Employment

Despite a lower uninsured rate than men (11% vs 14%), women are more likely to skip a recommended medical test or treatment due to cost... cost barriers to contraception have decreased for insured women since the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) coverage requirement took effect. Women without a regular clinician are less likely to receive certain preventive services, such as a mammogram and Pap test. Women are more likely than men to have a preexisting health condition ... Another government study recommends: The USPSTF has found that there isn't enough evidence to recommend screening women over age 75 for certain diseases, particularly breast cancer, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer. In many cases, there just weren't enough older people in the studies to permit a judgment for or against screening. In other cases, screening was recommended, but the panel couldn't determine how often it should be done. more »

Somehow we have forgotten how to teach grammar using simple, clear rules. When I was young, we were introduced to the difference between subjective and objective and possessive pronouns at an early age. I remember my fourth grade teacher parsing the subjective pronouns with us: “I, you, he-she-it; we, you, they,” and then demonstrating how and where to use them in a sentence. After a few days of that, there was literally no chance that any of us would begin a sentence using “Her and me went to the store,” because we were well aware that her and me weren’t subject material. If we didn’t know which case to use in a sentence like “The teacher gave Maddy and (I? me?) a lecture,” she said to drop “Maddy” from the sentence and listen to it in our minds: “She gave I a lecture” was obviously not something we’d say. more »

Before a baby is born, expectant mothers in Sweden get prenatal care through free or subsidised courses that help them prepare for the delivery, with breathing techniques, coaching sessions and group support. Women who work typically strenuous jobs that require heavy lifting or in risky work environments such as construction sites are entitled to additional pregnancy benefits by taking time off work earlier during their pregnancy. Benefits can be paid as early as 60 days into the pregnancy and continue up to 11 days before the due date. The amount received is roughly 80 per cent of the mother’s daily pay and is paid by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. Many Swedish hospitals have adjoining ‘hotels’ where new mothers and their partners may stay for two or three days (with all meals included) after a birth so nurses can monitor the mothers and provide postnatal care for newborns. more »

Participants at the Worldwide #MeToo Movement conference reached several conclusions from those sessions, including the need to: find better ways to prevent harassment and to support women who report it; combat how defamation law is being used to silence women, particularly outside the United States; seek more effective legal remedies; and connect harassment to pay equity and economic equality. more »