women, mostly young, urban and less educated are unemployed compared to seven in 10 men, dealing a blow to savings potential and intensifing the gender gap.

Women-owned businesses closed at higher rates as they were smaller in size and operated in the informal sector, so they were exposed to financial risk and had less cash to cover costs.

Data showed violence against women in a relationship in Iran soared to 65 per cent from 54 per cent and that job losses for women or their partner dramatically increased the likelihood of aggression.

On the legal front, the Middle East and North Africa was the worst performing region in terms of the number of discriminatory laws.

Saudi Arabia gained 18 slots to land in 102nd place in 2021. Researchers said this was due to improved access to schooling of girls and legal reforms that eased restrictions on womens employment.

1. UAE

2. Singapore

3. Turkmenistan

4. Norway

5. Qatar

6. Armenia

7. Tajikistan

8. Uzbekistan

9. Luxembourg

10. Slovenia

11. Austria

12. China

Updated: October 30th 2021, 1:15 PM

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UAE tops global ranking for women's personal safety - The National

Ajinkya Dhariya, founder and CEO PadCare LabsImage: Mexy Xavier

While studying mechanical engineering at SGGS College, Nanded, Ajinkya Dhariya had encountered waste-pickers separating diapers and other noxious sanitary waste like used pads by hand. I asked them where the waste came from and where it would eventually end up. They had no clue, says Dhariya. Neither did any of his friends he checked with.

It didnt take long for Dhariyawhose mother worked in the social sector and for womens empowermentto figure out the answer: To landfills and water bodies, unsegregated and unhygienic, while their super-absorbent polymer sucked up vast reserves of the freshwater supply. That immediately told me there was a problem to address, he adds.

Couple this with the fact that each sanitary napkin, with its constituent 90 percent plastic, takes somewhere between 500 and 800 years to decompose. Which means the first known disposable pad, the Southball Pad manufactured in 1888 in the Western world, is still contributing to waste somewhere on the planet. This was a trigger point for PadCare Labs, says the 25-year-old.

In 2018, a year after graduating from college, Dhariya set up the company and designed a machine that could disinfect and shred used sanitary napkins, pass it through a solution to deactivate the super absorbent polymer and separate the components into recyclable cellulose that could be used in the packaging industry, or to manufacture vases, paver blocks, what have you. In 20 minutes, this machine can break down 50 pads.

The technology is split into two ends: The front an automated bin installed at washrooms where used sanitary napkins are disposed of; while, at the back, a 10-foot central processing unit (a washing machine with a shredder on topthats how Dhariya describes it) that converts those unhygienic, used pads into separated cellulose for upcycling. Which means no longer will the ragpickers have to trawl through filthy sanitary waste, nor would they add up to the global toxic heap.

Dhariya started going commercial in March 2020 and, despite a dip during the furious second Covid wave in April and May 2021, has onboarded 16 corporate clients in Mumbai and Pune, including the likes of P&G, JSW and Raymond. Almost 550 units of the bins, which are fitted with special liners developed in-house, which can deodorise and partially disinfect the pads for 30 days, have been installed in the offices of his clients. As of now, he houses a central processing unit at his workplace in Punes Pashan, along the Mumbai-Pune highway, but is manufacturing four more for locations across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurugram.

Dhariyas technology has drawn applause from industry stalwarts like Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra who tweeted their work is as important as designing satellites, while his brisk pace of growththat has spurred him to look for a bigger office space than his current duplex rowhouse in Punes Periwinkle Societyhas pleasantly surprised his mentors. One among them is Sijo Varghese, manager-innovation and startup, Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSIS), the governments nodal agency for executing its startup policy.

Each year, MSIS selects 24 innovative startups and nurtures them with technical and funding knowhow. PadCares was one of the winners in the 2018 cohort. We were in a dilemma when we selected PadCares, doubtful whether this product will actually get on the market and can have a business model, says Varghese. Ajinkya played a clear role in taking that forward. The key differentiation that Ajinkya brings in as a founder is connecting the right ecosystem partners. That helped him scale the prototype into a finished product. He has the ability to identify the right networking agent within the ecosystem at the right time.

The vote of confidence from his backers as well his clients has given Dhariya enough gumption to eye rapid scaleup. Through his three-year journey, Dhariya had received 2.5 crore as grants from government as well as private institutions like the Infosys Foundation. In December 2020, he raised his first equity investmenta pre-seed round of 75 lakh from the Leap Fund by Birac (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, a not-for-profit public sector enterprise set up by the department of biotechnology). Dhariya is now actively looking for investors for subsequent rounds of funding. The pre-seed round was to take this from the lab pilot to the commercial mode. Now, we are looking for seed funding to scale across Bengaluru, Gurugram and Hyderabad, he says.

Our annual recurring revenue just touched 54 lakh in September, at 4.5 lakh a month. But we are expecting some more corporate orders in the coming months and I think we can reach about 1.5 crore revenue at the end of this fiscal, adds Dhariya. Our growth isnt in pull mode, instead, the customer is pushing us to expand. We dont need to work hard to acquire new customers, enough inquiries are coming in already.

*****

His idea won him the Innovation Challenge Award-SoCH (Solutions For Community Health) organised by Birac in 2018. Dhariya was given 65 lakh to design, develop and test his solution and come up with a basic prototype. In July 2018, he incorporated PadCare Labs, and started operating from a tiny space at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune, where he was mentored at the Venture Center, among Indias largest science business incubators and a not-for-profit hosted by the NCL.

The early days were difficult. This was a new space and we had no data. We had to finetune our machine by conducting more than a thousand trials, some at the washrooms at the Venture Center itself, says Dhariya. The initial idea was to mount the machines on the wall, like hand-dryers, and have an integrated processing unit in the washroom itself. But most cubicles in an Indian washroom dont have a plug point, or additional water connection for the machine to function. Besides, most women arent so much interested in how the pads are processed; they just want some privacy and a hygienic disposal, adds Dhariya. Thats how we came up with the idea of splitting the bin from the processing unit.

Says Smita Kale, manager-bioincubation of Venture Center, and a nominee director at PadCare: His technology, business model and approach have all evolved. Not only has he gone from a shy engineer to a confident business-owner, hes always interacted with his users and adapted his product to their needs. Understanding your users makes all the

Diving deep into the user psyche has enabled Dhariya to not just alter the design of the machine, but also the disinfection technologyfrom an expensive ultraviolet-based mechanism to the current chemo-mechanical (with a solution christened Cytoslay), and his revenue modelfrom paid bins to paid service. Dhariya now provides the sensor-led disposal bins for free and recovers the costs through fortnightly charges of 550 per service, for emptying the bins and bringing back the used pads to the central processing unit.

We realised that most of our clients dont want to bear a capex but are okay with operational expenses, he says. We sell the cellulose, the final output, to suppliers at 30-40 per kg. It covers our processing cost of the sanitary napkins (at 30 paise per pad), so our net operational cost is zero. Says Varghese of MSIS: In 2018, the prototype he made wasnt market-fit. Now its ergonomically designed and has taken into account all the requirements of a typical washroom cubicle. It has also taken a leap in terms of the design, right from installing sensors in opening the lid to capturing the details of specific bins through a QR code, the logistics, and also dispersing the output.

Ajinkya Dhariya with products like plant pots, composite table and paver blocks that are made using the recycled sanitary padsImage: Mexy Xavier

Along with the bins, PadCare has also developed sanitary napkin vending machines that operate on digital pay. For this, the company has tied up with a number of eco-friendly pad manufacturers. When a woman disposes a sanitary napkin, chances are she will need another, says Dhariya. This closes the circular economy loop at a local level.

As he sets off on the growth runway at a frenetic speed, Dhariya now has to contend with the vagaries of expansiontransforming from a scientist to a CEO. He saw an early glimpse of the responsibilities during the first Covid lockdown when his manufacturing facility was shut and he pivoted briefly, using his disinfection technology to sanitise N95 masks when they were scarce in the market, as well as selling a thousand units of a non-alcoholic sanitiser for surface cleaning. He has now transferred the technology to the Kinetic Group. Before that, I was a products guy, sitting in a room and developing technology, says Dhariya. But through these months and through the discussion with the Kinetic Group, I began to understand how business works, how to sell.

I have literally seen Ajinkya and the team grow, says Venugopal Gupta, director, accelerator and investments, Toilet Board Coalition (TBC), a patchwork of members from the private sector, donors and the investment community that helps scale market-based solutions to universal access to sanitation. When they entered our accelerator programme in 2020, they had a product lens. They were highly technical people in the menstrual hygiene management sector. But Ive seen them evolve into a business mindset. Theyve signed up customers fast, they are getting their communication in order. Theyve created a momentum.

For pan-India expansion, Dhariya is exploring the franchise route at the B2B2C level: Sell the machines to operating partners who will take care of on-ground operations, like installing bins, servicing and back-end processing. That will help us cater to corporates who have multiple offices across cities, but prefer to stick to the one-vendor policy, while maintaining unit economics, he adds.

Besides, hes aware he cant foray into households with the bins. For that, hes launched a paid pilot project of a sanitary disposal pouch. Why will women pay for pouches that are already provided for free by manufacturers like P&G? Because of our packaging. Most women consider the current ones provided by the manufacturers as part of the pads. Only a different packaging gives them a sense of privacy and empowerment, says Dhariya.

Testing bacterial load of the waste to ensure it is within prescribed limitsImage: Mexy Xavier

Will this bring PadCare in collision with deep-pocketed multinationals, who operate in the same space? Sure, there will be enough giants to buy out the company, but Varghese of MSIS believes Dhariyas strategy of connecting various ecosystems in the menstrual hygiene management space will help them stand by themselves.

Agrees Gupta. As part of TBCs accelerator programme, PadCare was mentored by US-based personal care giants Kimberly-Clark. That wouldnt have been possible if they looked at PadCare as a competitor, says Gupta. Besides, PadCare has also tied up with P&G that manufactures sanitary napkins exclusively for the vending machines run by the company. PadCare isnt in collision with the companies, rather it complements them, adds

Besides, even though PadCare operates in a niche space, with a target group of menstruating women, the space is big and stable enough, with younger members joining the group as the older ones exit. Given the pace at which urban centres are transitioning, moving to something like a bio-friendly menstrual cup is going to take long. When that does happen, Im sure PadCare will be ready with a new, tweaked product. Theyre already testing their technology on diapers, says Varghese.

PadCares sanitary napkin vending machines that operate on digital payImage: Mexy Xavier

And while bio-degradable sanitary napkins have started to arrive in the fast-growing fem-hygiene market, they still need to be decomposed. Maybe eight months instead of 800 years, says Dhariya. But decomposing also means we are just ending its life. With our machine, you can extract value out of it.

By trying to emerge as a one-stop solution for menstrual hygiene management, PadCare is gathering the stomach and steam to outrun its competitors in the sector, which is slowly starting to get crowded. Will it succeed? The experts are upbeat. Says Varghese: Six years down the line, I feel PadCare will be a unicorn in the space.

(This story appears in the 05 November, 2021 issue of Forbes India. You can buy our tablet version from Magzter.com. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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Sanitary waste usually ends up in landfills and seas. This innovation recycles it to protect environment, empower women - Forbes India

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

The need to break the glass ceiling has existed for the past couple of centuries, and women have been fighting long and hard for that big moment. Available statistics suggest that 36% of small businesses worldwide are owned by women. People ask me about what its like being a woman in business at my age, and I always have the same answer: Its difficult, there are challenges, but you push through. My challenges, of course, pale in comparison to the million others who dont have the environment, access, or support that I have had. However, we often hear the words that its difficult, but I think its important that we take the time to break it down. I am a highly solution-focused person, for better and for worse, and so, I would like to plug in some guidance to all those navigating similar experiences.

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LESSON 1:PROTECTION VERSUS ENCOURAGEMENT

Yes, everyone is familiar with the savior complex, but it gets so much worse in the world of business. I want to say this gets better as you get older, but I have seen it happen to my colleagues with 20 and 30 years of experience as well. The assumption that we, as women in business, are nave, standing like deer-in-the-headlights, is a real stereotype that we find ourselves fighting against more often than not.

Getting advice from those more experienced than you can be useful; however, it is essential that you question the intention of that advice. Is the intention one of protection, fear of your inability to succeed, or for your safety? Here is what I am going to say: you know your work better than anyone. Trust your own instincts and critical analysis. For instance, when we at Mirai Partners were entering Lagos as a new location for our business, most people gave us incredibly discouraging advice. We thought differently, and here we are, three years later, with state-level contracts and further expansion planned over the next three years.

LESSON 2:BREAKING INTO THE BOYS CLUB

Do I feel entirely comfortable going for a meeting or networking at events after work hours or outside a conference? The real answer is no, but I have done it many times, because when you own your own business, you have to. A 2019 survey revealed that out of 600 female entrepreneurs, nearly 56% had experienced some form of discrimination or harassment in their capacity as business owners. As such, the reason many women do not feel comfortable with gatherings associated with work is that we fear that men in those spaces will behave in a way that we dont expect or want. However, as someone whos had her own share of such odd experiences, I do have a set of ground rules to prevent such occurrences in the future, which might help you as well:

- If you are not meeting someone in their office, try and pick a neutral and public place.

- If they make you feel uncomfortable, no business opportunity is worth it.

- Personal questions about your relationship status shouldnt be asked, so dont be afraid to not answer.

Related:Breaking Patterns: The Problem With Unconscious Bias In The Middle East's Workplaces (And How To Manage It)

LESSON 3:CHOOSE YOUR LABELS: #GIRLBOSS, OR JUST #BOSS?

Change takes time, and even if we havent broken the glass ceiling as we would like to, its essential that we celebrate the small wins. I am going to be honest here- I am not the biggest fan of the #girlboss movement, but I can agree that it has had a paramount effect on the rise in women owning their power in the workplace. But heres the thing though: why cant we just be seen as a #boss? I always come across female-focused small business sessions or female empowerment initiatives by human resources teams, and my response to them is always that the issues women face at work is not a womens issue, its a gender issue.

As such, for us to push the dial, its important that women in breaking the glass ceiling includes men, seeing as it involves them. It can be likened to if all the animals at the zoo broke loose, but the main gate keys were still with the keeper. In the same manner, no matter how manyceremonial awards we may receive, we arent getting out of those gates. As an entrepreneur, I want to be known for the work I do- not that somehow me being a woman makes it more special. I love supporting or advocating for people starting businesses, not specifically men or women. The gender of the founder does not and should not have an impact on how you see the quality or value of the business.

LESSON 4/ BE THE ROLE MODELS YOU SEEK

I feel like this is a big ask, because the representation of women in business is already skewed. This isnt about celebrating leaders because they are women; this is about showcasing more women in halls of fame, business case studies, and lists alongside men- and not separately. In addition to having representation, I think it is also important to ensure we are able to look up to a diverse set of representation. So, not just in terms of race and ethnicity, but in terms of personality, industry, and impact. For instance, I wish we saw more women doing incredible work in the public sector, education, healthcare, engineering, agriculture, and so on.

It isnt all about tech, finance, and retail. It is also important to portray women as they are- as leaders. Not every female boss is a tyrant who lacks empathy, as we also have fearless and compassionate female leaders, shy and intelligent female leaders, and charismatic and artistic female leaders. You can also have leaders that are women that have had multiple failures before they succeeded, but because we are so afraid to make a mistake, we dont want to be that women in business who failed.

LESSON 5/ BE YOUR OWN CHEERLEADER

You are going to have moments of loneliness or highly stressful moments. These are going to be very trying and testing times, and this is why you need to invest in yourself. In order to build a business that is resilient, you must foster that within yourself. I say that from personal experience and not as a self-help guide. In the moments when I did not listen to what my mind and body needed, my business always landed up suffering. Whether it be chronic pain, strained eyes, or deteriorating mental health, you can only avoid it for so long.

As a woman, you are already up against a million barriers, especially the silent ones youve been addressing for years that have created your insecurities. This is why we need to pay attention to the underlying causes of our emotional and physical state of being- its not only your business that needs to be stable, you deserve a better quality of life too. I recommend therapy for everyone, but if its too expensive, please check out the online portal, BetterHelp. If you just dont think its for you, then try a business coach- at least they will help you manage difficult situations, conversations, or even just time management.

LESSON 6/ TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

Cultivating healthy habits will in turn help you deal with the deadlines and other pressures that come with being an entrepreneur. From paying attention to your physical, emotional, and psychological health, all of which are interconnected, you will be able to focus properly and run your business effectively. With reports stating that self-employed women are at a higher risk of having poor mental health due to gender obstacles and isolation, it is important to trumpet the need take the issue seriously.

You dont need an award, recognition, or anyone to tell you what you are doing is right at work. Your work will speak for itself; however, that, by no way, means that you shouldnt put yourself out there. It is essential that if you do find yourself doing well, seek out conversations with journalists, media, and potential companies you would like to partner with. At the end of the day though, Id like you to remember this Mohadesa Najumi quote that someone shared with me, one that I will never forget: The person to fear most is a woman who needs no validation.

Related:Entrepreneur Middle East's Achieving Women 2021: H.E. Hend Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador To France

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Be The Change: Lessons From A Woman In Business (For Other Women In Business) - Entrepreneur

Mpowered Health's platform will now offer its customers the opportunity to review, compare, and enroll in a broad selection of health insurance plans for all life stages

Mpowered Health partners with eHealth

LOS ALTOS, Calif., Oct. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mpowered Health, a consumer health empowerment company, today announced a partnership with eHealth, Inc. (www.ehealth.com), a leading online health insurance marketplace.

Through its partnership with eHealth, Mpowered Health's consumers who include seniors, uninsured and underinsured families, can now review, compare, and enroll in a broad selection of plans, with access to tools that will help them find plans covering their preferred doctors and personal prescription drug needs at the lowest price.

"Our vision is to provide consumers the convenience, choice, transparency and access they need to make better healthcare decisions for themselves and their families," says Nandini Devi, Founder & CEO, Mpowered Health. "Providing a convenient, personalized coverage purchasing experience is aligned with this vision. We are pleased to partner with eHealth in bringing this convenience to our consumers."

"Mpowered Health's commitment to promoting market transparency and empowering consumers makes it a natural partner for eHealth," said John Connor, eHealth's Vice President and General Manager of Strategic Partnerships. "At eHealth, we're dedicated to serving the needs of all health insurance consumers, from individuals and families to Medicare beneficiaries, by helping them find the very best coverage for their personal needs and budget. We're excited to work with Mpowered Health toward that goal."

Prior to founding Mpowered Health, Nandini co-founded ZeOmega and helped scale it into one of the largest population health management solutions companies in the industry.

Nandini founded Mpowered Health in February 2019 as a bold move intended to give consumers a voice, the transparency, the choice, the access and the convenience they need to manage their own and their family's healthcare from birth to end-of-life.

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About Mpowered HealthMpowered Health is a consumer-driven healthcare technology company committed to creating a better healthcare experience for consumers and enterprises. The California-based company empowers consumers to take charge of their healthcare by providing mobile-led solutions that improve transparency, choice, access and convenience.

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you or someone you know is in danger, call a local hotline, or the U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 and TTY 1-800-787-3224, or 911 if it is safe to do so.

Domestic abuse is more than just physical harmin many cases, it also quietly hurts victims by stripping away their control over their own finances and destroying their financial health.

Domestic financial abuse is rarely discussed, but it goes hand-in-hand with domestic violence. A 2011 Center for Financial Security study of 103 women who had suffered domestic violence found that 99% of them also reported experiencing economic abuse, defined as a partner controlling a womans ability to acquire, use and maintain economic resources. It often prevents victims from leaving their abuser because they dont have the financial means to do so.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the perfect storm of a shock recession, widespread job loss and families being forced to stay at home was feared to have resulted in a sharp increase in domestic violence incidents. Given that the two are closely related, its safe to assume that this correlated with an increase in financial abuse.

Financial abuse can happen to anyone, at any time, regardless of whether theyve been married to their partner for years or are entering a new relationship. Here are the different types of financial abuse and how to identify them.

Kim Scouller, a financial services professional at WealthWave, leads its women empowerment and domestic violence awareness for women programs. She emphasizes how hard it can often be for victims to identify and decipher financial abuse red flags. (Note: Most research on domestic violence is within traditional cisgender male and female relationships. However, domestic abuse within same-sex relationships occurs at a similar rate to heterosexual relationships).

When we look at a list of red flags, they seem real obvious to us. But for a lot of women, its very incremental how an abuser goes from someone you feel is taking care of you and is doing all of these things because they love you, to someone whos taken complete control over your finances and your life, Scouller says.

One Reddit post illustrates the subtle, sinister ways that financial abuse can creep into a romantic relationship. Many Reddit users shared their experiences of partners restricting access to their own money, spending all of their money or racking up debt in their name. Often, it took victims a long time to recognize that they were financially abused, and they had a hard time convincing others that anything was wrong.

He first began stealing my debit card out of my wallet when I was sleeping or showering and would go take care of his needs with my money while he was unemployed, writes one user who identifies themself as slowhoney. When he did find a job, he was even more abusive at this point and kept my debit card from me, and didnt allow me to have any access to my money at all, despite having his own bank account.

These are some common forms of financial abuseand resources to help protect or recover from it.

Some couples choose to have a relationship CFO to manage their finances, especially if they have a predilection for balancing the books, or simply enjoy doing it more. Thats normal. What isnt normal is when a partner takes control of the finances and doesnt give the other partner access to accounts and funds.

A primary form of financial abuse is stripping away economic self-sufficiencysuch as having the income necessary to meet basic needsfrom the victim. It can often be done through the guise of taking care of the finances but leaving the victim in the dark about whats being done with their money.

According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), after an abuser takes control of the finances, they may give the victim an allowance but lessen it over time. This can eventually prevent the victim from obtaining basic needs items, such as food and medicine.

In an effort to prevent the victim from having access to money, the abuser may forbid the victim to workor sabotage their current employment. That can include harassing the victim at their workplace or physically abusing them before important meetings, so they show up unprepared and distracted.

In these cases, the victim is often pushed to the point where they feel like they have no choice but to quit their job. Being unemployed leaves victims in vulnerable financial positions where they become completely dependent upon their financial abuser.

An abuser can also prevent a victim from looking for jobs or attending interviews.

Economic exploitation is one of the most severe aspects of financial abuse. In this case, an abuser will make a point to intentionally destroy the victims financial resources or credit. Theyll open a line of credit under the victims name without their consent, refuse to pay bills under the victims name or gamble away jointly earned money.

Oftentimes, the victim has no access to their financial accountsso they have no idea this is happening. In the meantime, their credit score is often being ruined, which means theyll have a hard time getting approved for financial products, like an auto loan or mortgage, in the future.

For years, [the victim] can be haunted with bankruptcies, tax liens and bad debt that follows them around, Scouller says.

It is possible to dispute identity theft with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the major credit bureaus. Joint accounts, however, are more difficult to untangleand depending on your state, you may be liable to debt incurred in the account, even if it wasnt you swiping the credit card. Some businesses require a police report to remove fraudulent debt from a victims accounts, and its not always safe for a victim to file one. Oftentimes, the victim must wait until theyre able to successfully escape their abuser in order to take the many steps toward economic recovery.

Realizing youre in an abusive situation is a traumatizing and difficult reality to grapple with. Creating an escape plan could be your next stepbut it requires planning and consideration for your safety and that of your children if you have any.

Here are steps to take to escape an abusive relationship:

Leaving an abusive relationship is the most dangerous time for the victim. Erin Scott, executive director at the Family Violence Law Center, stresses the importance of creating a safety plan before physically leaving an abusive situation.

There are a million variations of this, and each survivor is different, but the first option we explore is finding a safe person to go to, like a relative or a friend, Scott says.

Scott acknowledges that not everyone will have access to shelter with people they know, either because they lack a support system or the abusive partner could know where these people live, which could create a dangerous situation. In that case, turning to an emergency shelter or domestic violence shelter would be the next best option.

You can search for a domestic violence shelter near you with this online database.

For Scouller, creating what she calls a personal financial safety plan is also crucial for a victim to leave their abusive situation. For her, that means stashing away cash to help make an escape happen.

Scouller says stashing cash can mean hiding it or opening a secret bank account to hold the funds. These are, however, extremely risky actions to takeif an abuser was to find the funds, they could get angry and punish their partner.

If you arent able to stash cash, a shelter will provide basic living necessities to you for free, and oftentimes will later assist you through the process of filing for government benefits until you secure a job and are able to get back on your feet financially.

If youre in a position where you have access to essential documents, such as your Social Security card, health insurance card, or passport, Scott recommends bringing them with you when you escape. If you have children, you should bring theirs as well.

These documents will often be necessary for filing for government benefits or starting a new job.

There are a variety of resources available to survivors, such as domestic violence shelters. These resources are free and will provide basic necessities to you at no cost, such as toiletries, food and clothing, and will often grant immediate short-term housing to keep a survivor and their children safe.

If youre worried about finding a legitimate shelter on your own, you can always call the U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for recommendations of where to go.

Knowing the warning signs can help you recognize if youre a victim of financial abuse. From there, you can put a plan in place to help escape an abusive situation and there are resources to help you,even if youve lost control of your finances.

Becoming financially literate is one of the most empowering things anyone can do. It teaches you how to manage your own finances and can give you the knowledge you need to rebuild your life after escaping.

There are numerous nonprofits that empower domestic abuse survivors through financial literacy. The Allstate Foundation Moving Ahead Curriculum, for example, educates survivors on crucial financial topics such as budgeting, managing debt and improving credit. The curriculum, which is free and self-guided, focuses on helping survivors move from short-term safety to long-term security.

Freeform.org is another resource that aims to create an ecosystem for survivors to build wealth and financial security. It offers free online webinars, such as Protecting Your Money as a Survivor, to help achieve that mission.

Once you know the basic financial principles, and the pieces of a solid financial plan, you can start putting the things together that you need to start over, Scouller says.

After escaping the abusive situation, you should assess just how damaged your financial health is. You can do this by requesting your credit reports, for free, via AnnualCreditReport.com.

Pulling your credit reports wont tell you your credit scores, but it will detail the various accounts open under your name, their balances and whether payments have been made on time. Youll need this information when you file an identity theft case with the FTC.

To prevent more accounts from being opened under your name, you can freeze your credit reports for free with each of the three consumer credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Doing so will block lenders from pulling your credit reports to approve or deny new loans.

Read More: How To Freeze Your Credit Report

Escaping an abusive relationship is a stressful, scary and emotional time. After leaving and assessing any financial damage you may have incurred due to financial abuse, you could be feeling overwhelmedor even defeatedin rebuilding your personal finances.

Its important to remember, though, that you wont be able to fix everything overnight. Things such as filing for identity fraud, rebuilding a credit score or accumulating savings take time.

In the meantime, be kind to yourselfand know that there are resources and people out there waiting to support you, even after your initial escape.

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3 Warning Signs Of Financial Abuse In Relationships - Forbes