gender (in)equality a publication that brings out the proactive confidence in you.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
PREFACE
5
This publication was commissioned by the United Nations Women Singapore Committee and is aimed at promoting and instilling proactive confidence in women by recognizing and overcoming gender (in)equality. Through this publication, readers will be led through a series of success stories that will hopefully stir a form of hope or empowerment within them. Drivers of change are incoporated as well, to act as a conversational starter. additionally, details of our exhibition will also be included in this publication to encourage participants to visit and have a look at the various exhibits. We have specifically selected these stories amongst the others to be an untapped source of motivation and inspiration for women. As such, the raw emotions women feel and the genuinity of the situation makes this publication not only relatable, but comforting to them.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
contents
09 exhibition guide
13 success stories
39 drivers of change : economic
57 drivers of change : social
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
EXHIBITION GUIDE
9
exhibition guide An introduction to the various exhibits and exhibition space.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
Exhibition Guide
At the entrance of the exhibition, participants will be greeted with a live feed of the current speaker at the forum and an introduction to the UN Singapore Women Executive Committee members. Additionally, on the left partition, an insight to the organisation and as well as the committee’s efforts can be read up upon.
EXHIBITION GUIDE
11
As seen in the image above, this is a section of the exhibition that showcases success stories of real women. The stories range from dealing with motherhood to making tough career decisions.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
SUCCESS STORIES
13
success stories A series of narratives that are not only relatable but inspiring.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
kelly smith wedding planner singapore
I remember arriving to my university accommodation for the first time: I unpacked my things, and then sat on the bed and burst into tears for no apparent reason at all. This went on for a year. The lectures, exams, and nights out with friends were all peppered with indescribable sorrow. I had the sinking feeling that I must be doing it wrong since everyone else seemed to be having a ball.
SUCCESS STORIES
23
Being proactively confident takes guts, but sometimes leaning back feels even riskier. It was my mum who finally gave me the courage to leave. I was home for the weekend and we were talking about how much pressure I was putting on myself. Finally she simply said, “How about you just don’t go back on Monday?” At the time, I didn’t think of this as being confident or proactive. It felt a lot more like giving in — like falling back into a deep deep hole without a ladder. It was a long, hard climb out of that hole. It took a long time and a huge amount of support from friends, family and professionals for me to recognize that my depression was far more serious than anyone had ever thought. But I know now that my decision to leave school wasn’t about giving up. It was about leaning back from the education that I thought I wanted but wasn’t right for me. And it was about being proactive, by pushing past the stigma of depression and getting the help I needed.
Being proactively confident takes guts, but sometimes leaning back feels even riskier. As someone who loves to rush ahead, I can’t say enough about how valuable leaning back was for me. After I left university, I was ready to be proactively confident. I disregarded all the naysayers and the terrible economy to set up my own company. Almost 5 successful years have passed. Now I find myself with another choice: to expand or to stay small for another year and grow more slowly. Knowing me, I may lean back at first, but then I will leap right in soon.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
sophie burke web producer san diego, ca, usa
Towards the end of my senior year of college, I was rejected from the NBC Page Program. It was my first official job rejection, and I’ll never forget how much it stung. But instead of being the end to a very short story, that letter became the beginning to the most important lesson of my career. I wanted nothing more than to join the NBC Page Program — a prestigious training program in the television industry — upon graduation. I knew it was an immensely competitive program with a 2% acceptance rate. But I submitted my application confident that desire alone would get me in. Two months later, after a promising first-round screening questionnaire,
SUCCESS STORIES
25
On my first day as an NBC Page, as I put on that gray suit and peacock pin, I knew that I would never again take “no” for an answer.
I received a form rejection letter. My dreams were dashed before they had even gotten started. A self-doubter by nature with no professional experience to speak of, I was tempted to walk away and quietly move on to another, more realistic dream. Perhaps a nice desk job, like my parents had hoped. But happily, I was too stubborn to do so. Instead I decided to be proactively confident, refusing to take no for an answer. I asked the Page Program when I could reapply and was informed, “in one year.” Determined to get in before that, I networked aggressively, utilized my college alumnae office to the max, set up informational interviews, found email contacts, and took on more internships.
Four months into the “one year,” I reapplied, but this time asked my newfound NBC contacts to personally recommend me. It worked. The first round was a phone interview, which led to an inperson meeting with the Page Program coordinator. To prepare, I went to the library and took out every available book on NBC, reading them cover-to-cover. Before the interview, I could name the entire 1960s television lineup and knew the network’s storied history. The interview went off without a hitch. Afterwards, I waited to hear back. And waited. No letters came, rejection or otherwise, though I continued to follow up every few weeks.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
Finally, months after the interview, I received an email from NBC asking me to re-send my resume. There had been a lot of turnover in the leadership and my resume had been misplaced. The reason I was still in the game was because I had followed up. Another month passed before I received a note informing me that I’d been moved along to the final round of the process: the panel interview. When I took a seat at the long table in the 30 Rock conference room for the final panel, I could barely believe that my months of effort had gotten me this far. A fellow candidate turned to me and mentioned he had just applied a few days ago and couldn’t believe how quickly the process went. I smiled.
This time, the acceptance call came just 30 minutes after the interview. My perseverance was finally rewarded and I could not be happier, honestly. On my first day as an NBC Page, as I put on that gray suit and peacock pin, I knew that I would never again take “no” for the final answer.
SUCCESS STORIES
27
As a single mother by choice, being proactively confident means leaning on friends, family, and colleagues.
rebecca simmans author and educator chicago, illinois, usa
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
I was 36 and had ended yet another failing relationship. My struggle to find a life partner stood in stark contrast to a long list of accolades at work. Of all the things I had achieved, motherhood remained out of my grasp. For as a long as I can remember, it is the thing I wanted most. One by one, I had attended my friends’ weddings, baby showers, and hospital rooms. I thought about having a baby on my own, but I wondered if people would feel sorry for me. Being single had always made me feel vaguely pathetic, like something was wrong with me. Then, in February 2011, my grandmother died. For reasons I don’t quite understand, I suddenly knew that being single didn’t mean something was wrong with me at all – and that if I continued to think that way, I might actually end up alone forever. By April, I had chosen an anonymous donor. By August, I was pregnant. In April 2012, I gave birth to a daughter. It has been an experience that is as joyful as it is exhausting. When I reach the top of the stairs with my daughter in my arms and realize that I have forgotten the milk, there is no one to yell down to and ask to bring it to me. When she cries in the night and I don’t know why, there is no one to ask what to do. And when she doesn’t start using words when she should, there is no one as worried as I. Yet my heart feels like it will burst out of my chest when I feel her tiny 18-month-old hands pat my back as she hugs me, when she puts two words together and says, “Mama…hi!” and when she learns to splash in the tub and laughs so hard that she hiccups.
SUCCESS STORIES
Now, as a single mother by choice, being proactively confident means leaning on: friends, family and colleagues. Like many women, I struggle to ask for help. It can make me feel unbearably needy, selfish and demanding. I also hate to be late – to a meeting or with a project. I never want to put anyone out. But letting someone do my dishes or hang out with my daughter while I go for a run is what helps me be healthy and happy as a mom. Asking a colleague to discuss via Skype instead of meeting in person, or telling a client I need a few more days to deliver a project, is what I need to be a good parent and move the ball forward in my career on my own terms. I can’t do this alone. But I am determined to challenge my persistent need to “do it all myself.” Asking for help is a powerful act of self-respect. When we ask for what we need, we imply that we are worthy of it. And when we reject perfectionism in favor of an authentic, balanced self, we create a better world for the girls who are watching us. Like my daughter.
29
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
melissa butwoski freelance project manager jersey city, nj, usa
There will always be people that think they know what is best for you, but you ultimately know what you want in life.
SUCCESS STORIES
I’ve learned you have to take the initiative if you want to get anywhere in life. If you just let other people determine what is going to happen for you, then all your goals and dreams may never be achieved. Everyone always says that studying abroad in college can change your life. I made the decision to experience it myself during my junior year. I chose to study in the Dominican Republic. Perhaps the perception that the Carribbean hot spot’s beautiful beaches and boys would distract my studies led my father to retract any financial support for my desire to immerse myself in a Spanish language setting. He preferred that I travel to a Mexican inland city. With this news, I immediately started seeking funding so I could partake in an American program on the island. As it got closer to the deadline, an advisor informed me I received a new scholarship from an alumni family foundation. I was going to get the chance to start a new journey. During my first semester in the country I fell in love. I was becoming bilingual, but also learning so much of a new culture. I had begun working with a local grassroots organization, participating in a project supporting an underdeveloped community on the outskirts of the city. My main role was to become aware of the issues facing populations such as these and support community education. I was in no way ready to leave this new life. I felt as if I needed more time to get what I fully wanted out of this experience because I was still overcoming the challenges of being new to a country. I began researching ways to stay another semester. At this point, just living there was not enough. I wanted to do more to become part of the culture
31
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
rather than just watch it every day. I found out how to enroll in a local Dominican school, making sure my credits would transfer back to Missouri. This was another experience I got to endure. I had to speak directly to the school officials myself as opposed to letting officials in the program pick up the slack if I truly wanted to stay. This furthered my education since I was the one communicating and making sure my situation would get settled. As this next semester began, this was another time I realized I needed to take a chance. I got involved with a local boarding school for girls living in poverty. I first approached the head of the school to volunteer to teach music classes, requesting funding from my college church. I could have never anticipated the results of this small action. Another volunteer and I were able to put together a benefit to showcase what the students had learned. We invited community members, friends and other students from local universities to come support the girls. They presented the accomplishments from our classes and sold art the students themselves had created to further the funding of the arts program. I felt good leaving knowing I had laid the foundation for a good cause and to better the lives of young girls. There will always be people that think they know what is best for you, but you ultimately know what you want in life. My time in the Dominican Republic changed my life by giving me the realization of how fortunate I am and there is always a chance to give back to those who may not realize they are capable of the same human freedoms. You have to go after anything and everything you desire or there may be a missed opportunity. My trip to Santo Domingo taught me to take advantage of being proactively confident to new possibilities.
SUCCESS STORIES
33
claudette matte founder singapore
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
I would never again be as energetic, young, risky and free of obligations as when I made that decision. I will never forget when I made the decision to focus on creating my own company. I had just finished school. I had limited financial resources (only $10,000 in my bank account) but a huge amount of knowledge, a strong network and a passion for my idea. I decided to focus on the power of hope that it would all work out, rather than the power of fear.
I decided to be proactively confident because life is too short to follow someone else’s dream and time is invaluable, it is the only thing that we can never get back. I would never again be as energetic, young, risky and free of obligations as when I made that decision: At 28 years old, after graduating from school, I was not yet married. I worked hard and my idea took shape and evolved into a product. That inspired my now-teammates to jump in and follow me. I realized that leading by example is the most powerful tool when building a company. My start-up is now up and running and the satisfaction of creating something from scratch is beyond amazing!
SUCCESS STORIES
Becoming an entrepreneur is an experience that shapes your character and attitude on life. It’s tough, but there are so many perks that come with it, including choosing the people that you want to work with. The fact that there are not many female entrepreneurs and that they are not highlighted as much as they should be needs to change. (I would love to see a movie about a woman’s startup story, similar to The Social Network, the movie about Facebook.) In the future, I aspire to bring up my daughter in a world where successful women entrepreneurs are on women’s magazine covers more often than a lingerie model or a reality TV starlet.
35
Becoming an entrepreneur has changed me. I’ve become a more patient, logical, creative and above all, focused and persistent person.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
adrienne holde author and communications professional san francisco, ca, usa
SUCCESS STORIES
I chose to be proactively confident and help other women realize they are other ways to have a baby through alternative options like adoption or surrogacy. In 2008, I traveled nine thousand miles to northern India to make my dream of having a baby come true. There, at the world renowned Akansha clinic in Anana, I underwent IVF and met Vaina, the woman who would bring my husband and my twins girls into this world through surrogacy. It was a wild and wonderful experience, one that I undertook after three heartbreaking miscarriages. I had been exploring all the options from adoption to surrogacy to remaining childless, when my husband read an article about a clinic run by the fertility specialist Dr. Patel. I was very familiar with India after having traveled extensively in the country after my mother died a few years prior. There was something beautiful about going back and trying to find life after the loss I had experienced. I spoke with Dr. Patel on the phone and decided to go. There, in the 107 degree heat of Indian summer, I discovered that parenthood was possible, but it would require a gift from a perfect stranger.
37
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
Vaina was already a parent when she decided to help me become one. A woman who becomes a surrogate moves into the clinic and lives there for the duration of fertility treatment and pregnancy. This is as much to ensure the good health of the babies as it is to protect Vaina from a culture that considers surrogacy a form of adultery. For 26-year-old Vaina, this was a path to a better life for her family. Her surrogate’s fee was the equivalent of ten year’s salary and that sum would allow her husband to launch his own business. In Anand, I formed a deep bond with Vaina and her family that I maintain today. I travel once a year to see her and keep her up to date about “our” girls, Emma and India. What she did for me is the most generous act I could have ever imagined. Originally, I was writing a journal for the girls to have a document for them so they knew how much we went through to have them. I soon realized a book might be a good idea as many women started to contact me about foreign adoption and surrogacy. I turned my journal into a book last year. I chose to be proactively confident and help other women realize their are other ways to have a baby through alternative options like adoption or surrogacy (both widely mis-understood) I hope my book offered inspiration and help to those who may be considering other ways to have a child. My learnings from this experience were to follow your instincts and not listen to the chatter of others. Take a chance on the unknown.
DRIVERS OF CHANGE: ECONOMIC
39
drivers of change the use of these issues and trends are a perfect kickstarter to meaningful conversations about change.
drivers of change: economy congestion cost of living costing externalities health tourism hub ports fuel inflation privatisation insurance supermarkets womenomics
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
congestion
DRIVERS OF CHANGE: ECONOMIC
urbanisation Congestion is a ubiquitous urban experience in both developed and less-developed countries – and car ownership continues to increase. The car has produced a mobility revolution that has transformed cities worldwide, but some consider it is now driving the city into a dead end from which it cannot escape. In the UK, it is estimated that congestion costs the economy 20 billion Euros a year. In Los Angeles, a study by the Texas Transportation Institute says that the hours lost per year to congestion by a peak-time traveller increased from 47 in 1982 to 136 in 2000. Some countries are seeking to limit congestion through planning. For example, in 2006 the Indian Government officially approved the urban national transport policy which is intended to guide the long term planning of India’s major cities that will experience a large population increase in the future. The policy is intended to encourage integrated land use and transport planning in cities, while targeting greater use of public transport and non-motorized transport modes backed by central financial assistance. It has been drawn up to spur the development of safe, affordable and convenient transport access for the growing number of residents in India’s expanding cities. Transport planning to minimize travel distances will be emphasized as part of improving city dwellers’ access to workplaces, education, and other social needs.
41
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
oceans Hub ports facilitate the majority of global trade to smaller regional hubs and distribution networks. A global network of rail, roads and pipelines functions as arterial veins to the ports where ships are loaded and unloaded. There are five major global hub ports: Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Rotterdam and Long Beach. Singapore is the busiest global hub port (in terms of tonnage), and is connected to over 600 ports in 120 countries handling 140,000 vessels annually. It is strategically located along the Strait of Malacca between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Singapore also has post-Panamex quay cranes to handle cargoes from the world’s largest container vessel, Maersk.
DRIVERS OF CHANGE: ECONOMIC
47
Hub Ports
The Port of Rotterdam handles over 300M tons of cargo per year. Rotterdam also has extensive short sea-shipping networks and is strategically located at the mouth of the river Rhine. Short-sea-shipping continues to increase and facilitate trade from global hub ports to more regional port networks. Over 200M consumers are located within 500 miles of Rotterdam. The Port contributes 7% of the Dutch GDP, is the largest container hub in Europe and is the 7th largest container hub in the world.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
energy The ratio of fuel use (E) to real gross national product (GNP) is one measure of fuel efficiency. The decline of raw ratio has been interpreted by some as resulting from factor substitution and conservation measures with similar improvements made possible with future technologies. In fact the corrected ratio shows that 69% of the variation can be accounted for by technological change that has relied on intensified use of higher quality fuels, such as petroleum and electricity. A further 27% of the variation can be accounted for by the declining proportion of GNP spent on fuel. Inflation in its simplest form can be described as a rise in the general price level of goods and services. From an energy perspective, inflation can be defined as: too many dollars chasing too few products of economic work (for example, goods and services) – or simply too many dollars chasing too little economic energy.
DRIVERS OF CHANGE: ECONOMIC
49
Fuel Inflation
privatisation
Water
There are at least three models of water privatization in the water services sector: a management contract, under which the private operator is responsible only for running the system; a lease contract, under which the assets are leased to the private operator; and the concession, under which a private operator is responsible for running the entire system. Two of the biggest multinationals in the water industry are the French based Suez (serving 117.4M people around the world) and Veolia Environment (serving 108.2M). While globally over two-thirds of water and sanitation services are provided by the public sector, international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are encouraging the privatization of water particularly in developing countries. Providing safe drinking water and sanitation to those lacking them requires a massive investment, estimated to be an additional US$14-30bn per year on top of the current annual investment of $30bn. Although privatization could finance such investment, many also see privatization as turning low-return public utility into profit. Privatization proposals have faced strong public opposition, including the Conchabamba Riots of 2000 in Bolivia that erupted when large rates increases were imposed following privatization of the water utility.
DRIVERS OF CHANGE: ECONOMIC
insurance Many people rely on insurance as a way of providing the economic means to cope with extreme or unexpected weather. As such, insurance provides a reactive measurev to adapt to the physical impacts of climate change. Research by the insurance industry has found that the frequency and severity of extreme weather events has increased in recent years leading to an increase in claims. This trend is set to continue under climate change. Insured losses from the three major storm types (hurricanes, windstorms and typhoons) are projected to increase by two thirds to an average of US$27bn per annum by 2080 in today’s money. The insurance industry is highly aware of the changing nature of climate risks and it is becoming increasingly difficult to get cover for certain types of weather related damages. For risks such as flooding, cover may not be available in high-risk areas or may be prohibitively costly. In the absence of insurance cover, other measures will be required to provide the economic means to adapt to climate change.
Climate change
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
DRIVERS OF CHANGE: SOCIAL
57
drivers of change: society ageing population bioaccumulation convenience electricity access e-waste housing mega droughts crowd sourcing education water consciousness
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
demographics Populations age as a result of a reduction in total fertility rates and/or an increase in life expectancy. This is characterized by an increase in the proportion of the oldest people, along with the increases in the average age and the median age. Another indication of ageing populations is a reduction in the number of young people. This coincides with the growth of the middle-aged segment. By 2007 there will be a reverse demographic pyramid in the EU. Projections by the UN show that by 2030 at least half of the Western population will be over the age of 50. The life expectancy of 50 year olds will be another 40 years. By 2050 the share of 65+ in the EU will be around 28%.
Ageing Population The older population is growing at a considerably faster rate than the world’s total population. In absolute terms the number of older persons has tripled over the last 50 years. Although the aging phenomenon now affects developed countries in particular, it will become a major concern for developing countries in the second half of the 21st century.
DRIVERS OF CHANGE: SOCIAL
59
ocean Bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals in marine life occurs when toxins from anthropogenic sources enter the food chain – typically by being washed off the land in rainwater or through direct pollution of rivers. Once in the food chain the concentrations of toxicity increase naturally through predation – if a zooplankton eats 10 phytoplankton it will accumulate 10 times the amount of toxins. Toxins are transmitted to humans through the consumption of affected seafood – the breastmilk of Inuit mothers, who eat the blubber of poisoned Beluga whales, contains five times as many polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) compared to the milk of other Canadian mothers.
Of the toxins entering our oceans, such as mercury, PCBs and pesticides, the most damaging and persistent are organic pollutants, which dissipate slowly, cannot be metabolized, and have cumulative biological effects. PCBs, for example, are still prevalent decades after global production of them has ceased. The higher up on the food chain a creature is, the more bioaccumulation occurs.
Bioaccumulation Among humans, mercury and organic pollutants can impair immune systems; retard neurobehavioural development and cause brain damage. The impacts are particularly acute in developmental phases, thus small children and the fetuses of pregnant mothers are most at risk.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
energy Lack of electricity and heavy reliance on traditional biomass are hallmarks of poverty in developing countries. Furthermore, lack of electricity exacerbates poverty and contributes to its perpetuation, as it precludes most industrial activities and the jobs they create. Four out of five people without electricity live in rural areas of the developing world, mainly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. This pattern of electricity deprivation is set to change as 95% of the increase in population in the next three decades will occur in urban areas.
Electricity Access Poor people in the developing world are constantly exposed to indoor particulate and carbon monoxide concentrations many times higher than World Health Organisation (WHO) standards. Traditional stoves using dung and charcoal emit large amounts of carbon monoxide and other noxious gases.
Women and children suffer most, because they are exposed for the longest periods of time. Acute respiratory illnesses affect as much as 6% of the world population. The WHO estimates that 2.5M women and young children in developing countries die prematurely each year from breathing the fumes of indoor biomass stoves.
63
households
E-WAste
The electronic era has revolutionized the way we think, work and communicate. Digital devices are now fundamental to the functioning of everyday life both in the home and at work. The consumption of mobile phones in particular has seen massive growth. Launched in 1984, the market has boomed ever since in all corners of the world. In Africa mobile phones have seen a 40% increase since 2000. Nokia estimate that there will be 2bn global users by 2008 and 3bn by 2010. These ever-changing consumption patterns are reflected in our waste with a growing share of municipal waste containing electronic or electrical products. In the US in 2005 it is estimated that 130M cell phones were thrown out resulting in 64 000 tonnes of waste. In Europe only 2% of mobiles are currently recycled. Junked electronic goods often end up in landfills and incinerators and in the US 70% of he heavy metals found in landfills come from E-waste. These toxins can leach into soil and ground water and, if people are exposed to them, cause damage to the central nervous system, endocrine disruption, interference with brain development and organ damage. Incineration is just as harmful, the burning of PVC and bromide flame retardants produces dioxins and furans, two of the most deadly persistent organic pollutant.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
Housing
urbanisation Urbanisation in less-developed countries is often characterised by poor quality housing and a lack of security of tenure. Migrants may leave housing in rural areas with better physical and environment quality and security of tenure, for poorer quality housing in urban areas because of the economic benefits considered to be offered by towns and cities. Non-empirical evidence from UN-HABITAT indicates that 30% to 50% of urban residents in the developing world have no legal documents such as a title deed or contract to prove tenure security. Without these papers, forced urban evictions can result. Rapid urbanisation often leads to slum settlements and shanty towns. Durable housing is one of the five conditions used by the UN to define slum conditions. A house is considered ‘durable’ if it is built on a non-hazardous location and has a permanent structure adequate to protect its occupants from extremes of climatic conditions such as rain, heat, cold and humidity. Given the predicted growth in urbanisation in less-developed countries, the problems of non-durable housing and lack of security of tenure are likely to worsen. It is up to government agencies, corporate and civic leaders to adopt integrated approaches to environmental planning and management to prevent this happening.
Mega Droughts
climate change One of the largest concerns for human societies is the possibility of increasingly frequent droughts adversely affecting agricultural production and drinking water supplies. A warmer atmosphere sucks moisture from the land. Changes in the ocean surface temperatures can also affect the location of rain-bands and the monsoon cycles. Climate change models indicate that severe droughts are likely to become frequent in a warmer world.
Archaeological and paleoclimatic evidence indicates that droughts lasting several years to decades, so-called “mega droughts�, have been a feature of the Earth’s climate over the last 10 000 years. Over human history a number of civilisations may have collapsed because of the onset of mega droughts, including the early Mesopotamian civilisations and the Mayans in Central America. More recently, the region of Africa bordering the south of the Sahara, the Sahel, has experienced a prolonged period of low rainfall since the 1970s, the cause of several famines.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
convergence The business world has embraced the idea that the intellectual capital outside their company is greater than that in their own R&D labs. The companies that are managing to harness the motivated external collective are experiencing huge returns in research and development of new products and services. Canonical examples in the corporate world include the Netflix $1 million competition to improve their recommendation algorithms, the Dell IdeaStorm community where potential customers can post their ideas on technology and Dell products, services and operations, and LEGO who reinvented their business with a focus on LEGO ambassadors and community driven product development.
DRIVERS OF CHANGE: SOCIAL
67
A variety of intermediary service providers have also entered the market to facilitate the process of open innovation on behalf of business and consumers. Sites such as a Innocentive, NineSigma and RedesignMe essentially allow clients to post problems they would like the community to work on and they offer a reward for any solutions they use.
Crowd Sourcing
The “Rise of Crowdsourcing�, a variant of the open innovation theme, is also being applied in non-commercial settings. For GalaxyZoo, 100,000 amateur astronomers helped classify galaxies in months rather than years it would have taken professional astronomers.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITY FORUM AND EXHIBITION 2014
proactiveconfidence.sg