New reports on sexual harassment and promoting social mobility may make some men feel disadvantaged.

The American election has been dominating the press lately.  Claims of sexual harassment by Donald Trump made headlines around the same time that the Universities UK Taskforce examining violence against women, harassment and hate crime affecting university students released their report: Changing the Culture.  Whilst this received some coverage in the UK press, it was only a brief flare of interest compared to the ongoing saga of the US election.  Even less noticeable, was the release in mid October of the 'Working In Partnership: Enabling Social Mobility In HigherEducation' Report that aims to improve "education and career outcomes for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, from black, minority and ethnic groups, and for disabled students" (Universities UK).  Both of these reports contain a number of recommendations as to how universities can improve the univeristy experience, and indeed access to it, that will hopefully lead to positive changes in these areas.

Whilst it is regrettable that there is a need for such reports in today's society, an even more disheartening fact is that promotion of equality for all can make some men feel that they are being discriminated against.  As outlined in this article published in the Harvard Business Review, there is a proportion of the white male population that views the promotion of opportunities for women or minority groups as automatically having a negative effect of them - regardless of whether or not this is true.  And to get back to the election, there even appears to be a relationship between which white american men will hold this view and their voting preferences; with republican males more affected.  Mind you, perhaps that shouldn't be all that surprising given their choice of role model.  In fact, the report states, there is also a correlation between those who feel discrimated against, the strength of support for Donald Trump.   However, given that the feeling of being discrimated against can increase group coherence (ie an increased prevalence to feel close to those of the same gender or race), perhaps it is not just Trump's behaviour that appeals, but simply the fact that he is not female.  Of course, this does not imply that all of Trump/s supporters feel disadvantaged by increasing opportunities for women and minority groups; it is simply interesting to see how the psychology of feeling discrimated against can influence one's belief system and behaviour.  With election day looming, I wonder how much these issues may influence the outcome? 

Celebrating Ada Lovelace - the woman who first saw the potential of computers

Ada Lovelace is often regarded as the first person who truly saw the potential of computers.  Although there have previously been documentaries made depicting her life, a new movie is being made by the female owned start up Monumental which aims to portray her complex character. This film reflects the increasing amount of attention are being paid to Ada Lovelace recently, partly due to the recent declaration of "Ada Lovelace day", which is the second Tuesday of October each year.  The intention of this day is to celebrate, and raise the profile of, women within STEM.  Of course, this is also an opportunity to reflect on the gender biases which are still prevalent in these industries, where women are still a minority in technical roles. This is nicely demonstrated by a recent report in The Guardian on diversity within major techology companies (Apple, Microsoft, Facebook etc). Of course, this isn't an issue that can be simply solved by positive employment policies; there needs to be an adequate suply of qualified women wanting to work in these areas.  Despite attempts over several decades, the "leaky pipe" continues to exist, with few girls choosing to take STEM subjects at each step in their education.  This emphasises why initiatives that celebrate the contributions of women and provide rolemodels to younger generations is so important.  The more girls and young women see other females succeeding in these areas, the more likely they are to pursue careers in these fields.  Consequently, Ada Lovelace is not just part of history, she is a representative of women all of the world who can inspire others to follow their own dreams and carve their own niche in this world.