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Here are the Foods that Help (and Hurt) Anxiety
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By: Jordyn Cormier
April 30, 2019
Around 18 percent of Americans deal with some form of anxiety disorder. That number is incredibly high. And unfortunately, drugs don’t always provide relief—in part because the side effects can be pretty unpleasant.
Because of the mind-gut connection, the foods we consume can actually affect our mental wellness on a very basic level. That means you can improve your anxiety by simply changing the way you eat!
First things first: always consult a doctor if you think you have anxiety or are considering getting off your medication. Got it?
Anxiety: Foods to Avoid
Let’s discuss what you should not eat if you’re prone to anxiety. Hint, it’s the usual suspects—processed foods, refined sugar, white carbs, alcohol, and especially stimulants, like caffeine.
Also be sure to avoid any food you are sensitive to, like gluten or dairy. You don’t want to consume anything that will increase stress hormones, inflammation or blood sugar.
Did you know that low blood sugar actually has a very similar effect on your brain as anxiety?! Don’t set yourself up for a double whammy.
The way you eat matters, too. Don’t skip meals, as that can just further stress out your body.
What you should do is try to be gentle to your body and give it only what will nourish it—it doesn’t need anything extra to deal with. Get plenty of sleep and take a bioavailable multivitamin to give your body all the tools it needs to recenter. Be extra nice to yourself.
Foods that Help Anxiety
If you’re looking for a few extra powerful, science-backed foods to add into your diet, try these natural anxiety-fighters.
Opened ripe cocoa pod on drying raw beans background
Raw Cacao
Sure, a square of chocolate does wonders when recovering from dementor attacks, but are you scratching your head wondering how it could actually help with anxiety? You can thank magnesium, which raw cacao is loaded with.
Magnesium is a crucial mineral for relaxation, but stress depletes the body’s stores rather quickly. Two tablespoons of raw cacao powder is packed with around 25 percent of your recommended daily allowance. Add this into your smoothies for a delicious and superfood treat!
Other magnesium-rich foods include legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Turmeric
Bring on the curry! Turmeric has been shown in numerous studies to soothe both depression and anxiety.
Not only do turmeric’s powerful phytochemicals do a stellar job of counteracting inflammation, but turmeric can help balance the chronically activated stress response that is associated with anxiety.
Supplements of curcumin extract will be the most therapeutic source, but it definitely doesn’t hurt to enjoy a golden latte once in a while, either.
turmeric powder and roots
Ashwagandha
Adaptogens are seriously powerful. Research has shown that taking ashwagandha regularly can reduce anxiety by a whopping 44 percent! Ashwagandha regulates cortisol production over time, which makes you less prone to overwhelming stress and anxiety in the future.
Enjoy this powdered root in smoothies, tonics, or superfood coffees/hot chocolates.
Reishi Mushroom
This is the most calming and restorative of the adaptogenic mushrooms. Reishi acts as a rejuvenating tonic for the adrenals. Healthy, unstressed adrenals are crucial, as they play a major role in the development of anxiety.
Reishi also supports healthy blood sugar by regulating the enzyme responsible for breaking starches down into sugars, which further de-stresses the body.
Four Sigmatic makes some great mushroom coffees and elixirs that you can add to your daily relaxation ritual.
Cup of reishi tea and fresh Lingzhi mushroom on dark wooden floor.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Your brain needs fat to function, especially omega-3s. There’s no argument about that. And since anxiety is related to the brain, it’s probably a good time to start prioritizing those brain-fueling fats.
That means enjoying foods like spinach, walnuts and flax oil or taking a quality omega-3 supplement. These foods go a long way towards promoting a balanced noggin.
Anxiety is also correlated with low antioxidant levels, so also be sure to load up on as many antioxidant-rich plants as you can—berries, greens, all of it! And remember: don’t discount the power of your diet to influence your mental health.
Related on Care2:
You Don’t Need a Garden to Grow Your Own Food
Here’s How Busy People Make Time for Self Care
There May Soon Be a Way to Reverse Memory Loss
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25 comments
Christine D35 minutes ago
I consume all of those, recently adding ashwagandha and a reishi mushroom complex to my dietary supplements. Thanks for sharing.
SEND
Renata Kabout an hour ago
Thank you....
SEND
salah zoubiri2 hours ago
Good to know
SEND
salah zoubiri2 hours ago
Tyfs
SEND
salah zoubiri2 hours ago
Shared
SEND
Sharon Reynolds2 hours ago
I can't afford it. But will take some of the advice on board. Thanks
SEND
Ann B2 hours ago
noted
SEND
Janet B3 hours ago
Thanks
SEND
Lisa M3 hours ago
Thanks.
SEND
Lisa M3 hours ago
Thanks.
SEND
view all 25 comments
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Wednesday, 1 May 2019
The Week UK: Nicolas Maduro claims victory over ‘deranged’ Venezuelan coup bid
The Week UK
Nicolas Maduro
Nicolas Maduro claims victory over ‘deranged’ Venezuelan coup bid
May 1, 2019
President slams ‘far right’ and Trump after fresh clashes on streets
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Edilzon Gamez/Getty Images
Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro says he has thwarted an attempt to topple him by the “coup-mongering far right” and Donald Trump’s deranged imperialist “gang”.
Following a day of violence on the streets, Maduro accused opposition leader Juan Guaido and his political mentor Leopoldo Lopez of trying to ignite an armed confrontation that could be used as a pretext for a foreign military intervention.
Guaido declared himself interim president in January. Since then, the crisis-hit country has had two men claiming to be its leader.
See related
At least three dead in Venezuela anti-government protests
Donald Trump wanted to invade Venezuela
Juan Guaido banned from leaving Venezuela
Guaido has called on his supporters to take to the streets again today, after releasing a video yesterday morning in which, surrounded by men in military uniform, he said he had the support of “brave soldiers” in the nation’s capital.
“The National Armed Forces have taken the correct decision,” he said. “They are guaranteed to be on the right side of history.”
However, the BBC says most of the military stayed on the side of Maduro during yesterday’s clashes, in which live rounds were fired and armoured vehicles driven into protesters.
Health officials said 69 people were injured in the clashes, including two who had been hit by bullets.
As the violence unfolded, Guaido said on Twitter: “We are in a process that is unstoppable. We have the firm backing of our people and the world to achieve the restoration of our democracy.”
What comes next is less than certain. The New York Times says Guaido has “fallen short of the prize he sought: the toppling of President Nicolas Maduro”. In the longer term, though, says the BBC, while “Mr Maduro still occupies the presidential palace, his future isn't secure”.
Outside Venezuela, international governments lined up behind each side. Trump, who backs Guaido, said the US stood with the Venezuelan people and their freedom. Cuba and Bolivia, which support Maduro, condemned Guaido’s efforts as an attempted coup.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appealed for both sides to avoid violence.
Read more: World News
Venezuela
Nicolas Maduro
Americas
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Nicolas Maduro
Nicolas Maduro claims victory over ‘deranged’ Venezuelan coup bid
May 1, 2019
President slams ‘far right’ and Trump after fresh clashes on streets
Edilzon Gamez/Getty Images
Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro says he has thwarted an attempt to topple him by the “coup-mongering far right” and Donald Trump’s deranged imperialist “gang”.
Following a day of violence on the streets, Maduro accused opposition leader Juan Guaido and his political mentor Leopoldo Lopez of trying to ignite an armed confrontation that could be used as a pretext for a foreign military intervention.
Guaido declared himself interim president in January. Since then, the crisis-hit country has had two men claiming to be its leader.
See related
At least three dead in Venezuela anti-government protests
Donald Trump wanted to invade Venezuela
Juan Guaido banned from leaving Venezuela
Guaido has called on his supporters to take to the streets again today, after releasing a video yesterday morning in which, surrounded by men in military uniform, he said he had the support of “brave soldiers” in the nation’s capital.
“The National Armed Forces have taken the correct decision,” he said. “They are guaranteed to be on the right side of history.”
However, the BBC says most of the military stayed on the side of Maduro during yesterday’s clashes, in which live rounds were fired and armoured vehicles driven into protesters.
Health officials said 69 people were injured in the clashes, including two who had been hit by bullets.
As the violence unfolded, Guaido said on Twitter: “We are in a process that is unstoppable. We have the firm backing of our people and the world to achieve the restoration of our democracy.”
What comes next is less than certain. The New York Times says Guaido has “fallen short of the prize he sought: the toppling of President Nicolas Maduro”. In the longer term, though, says the BBC, while “Mr Maduro still occupies the presidential palace, his future isn't secure”.
Outside Venezuela, international governments lined up behind each side. Trump, who backs Guaido, said the US stood with the Venezuelan people and their freedom. Cuba and Bolivia, which support Maduro, condemned Guaido’s efforts as an attempted coup.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appealed for both sides to avoid violence.
Read more: World News
Venezuela
Nicolas Maduro
Americas
You are here:
HomeNicolas MaduroNicolas Maduro claims victory over ‘deranged’ Venezuelan coup bid
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Trump threatens to declare national emergency to fund Mexican border wall
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In his ten-year career Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna drove for Toleman, Lotus, McLaren and Williams
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Juan Guaido
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Juan Guaido - Venezuela’s salvation or the great pretender?
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UK troops arrive on the Falklands Islands
Falklands war
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D-Day, World War II
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front pages
Today’s front pages: Venezuela coup and Brexit backdown
Venezuela protests
Nicolas Maduro
Maduro claims victory over ‘deranged’ Venezuelan coup bid
Find Out How
With The Week Magazine
YES
Portfolio
The experts' guide to good living
Elegantes London: the scent of perfection
Zuaya: a taste of the rainforest on Kensington High Street
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Read more
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Land Rover Defender 2020: new images released as final testing begins
Motoring
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World Justice Project: The World Justice Project Recognizes Dr. Adam Bodnar and the Office of Poland’s Commissioner for Human Rights with 2019 Rule of Law Award
World Justice Project
Poland’s independent ombudsman and his team honored for courageous efforts to stem the country’s backsliding on judicial independence and fundamental rights.
In a Tuesday ceremony at World Justice Forum: Realizing Justice for All, the World Justice Project announced the winner of the 2019 World Justice Project Rule of Law Award. The award recognizes extraordinary achievements by individuals and organizations to strengthen the rule of law in exemplary ways.
Watch the 2019 Rule of Law Award Ceremony:
This year’s award goes to Dr. Adam Bodnar, the Commissioner for Human Rights of Poland (Ombudsman), and the staff of the country’s independent legal institution charged with monitoring citizens’ rights and intervening when such rights are infringed. In recent years, Poland has been experiencing a steady and significant deterioration in constraints on executive powers and respect for freedoms of expression and assembly, as reflected in the 2019 WJP Rule of Law Index.
“We have entered a challenging era in which basic principles of accountability and open government are under attack in both democratic and non-democratic states,” said William H. Neukom, founder and CEO of The World Justice Project. “The creative and tenacious efforts of Dr. Bodnar and his team to protect the independence of Poland’s judicial system and its citizens’ rights to participate freely in civic affairs provide a beacon of hope to others around the world fighting for just laws and equal treatment.”
A leading spokesman for the protection of fundamental rights in Poland and throughout Europe, Dr. Bodnar was elected by Poland’s parliament in 2015 to serve a five-year term as the country’s independent ombudsman for human rights. Since then, he and his staff have been confronted with a series of executive and parliamentary challenges to the independent functioning of Poland’s judicial and prosecutorial system, including its highest courts, and to the exercise of citizens’ rights to participate freely in public affairs. The governing party has also used its parliamentary majority to adopt new laws controlling state media and limiting freedom of information. In response, Dr. Bodnar and the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights have engaged in outspoken defense of Poland’s constitutional principles and directly engaged in strategic litigation to uphold them. Their principled stance against politicization of independent institutions has sparked hateful attacks and personal threats in state media and attempts by politicians of the ruling party to remove him and limit the commissioner’s powers.
“This distinction is an important recognition for all rule of law defenders in Poland — the Ombudsman is just one of them. It is a sign of appreciation and solidarity in view of a serious crisis that we hope to overcome. If we succeed, our experiences will be of great value for other countries and institutions facing similar attacks on judicial independence and constitutional order.”
The award was presented in a World Justice Forum ceremony by WJP Board Members Ellen Gracie Northfleet, former Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil, and Petar Stoyanov, former President of the Republic of Bulgaria.
World Justice Forum Co-Producing Partners:
Copyright © 2019 The World Justice Project, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
The World Justice Project
1025 Vermont Ave, NW
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20005
Sent from Samsung tablet.
Poland’s independent ombudsman and his team honored for courageous efforts to stem the country’s backsliding on judicial independence and fundamental rights.
In a Tuesday ceremony at World Justice Forum: Realizing Justice for All, the World Justice Project announced the winner of the 2019 World Justice Project Rule of Law Award. The award recognizes extraordinary achievements by individuals and organizations to strengthen the rule of law in exemplary ways.
Watch the 2019 Rule of Law Award Ceremony:
This year’s award goes to Dr. Adam Bodnar, the Commissioner for Human Rights of Poland (Ombudsman), and the staff of the country’s independent legal institution charged with monitoring citizens’ rights and intervening when such rights are infringed. In recent years, Poland has been experiencing a steady and significant deterioration in constraints on executive powers and respect for freedoms of expression and assembly, as reflected in the 2019 WJP Rule of Law Index.
“We have entered a challenging era in which basic principles of accountability and open government are under attack in both democratic and non-democratic states,” said William H. Neukom, founder and CEO of The World Justice Project. “The creative and tenacious efforts of Dr. Bodnar and his team to protect the independence of Poland’s judicial system and its citizens’ rights to participate freely in civic affairs provide a beacon of hope to others around the world fighting for just laws and equal treatment.”
A leading spokesman for the protection of fundamental rights in Poland and throughout Europe, Dr. Bodnar was elected by Poland’s parliament in 2015 to serve a five-year term as the country’s independent ombudsman for human rights. Since then, he and his staff have been confronted with a series of executive and parliamentary challenges to the independent functioning of Poland’s judicial and prosecutorial system, including its highest courts, and to the exercise of citizens’ rights to participate freely in public affairs. The governing party has also used its parliamentary majority to adopt new laws controlling state media and limiting freedom of information. In response, Dr. Bodnar and the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights have engaged in outspoken defense of Poland’s constitutional principles and directly engaged in strategic litigation to uphold them. Their principled stance against politicization of independent institutions has sparked hateful attacks and personal threats in state media and attempts by politicians of the ruling party to remove him and limit the commissioner’s powers.
“This distinction is an important recognition for all rule of law defenders in Poland — the Ombudsman is just one of them. It is a sign of appreciation and solidarity in view of a serious crisis that we hope to overcome. If we succeed, our experiences will be of great value for other countries and institutions facing similar attacks on judicial independence and constitutional order.”
The award was presented in a World Justice Forum ceremony by WJP Board Members Ellen Gracie Northfleet, former Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil, and Petar Stoyanov, former President of the Republic of Bulgaria.
World Justice Forum Co-Producing Partners:
Copyright © 2019 The World Justice Project, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
The World Justice Project
1025 Vermont Ave, NW
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20005
Sent from Samsung tablet.
The New York Times/Michael S. Schmidt: Mueller Pushed Twice for Barr to Release Report’s Summaries
The New York Times
Mueller Pushed Twice for Barr to Release Report’s Summaries
Image
Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, sought to have Attorney General William P. Barr release more details from his report than Mr. Barr originally did.CreditCreditAndrew Harnik/Associated Press
By Michael S. Schmidt
May 1, 2019
WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, pushed Attorney General William P. Barr twice to release more of his investigative findings in late March after Mr. Barr outlined the inquiry’s main conclusions in a letter to Congress, citing a gap between Mr. Barr’s interpretation and Mr. Mueller’s report, according to a letter released on Wednesday.
The letter, from Mr. Mueller, revealed deep concern about how Mr. Barr handled the initial release of the special counsel’s findings.
Mr. Mueller’s office first informed the Justice Department of their concerns on March 25, a day after Mr. Barr released his letter clearing Mr. Trump but declined to release the special counsel’s findings themselves.
William Barr Hearing: Live Updates and Analysis of Testimony on the Mueller Report
Attorney General William P. Barr will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to testify about his decisions around the special counsel’s report.
“We communicated that concern to the department on the morning of March 25,” Mr. Mueller said in a second letter to Mr. Barr two days later. “There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation.”
[Read Mr. Mueller’s letter.]
Mr. Mueller added, “The summary letter the department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office’s work and conclusions.”
Mr. Mueller asked the Justice Department to release the summaries of his findings. Mr. Barr declined.
Mr. Barr’s letter “threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the department appointed the special counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations,” Mr. Mueller wrote.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Get politics and Washington news updates via Facebook, Twitter and the Morning Briefing newsletter.
Related Coverage
Mueller Objected to Barr’s Description of Russia Investigation’s Findings on Trump
April 30, 2019
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Mueller Pushed Twice for Barr to Release Report’s Summaries
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Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, sought to have Attorney General William P. Barr release more details from his report than Mr. Barr originally did.CreditCreditAndrew Harnik/Associated Press
By Michael S. Schmidt
May 1, 2019
WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, pushed Attorney General William P. Barr twice to release more of his investigative findings in late March after Mr. Barr outlined the inquiry’s main conclusions in a letter to Congress, citing a gap between Mr. Barr’s interpretation and Mr. Mueller’s report, according to a letter released on Wednesday.
The letter, from Mr. Mueller, revealed deep concern about how Mr. Barr handled the initial release of the special counsel’s findings.
Mr. Mueller’s office first informed the Justice Department of their concerns on March 25, a day after Mr. Barr released his letter clearing Mr. Trump but declined to release the special counsel’s findings themselves.
William Barr Hearing: Live Updates and Analysis of Testimony on the Mueller Report
Attorney General William P. Barr will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to testify about his decisions around the special counsel’s report.
“We communicated that concern to the department on the morning of March 25,” Mr. Mueller said in a second letter to Mr. Barr two days later. “There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation.”
[Read Mr. Mueller’s letter.]
Mr. Mueller added, “The summary letter the department sent to Congress and released to the public late in the afternoon of March 24 did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office’s work and conclusions.”
Mr. Mueller asked the Justice Department to release the summaries of his findings. Mr. Barr declined.
Mr. Barr’s letter “threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the department appointed the special counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations,” Mr. Mueller wrote.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Get politics and Washington news updates via Facebook, Twitter and the Morning Briefing newsletter.
Related Coverage
Mueller Objected to Barr’s Description of Russia Investigation’s Findings on Trump
April 30, 2019
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Attorney General Barr Goes Before the Senate Judiciary Committee
May 1, 2019
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NoMoreFakeNews.com/Jon Rappoport: Bayer and the ownership of all life
NoMoreFakeNews.com
Jon Rappoport
Bayer and the ownership of all life
(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealed, click here.)
In a recent article, I explained how Bayer---with its $66 billion purchase of Monsanto---is "taking one for the team."
The team consists of several biotech giants. Its agenda? The reconfiguring of all life under the rubric of radical genetic manipulation. Bayer aims, long-term, to swallow the universally hated Monsanto whole and make it disappear, as if it never existed. It's called re-writing history. The goal in this case: protection of the evolving reputation of a genetic Brave New World.
Here is a very brief background sketch of Bayer---
After World War 2, the highest ranking scientist on the executive board of IG Farben, the infamous Nazi cartel, Dr. Fritz Ter Meer, was put on trial at Nuremberg. The charges? Mass slavery and murder.
Farben had built a rubber factory at Auschwitz. In fact, it built Auschwitz in order to ensure cheap labor in its adjoining rubber factory. Farben paid the SS to send over inmates every day of the week to work in that factory. Those who were too weak to make it through the day were killed.
Well, for all this, Fritz Ter Meer was given seven years in jail. A pathetic seven years.
...Sixteen years later, on August 1, 1963, the Bayer Corporation was celebrating its hundredth anniversary at Cologne. Big festivities.
The three largest original components of IG Farben---Bayer, Hoechst, and BASF---were back in business and roaring on profit highs. They were now sanitized separate corporations, no longer parts of an official Nazi-aiding IG Farben.
The keynote speaker at the Bayer celebration was the one and only Fritz Ter Meer.
Out of jail.
Murderer.
Mass murderer.
Anointed chairman of the supervisory board of Bayer.
Chairman. Of the Supervisory Board. Of Bayer.
Use this link to order Jon's Matrix Collections.
Jon Rappoport
The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED, EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world.
You can find this article and more at NoMoreFakeNews.
No More Fake News, Encinitas, Encinitas, CA 92024
Jon Rappoport
Bayer and the ownership of all life
(To read about Jon's mega-collection, The Matrix Revealed, click here.)
In a recent article, I explained how Bayer---with its $66 billion purchase of Monsanto---is "taking one for the team."
The team consists of several biotech giants. Its agenda? The reconfiguring of all life under the rubric of radical genetic manipulation. Bayer aims, long-term, to swallow the universally hated Monsanto whole and make it disappear, as if it never existed. It's called re-writing history. The goal in this case: protection of the evolving reputation of a genetic Brave New World.
Here is a very brief background sketch of Bayer---
After World War 2, the highest ranking scientist on the executive board of IG Farben, the infamous Nazi cartel, Dr. Fritz Ter Meer, was put on trial at Nuremberg. The charges? Mass slavery and murder.
Farben had built a rubber factory at Auschwitz. In fact, it built Auschwitz in order to ensure cheap labor in its adjoining rubber factory. Farben paid the SS to send over inmates every day of the week to work in that factory. Those who were too weak to make it through the day were killed.
Well, for all this, Fritz Ter Meer was given seven years in jail. A pathetic seven years.
...Sixteen years later, on August 1, 1963, the Bayer Corporation was celebrating its hundredth anniversary at Cologne. Big festivities.
The three largest original components of IG Farben---Bayer, Hoechst, and BASF---were back in business and roaring on profit highs. They were now sanitized separate corporations, no longer parts of an official Nazi-aiding IG Farben.
The keynote speaker at the Bayer celebration was the one and only Fritz Ter Meer.
Out of jail.
Murderer.
Mass murderer.
Anointed chairman of the supervisory board of Bayer.
Chairman. Of the Supervisory Board. Of Bayer.
Use this link to order Jon's Matrix Collections.
Jon Rappoport
The author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED, EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world.
You can find this article and more at NoMoreFakeNews.
No More Fake News, Encinitas, Encinitas, CA 92024
MiningWatch Canada: Over 50 Organizations Urge World Bank to Boost Recycling, Circular Economy & Non-Mining Solutions for a Truly Climate Smart Agenda
MiningWatch Canada
(Washington, D.C.) As the World Bank today launches its new ‘Climate-Smart Mining’ facility, organizations from around the world are urging the financial institution to prioritize recycling, circular economy, public transit, and other non-mining solutions as the primary components of its agenda. Efforts should also be made to bolster responsible sourcing.
“To avert catastrophic climate change we support a just and rapid transition to a renewable energy economy, but promoting business-as-usual mining is not the answer. A truly “Climate-Smart” agenda would prioritize recycling, reuse, substitution and consumption changes before new mining,” stated Earthworks’ Mining Program Director Payal Sampat.
In a letter sent to the World Bank yesterday, over 50 organizations working with hundreds of mining-affected communities and workers around the world voiced their concerns about the World Bank’s expanding invesment in mining without accompanying changes in mining practices or consumption patterns.
Added Ugo LaPointe of MiningWatch Canada: “We are alarmed to note that the World Bank has primarily partnered with mining companies in developing and launching its new Climate-Smart Mining initiative, largely putting mining company agendas and interests before much needed efforts to shift demand and increase protections for workers, communities and the environment.”
Metals mining is currently one of the world’s dirtiest industries, responsible for at least 10% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, and over 50% of all toxic solid wastes in many producing countries. Mining is linked to severe human rights abuses, violent conflict and unsafe working conditions in some parts of the world.
According to new research from University of Technology, Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures, Responsible Minerals Sourcing for Renewable Energy, as demand for these scarce minerals skyrockets, the associated environmental and human impacts are likely to rise steeply as well.
Carlos Lozano, Senior Attorney with AIDA in Colombia, adds: “As a public financial institution, the World Bank is responsible for ensuring the sustainability of projects it finances, and should foster improved mining practices and truly renewable energy systems.”
Signatories point out there is a timely opportunity to scale up our dependence on clean, renewable energy sources, while scaling back our dependence on dirty mining. Doing so will require a concerted commitment from businesses, financial institutions, and governments to:
Boost recycling and minimize toxicity: through incentives for minerals recycling, efficiency, product take-backs, and easily reusable, repairable and recyclable product design.
Ensure responsible minerals sourcing: Where sourcing from mining operations is absolutely necessary, mining operations should adhere to stringent international environmental and human rights best-practices standards (such as those developed by the multi-stakeholder Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance) with independent, third-party assurance of compliance, and chain-of-custody schemes that allow consumers to make informed decisions.
Shift consumption and transportation: Prioritize “Smart City” design, invest in electric-powered public transit, and expand access to efficient public transit.
Sampat said: “It will take more than technological fixes to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and ensure equity in access to the benefits of clean energy. The World Bank shouldn’t be promoting new mining while the climate crisis offers an opportunity to rethink how societies, particularly wealthy ones, consume energy and products, and transport goods and people.”
Contacts:
Brendan McLaughlin, Earthworks, +1.206.892.8832
Jamie Kneen, MiningWatch Canada, +1.613.761.2273
For More Information:
NGO letter to the World Bank re Mining & Renewables
University of Technology, Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures: Responsible Minerals Sourcing for Renewable Energy
follow us on Twitter | like us on Facebook | forward this to a friend
Copyright © 2019 MiningWatch Canada, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
MiningWatch Canada
508-250 City Centre Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6K7
Canada
(Washington, D.C.) As the World Bank today launches its new ‘Climate-Smart Mining’ facility, organizations from around the world are urging the financial institution to prioritize recycling, circular economy, public transit, and other non-mining solutions as the primary components of its agenda. Efforts should also be made to bolster responsible sourcing.
“To avert catastrophic climate change we support a just and rapid transition to a renewable energy economy, but promoting business-as-usual mining is not the answer. A truly “Climate-Smart” agenda would prioritize recycling, reuse, substitution and consumption changes before new mining,” stated Earthworks’ Mining Program Director Payal Sampat.
In a letter sent to the World Bank yesterday, over 50 organizations working with hundreds of mining-affected communities and workers around the world voiced their concerns about the World Bank’s expanding invesment in mining without accompanying changes in mining practices or consumption patterns.
Added Ugo LaPointe of MiningWatch Canada: “We are alarmed to note that the World Bank has primarily partnered with mining companies in developing and launching its new Climate-Smart Mining initiative, largely putting mining company agendas and interests before much needed efforts to shift demand and increase protections for workers, communities and the environment.”
Metals mining is currently one of the world’s dirtiest industries, responsible for at least 10% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, and over 50% of all toxic solid wastes in many producing countries. Mining is linked to severe human rights abuses, violent conflict and unsafe working conditions in some parts of the world.
According to new research from University of Technology, Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures, Responsible Minerals Sourcing for Renewable Energy, as demand for these scarce minerals skyrockets, the associated environmental and human impacts are likely to rise steeply as well.
Carlos Lozano, Senior Attorney with AIDA in Colombia, adds: “As a public financial institution, the World Bank is responsible for ensuring the sustainability of projects it finances, and should foster improved mining practices and truly renewable energy systems.”
Signatories point out there is a timely opportunity to scale up our dependence on clean, renewable energy sources, while scaling back our dependence on dirty mining. Doing so will require a concerted commitment from businesses, financial institutions, and governments to:
Boost recycling and minimize toxicity: through incentives for minerals recycling, efficiency, product take-backs, and easily reusable, repairable and recyclable product design.
Ensure responsible minerals sourcing: Where sourcing from mining operations is absolutely necessary, mining operations should adhere to stringent international environmental and human rights best-practices standards (such as those developed by the multi-stakeholder Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance) with independent, third-party assurance of compliance, and chain-of-custody schemes that allow consumers to make informed decisions.
Shift consumption and transportation: Prioritize “Smart City” design, invest in electric-powered public transit, and expand access to efficient public transit.
Sampat said: “It will take more than technological fixes to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and ensure equity in access to the benefits of clean energy. The World Bank shouldn’t be promoting new mining while the climate crisis offers an opportunity to rethink how societies, particularly wealthy ones, consume energy and products, and transport goods and people.”
Contacts:
Brendan McLaughlin, Earthworks, +1.206.892.8832
Jamie Kneen, MiningWatch Canada, +1.613.761.2273
For More Information:
NGO letter to the World Bank re Mining & Renewables
University of Technology, Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures: Responsible Minerals Sourcing for Renewable Energy
follow us on Twitter | like us on Facebook | forward this to a friend
Copyright © 2019 MiningWatch Canada, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
MiningWatch Canada
508-250 City Centre Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6K7
Canada
Smart Business Magazine/Jayne Gest: Elytus back on a high-growth track after an efficiency overhaul
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Columbus
Elytus back on a high-growth track after an efficiency overhaul
By: Jayne Gest | 12:15pm EDT June 1, 2016
The big struggle was you’re signing all this new business, and now your costs are escalating.
Matthew Hollis
President, Elytus
Oct. 1, 2013, was a fateful day for Elytus, a growing software business. Five chains went live as new customers on the same day.
President Matthew Hollis says as the company’s salesman, he only had himself to blame — even though he’d planned on spreading it out over several months.
“Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, a couple of them got severely delayed and a couple of them needed to move forward, and the next thing you know, all of them settled on the same date,” he says. “They didn’t know that we were implementing four other chains at the same time. You couldn’t change it. You had no choice. It had to go live, all on Oct. 1, but that was not the way we planned or designed it, by all means.”
Elytus helps large national chains manage their waste and recycling in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico, using its proprietary web-based platform.
As a result of more than doubling the business in one day, Hollis says they put an 18-month freeze on new customers and sought to better manage the growth.
Elytus has undergone most of its growth over the past five years. It now has 25 employees, around $30 million in annual revenue and just moved into a renovated zero-waste facility in Germantown.
Create efficiencies
A mechanical engineer by training, Hollis has faced a significant learning curve, while getting help from his business partner and the company’s new board of advisers.
“I used to be very proud of the fact that I could sit back and say, ‘Well, there’s nothing in the company that I a) don’t know about and b) haven’t done myself,’” he says.
Hollis had to learn to delegate and hire people who were experts in human resources, finance, etc., in order to get Elytus where it needed to go.
Also, Elytus didn’t have much overhead with its handful of employees, so Hollis says they developed the pricing based on those costs. The new deals didn’t account for the additional managers and space needed to manage them.
“The big struggle was you’re signing all this new business, and now your costs are escalating,” he says.
To help deal with this, Elytus’ leadership froze sales that weren’t already in the pipeline. (New business was still coming in because the company has an 18 to 24 month sales cycle.) Then, it looked at every business process in order to find efficiencies.
“We basically sat down and said, ‘How is it that you do this, and why do you do it this way?’” Hollis says. “And we got the whole company engaged.”
For example, at the time five people were dedicated to paying invoices because Elytus pays bills on behalf of its customers. Hollis says the technology and payables staff developed new technology to manage the process, and today paying invoices is no longer a full-time job.
Throughout this process, he says nobody was displaced. Open positions weren’t filled and other employees were retrained and redeployed into positions that better matched the growth.
Hire proactively
Hollis also became an advocate of pre-hiring and being a little overstaffed.
Elytus has very nontraditional job titles and functions. For instance, the manager of solutions realization is half customer service and half problem-solving, Hollis says.
“When you go out into the industry to hire people, what do they look for? They look for traditional job names. They look for traditional job descriptions,” he says.
Hollis says the job descriptions and titles are still unusual because they fit the company, but that means it’s always going to be hard to hire. To counteract that, Elytus constantly looks for candidates.
“If we find a good one, even if we don’t necessarily have the customers or ‘capacity,’ we’ll hire them — just because we’d rather get them in and get them trained, than be hoping to find somebody down the road that’s not as good of a fit,” he says.
Remember your passion
When you experience rapid growth, Hollis says it’s easy to focus on what’s breaking. Remind yourself that this is a great problem to have; it’s confirming your business and sales model.
You also can’t forget your passion. For Hollis, that’s his personal and business philosophy — waste nothing.
“When you have a million operational issues sitting on your desk, it’s really hard to remember why you do what you do,” Hollis says. “But when you do, and you can say: ‘I can get through this. I can help myself waste nothing. I can help my customers waste nothing.’ That’s really what I was passionate about. It’s the passion that will push you through it.”
At the same time, don’t be afraid to reach out to your peers.
“Don’t be embarrassed about the fact that your business doesn’t have it all together,” Hollis says. “Because you know what? Nobody does.
“Everybody has got issues. Don’t fake it. There’s no need to sit there and say business is great and everything is fine. You can say, ‘I’m in over my head and I’ve got a lot of issues. If you’ve got some advice, it’d be great.’”
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Columbus
Elytus back on a high-growth track after an efficiency overhaul
By: Jayne Gest | 12:15pm EDT June 1, 2016
The big struggle was you’re signing all this new business, and now your costs are escalating.
Matthew Hollis
President, Elytus
Oct. 1, 2013, was a fateful day for Elytus, a growing software business. Five chains went live as new customers on the same day.
President Matthew Hollis says as the company’s salesman, he only had himself to blame — even though he’d planned on spreading it out over several months.
“Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, a couple of them got severely delayed and a couple of them needed to move forward, and the next thing you know, all of them settled on the same date,” he says. “They didn’t know that we were implementing four other chains at the same time. You couldn’t change it. You had no choice. It had to go live, all on Oct. 1, but that was not the way we planned or designed it, by all means.”
Elytus helps large national chains manage their waste and recycling in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico, using its proprietary web-based platform.
As a result of more than doubling the business in one day, Hollis says they put an 18-month freeze on new customers and sought to better manage the growth.
Elytus has undergone most of its growth over the past five years. It now has 25 employees, around $30 million in annual revenue and just moved into a renovated zero-waste facility in Germantown.
Create efficiencies
A mechanical engineer by training, Hollis has faced a significant learning curve, while getting help from his business partner and the company’s new board of advisers.
“I used to be very proud of the fact that I could sit back and say, ‘Well, there’s nothing in the company that I a) don’t know about and b) haven’t done myself,’” he says.
Hollis had to learn to delegate and hire people who were experts in human resources, finance, etc., in order to get Elytus where it needed to go.
Also, Elytus didn’t have much overhead with its handful of employees, so Hollis says they developed the pricing based on those costs. The new deals didn’t account for the additional managers and space needed to manage them.
“The big struggle was you’re signing all this new business, and now your costs are escalating,” he says.
To help deal with this, Elytus’ leadership froze sales that weren’t already in the pipeline. (New business was still coming in because the company has an 18 to 24 month sales cycle.) Then, it looked at every business process in order to find efficiencies.
“We basically sat down and said, ‘How is it that you do this, and why do you do it this way?’” Hollis says. “And we got the whole company engaged.”
For example, at the time five people were dedicated to paying invoices because Elytus pays bills on behalf of its customers. Hollis says the technology and payables staff developed new technology to manage the process, and today paying invoices is no longer a full-time job.
Throughout this process, he says nobody was displaced. Open positions weren’t filled and other employees were retrained and redeployed into positions that better matched the growth.
Hire proactively
Hollis also became an advocate of pre-hiring and being a little overstaffed.
Elytus has very nontraditional job titles and functions. For instance, the manager of solutions realization is half customer service and half problem-solving, Hollis says.
“When you go out into the industry to hire people, what do they look for? They look for traditional job names. They look for traditional job descriptions,” he says.
Hollis says the job descriptions and titles are still unusual because they fit the company, but that means it’s always going to be hard to hire. To counteract that, Elytus constantly looks for candidates.
“If we find a good one, even if we don’t necessarily have the customers or ‘capacity,’ we’ll hire them — just because we’d rather get them in and get them trained, than be hoping to find somebody down the road that’s not as good of a fit,” he says.
Remember your passion
When you experience rapid growth, Hollis says it’s easy to focus on what’s breaking. Remind yourself that this is a great problem to have; it’s confirming your business and sales model.
You also can’t forget your passion. For Hollis, that’s his personal and business philosophy — waste nothing.
“When you have a million operational issues sitting on your desk, it’s really hard to remember why you do what you do,” Hollis says. “But when you do, and you can say: ‘I can get through this. I can help myself waste nothing. I can help my customers waste nothing.’ That’s really what I was passionate about. It’s the passion that will push you through it.”
At the same time, don’t be afraid to reach out to your peers.
“Don’t be embarrassed about the fact that your business doesn’t have it all together,” Hollis says. “Because you know what? Nobody does.
“Everybody has got issues. Don’t fake it. There’s no need to sit there and say business is great and everything is fine. You can say, ‘I’m in over my head and I’ve got a lot of issues. If you’ve got some advice, it’d be great.’”
Post navigation
Next
1 | 2 | FULL
Matthew Hollis
President, Elytus
Contact
(614) 824-4985
www.elytus.com
Connect on Social Media
Google+
You Might Also Like
The credit crisis
Disciplined growth
Prestigious growth
Net savings
Developing employees
Sign Up For News In Your Market
Stay up-to-date with local business news and networking events from Smart Business. Sign up to receive advice from business professionals, or register for information on our networking events near you!
Sign-Up Now!
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Akron/Canton
Atlanta
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Columbus
Dallas
Florida
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
National
Northern California
Orange County
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
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St. Louis
This Month's Digital Editions Now Available
May 2019
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SDG Knowledge Hub/Matthew Hollis: Why All Businesses Should Make a Commitment to Sustainability in 2019
SDG Knowledge Hub
A project by IISD
Matthew Hollis
Co-founder and President, Elytus
30 April 2019
share this
Why All Businesses Should Make a Commitment to Sustainability in 2019
Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
story highlights
Sustainability has benefits far beyond conserving our natural environment.
Sustainable business practices can make your company more efficient and ensure its longevity.
In making sustainable commitments, you will create a bigger purpose for employees, reduce costs in your supply chain and drive innovation in your company.
It seems that with each passing year, sustainability becomes more of a focus in everyday life. The year 2019 is no exception. From metal and paper straws replacing plastic ones, to heightened awareness of the plastic waste in our oceans, there are already many environmental movements underway. It is imperative that sustainability continues to become a larger part of our home and professional lives.
Many businesses have made sustainability part of company culture, and in the process discovered some techniques for making these changes. Here is some guidance for other companies that may be ready to take the first steps. These ideas are based on our experiences helping companies become more sustainable and environmentally friendly through innovative technology to track and reduce waste in activities such as managing diversion planning, composting, grease trap and fry oil disposal and other environmental and sanitary services. In the past ten years our chain clients have saved 175,000 admin hours, 20 million trees, and over USD11 million dollars through increased transparency in the waste management process, among other waste solutions.
Making Your Business Accountable
As an individual, you might be eco-conscious, but making a formal, public commitment to better practices is a bigger step. When it’s your company taking that step, it requires even more thought and effort. No matter how small or large a company is, it must consider both its impact on the environment, and what action it can take. Formally outline your commitment to team members, business partners, consumers and our planet. This creates accountability for both the company as a whole and the individual employees.
Working towards this wide-reaching change is beneficial for your business and profitability, because once you establish your sustainability commitment, it will begin a process towards three results: creating a more powerful purpose in your company; streamlining your supply chain, which can reduce expenses; and driving innovation within your business.
Create a Powerful Purpose
Sustainability can be misunderstood as having a strict focus on reducing the use of natural resources. However, the concept of conserving resources extends to the talent of a company’s people and the funds in our budgets, as well.
Understanding the driving motivation for the members of your team to get out of bed and come to work in the morning is extremely important. This passion can be channeled into innovations that increase efficiency to your operations, resulting in a conservation of employee time. Definitions of your company’s commitments to customers, quality and team members can further focus these efforts. The less team member time wasted on inefficient processes, the lower your labor expenses, allowing the company to sustainably exist in the future to continue providing those jobs.
Audit the Supply Chain for Sustainability and Efficiency
Implementing formal sustainability practices will help a business streamline its supply chain to not only become more eco-friendly in each step of the process but also reduce costs. A supply chain audit allows a company to evaluate performance and pricing, and gain insight into progress towards sustainability goals. It may seem time consuming to go through each step, but in addition to becoming more environmentally conservative, you will find that it results in cost savings as well. For example, if you find that you are hauling away waste multiple times a week, but really only need to haul it once, you will be helping the environment by reducing emissions and saving money on the costs.
Once the supply chain is examined, it is also critical to choose vendors or partners that align with your stated values. When you choose the right vendors, everything else falls into place. After you’ve done a supply chain audit and have chosen the right vendors and partners, you will see a boost in operational efficiency. Ultimately, this will promote growth and profitability within your organization.
Driving Innovation
As previous points show, an overarching reason for your company to make a sustainability commitment is to drive innovation. Many businesses find that they are stuck in a rut of the “old” ways of doing something. Once you decide to make a conscious effort for sustainability, it will shed new light on your company’s practices — which in turn can create new ideas or processes in your company.
This can set your business apart from the competition and make it into an industry leader. Furthermore, becoming more efficient helps to ensure that your company will be able to operate for years to come and potentially make it more cost competitive, as well.
In Conclusion
Sustainability has benefits far beyond conserving our natural environment. Sustainable business practices can make your company more efficient and ensure its longevity. In making sustainable commitments, you will create a bigger purpose for employees, reduce costs in your supply chain and drive innovation in your company.
After your initial sustainability transition, you can then set even bigger goals, like being Zero Waste Certified or becoming a B-corporation. Your efforts will boost your competitive advantage. More importantly for our future, as we learn more about business’ effect on environment, it is clearer than ever that we must be proactive. Don’t let your company be the one that’s stuck in the past.
The author of this guest article is Matthew S. Hollis, Founder and President of Elytus.
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A project by IISD
Matthew Hollis
Co-founder and President, Elytus
30 April 2019
share this
Why All Businesses Should Make a Commitment to Sustainability in 2019
Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
story highlights
Sustainability has benefits far beyond conserving our natural environment.
Sustainable business practices can make your company more efficient and ensure its longevity.
In making sustainable commitments, you will create a bigger purpose for employees, reduce costs in your supply chain and drive innovation in your company.
It seems that with each passing year, sustainability becomes more of a focus in everyday life. The year 2019 is no exception. From metal and paper straws replacing plastic ones, to heightened awareness of the plastic waste in our oceans, there are already many environmental movements underway. It is imperative that sustainability continues to become a larger part of our home and professional lives.
Many businesses have made sustainability part of company culture, and in the process discovered some techniques for making these changes. Here is some guidance for other companies that may be ready to take the first steps. These ideas are based on our experiences helping companies become more sustainable and environmentally friendly through innovative technology to track and reduce waste in activities such as managing diversion planning, composting, grease trap and fry oil disposal and other environmental and sanitary services. In the past ten years our chain clients have saved 175,000 admin hours, 20 million trees, and over USD11 million dollars through increased transparency in the waste management process, among other waste solutions.
Making Your Business Accountable
As an individual, you might be eco-conscious, but making a formal, public commitment to better practices is a bigger step. When it’s your company taking that step, it requires even more thought and effort. No matter how small or large a company is, it must consider both its impact on the environment, and what action it can take. Formally outline your commitment to team members, business partners, consumers and our planet. This creates accountability for both the company as a whole and the individual employees.
Working towards this wide-reaching change is beneficial for your business and profitability, because once you establish your sustainability commitment, it will begin a process towards three results: creating a more powerful purpose in your company; streamlining your supply chain, which can reduce expenses; and driving innovation within your business.
Create a Powerful Purpose
Sustainability can be misunderstood as having a strict focus on reducing the use of natural resources. However, the concept of conserving resources extends to the talent of a company’s people and the funds in our budgets, as well.
Understanding the driving motivation for the members of your team to get out of bed and come to work in the morning is extremely important. This passion can be channeled into innovations that increase efficiency to your operations, resulting in a conservation of employee time. Definitions of your company’s commitments to customers, quality and team members can further focus these efforts. The less team member time wasted on inefficient processes, the lower your labor expenses, allowing the company to sustainably exist in the future to continue providing those jobs.
Audit the Supply Chain for Sustainability and Efficiency
Implementing formal sustainability practices will help a business streamline its supply chain to not only become more eco-friendly in each step of the process but also reduce costs. A supply chain audit allows a company to evaluate performance and pricing, and gain insight into progress towards sustainability goals. It may seem time consuming to go through each step, but in addition to becoming more environmentally conservative, you will find that it results in cost savings as well. For example, if you find that you are hauling away waste multiple times a week, but really only need to haul it once, you will be helping the environment by reducing emissions and saving money on the costs.
Once the supply chain is examined, it is also critical to choose vendors or partners that align with your stated values. When you choose the right vendors, everything else falls into place. After you’ve done a supply chain audit and have chosen the right vendors and partners, you will see a boost in operational efficiency. Ultimately, this will promote growth and profitability within your organization.
Driving Innovation
As previous points show, an overarching reason for your company to make a sustainability commitment is to drive innovation. Many businesses find that they are stuck in a rut of the “old” ways of doing something. Once you decide to make a conscious effort for sustainability, it will shed new light on your company’s practices — which in turn can create new ideas or processes in your company.
This can set your business apart from the competition and make it into an industry leader. Furthermore, becoming more efficient helps to ensure that your company will be able to operate for years to come and potentially make it more cost competitive, as well.
In Conclusion
Sustainability has benefits far beyond conserving our natural environment. Sustainable business practices can make your company more efficient and ensure its longevity. In making sustainable commitments, you will create a bigger purpose for employees, reduce costs in your supply chain and drive innovation in your company.
After your initial sustainability transition, you can then set even bigger goals, like being Zero Waste Certified or becoming a B-corporation. Your efforts will boost your competitive advantage. More importantly for our future, as we learn more about business’ effect on environment, it is clearer than ever that we must be proactive. Don’t let your company be the one that’s stuck in the past.
The author of this guest article is Matthew S. Hollis, Founder and President of Elytus.
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Gulf Business/Neil King: UAE ‘number one country to live in’, according to Arab youth
Gulf Business
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UAE ‘number one country to live in’, according to Arab youth
The 2019 Arab Youth Survey reveals that 44 per cent of Arabs aged 18-24 would want to live in the UAE, amid a raft of findings by the annual report
Neil King
Tuesday 30 April 2019
The United Arab Emirates has been identified by young Arabs as the number one country to live in, according to the 11th annual Arab Youth Survey.
The survey, produced by Asda’a BCW, is based on 3,300 face-to-face interviews conducted by international research firm PBS with Arab nationals ages 18-24 in 15 states across the Middle East and North Africa.
The research found that 44 per cent of those interviewed say the UAE is the country they would want to live in, followed by Canada (22 per cent), the US (21 per cent), Turkey (17 per cent) and the UK (15 per cent). This is the eighth year that the UAE has emerged as the leader in this category.
Young Arabs also see the UAE as a model nation, according to the survey, with 42 per cent stating they would like their country to emulate it. The US and Japan were tied in second place with 20 per cent each, followed by Turkey (19 per cent) and Canada (18 per cent).
The UAE is also viewed as a strong ally of other MENA countries, with 93 per cent saying it is an ally of their country. Egypt came second with 84 per cent, followed by Saudi Arabia with 80 per cent, Turkey with 68 per cent, Russia with 64 per cent, and the US with 41 per cent.
“The UAE’s growing reputation among Arab youth as the best country to live in and for their nations to emulate highlights the forward-looking development strategy and future-focused vision of the UAE leadership,” said Sunil John, president of ASDA’A BCW.
“In the past eight years of the survey, the positive perception of the Emirates has only gained in strength year-on-year, underlining the UAE as a true beacon of hope and a model nation for young people across the region.
“From investments in world-class infrastructure to the focus of the leadership to build smart, sustainable cities and leverage the advantages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the UAE’s predominant narrative appeals to young people for the job opportunities and the quality of life the nation assures.”
According to the report, 38 per cent of young Arabs are drawn to the UAE by its wide range of work opportunities, while 36 per cent cited its secure environment, and 30 per cent pointed to its generous salary packages.
Elsewhere in the survey, 66 per cent of people believe religion plays too big a role in the Middle East, with 79 per cent agreeing that the Arab world needs to reform its religious institutions.
More than half of respondents (56 per cent) believe the rising cost of living is among the biggest obstacles facing the Middle East, with 45 per cent highlighting the role of unemployment. Some 65 per cent said their countries are not doing enough to help young families.
Almost four fifths (78 per cent) said they are concerned about the quality of education they receive in their country, with only 32 per cent saying they would prefer to pursue higher education in their own country. Most – 53 per cent – want to attend college or university in a Western country.
The survey also showed a boom in e-commerce spending among young people. Some 71 per cent said they shop online either ‘frequently’ or ‘less frequently’, compared to 53 per cent in 2018. Clothing, food and electronics emerged as the three main drivers of e-commerce.
The Arab Youth Survey launched in 2008, in a bid to understand the attitudes and aspirations of the region’s largest age demographic; 65 per cent of the Arab population being under 30 years old.
The 3,300 interviews for the 2019 edition were split evenly between men and women and took place across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE), Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen.
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Copyright © 2019 by Gulf Business.
Quantcast - GDPR Consent Solution
UAE ‘number one country to live in’, according to Arab youth
The 2019 Arab Youth Survey reveals that 44 per cent of Arabs aged 18-24 would want to live in the UAE, amid a raft of findings by the annual report
Neil King
Tuesday 30 April 2019
The United Arab Emirates has been identified by young Arabs as the number one country to live in, according to the 11th annual Arab Youth Survey.
The survey, produced by Asda’a BCW, is based on 3,300 face-to-face interviews conducted by international research firm PBS with Arab nationals ages 18-24 in 15 states across the Middle East and North Africa.
The research found that 44 per cent of those interviewed say the UAE is the country they would want to live in, followed by Canada (22 per cent), the US (21 per cent), Turkey (17 per cent) and the UK (15 per cent). This is the eighth year that the UAE has emerged as the leader in this category.
Young Arabs also see the UAE as a model nation, according to the survey, with 42 per cent stating they would like their country to emulate it. The US and Japan were tied in second place with 20 per cent each, followed by Turkey (19 per cent) and Canada (18 per cent).
The UAE is also viewed as a strong ally of other MENA countries, with 93 per cent saying it is an ally of their country. Egypt came second with 84 per cent, followed by Saudi Arabia with 80 per cent, Turkey with 68 per cent, Russia with 64 per cent, and the US with 41 per cent.
“The UAE’s growing reputation among Arab youth as the best country to live in and for their nations to emulate highlights the forward-looking development strategy and future-focused vision of the UAE leadership,” said Sunil John, president of ASDA’A BCW.
“In the past eight years of the survey, the positive perception of the Emirates has only gained in strength year-on-year, underlining the UAE as a true beacon of hope and a model nation for young people across the region.
“From investments in world-class infrastructure to the focus of the leadership to build smart, sustainable cities and leverage the advantages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the UAE’s predominant narrative appeals to young people for the job opportunities and the quality of life the nation assures.”
According to the report, 38 per cent of young Arabs are drawn to the UAE by its wide range of work opportunities, while 36 per cent cited its secure environment, and 30 per cent pointed to its generous salary packages.
Elsewhere in the survey, 66 per cent of people believe religion plays too big a role in the Middle East, with 79 per cent agreeing that the Arab world needs to reform its religious institutions.
More than half of respondents (56 per cent) believe the rising cost of living is among the biggest obstacles facing the Middle East, with 45 per cent highlighting the role of unemployment. Some 65 per cent said their countries are not doing enough to help young families.
Almost four fifths (78 per cent) said they are concerned about the quality of education they receive in their country, with only 32 per cent saying they would prefer to pursue higher education in their own country. Most – 53 per cent – want to attend college or university in a Western country.
The survey also showed a boom in e-commerce spending among young people. Some 71 per cent said they shop online either ‘frequently’ or ‘less frequently’, compared to 53 per cent in 2018. Clothing, food and electronics emerged as the three main drivers of e-commerce.
The Arab Youth Survey launched in 2008, in a bid to understand the attitudes and aspirations of the region’s largest age demographic; 65 per cent of the Arab population being under 30 years old.
The 3,300 interviews for the 2019 edition were split evenly between men and women and took place across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE), Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen.
ALSO READ
Arab Youth Centre HQ opened in Abu Dhabi
Arab Youth Centre HQ opened in Abu Dhabi
Arab youth claim ISIL is biggest challenge in Middle East
Arab youth claim ISIL is biggest challenge in Middle East
Arab Youth: UAE Is The Best Country To Live In
Arab Youth: UAE Is The Best Country To Live In
Dubai’s ruler launches project to teach 1 million Arab youth coding
Dubai’s ruler launches project to teach 1 million Arab youth coding
New youth council launched to empower Emirati talent
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Sheikh Mohammed calls for youth minister aged under 25
Sheikh Mohammed calls for youth minister aged under 25
UAE launches national youth agenda
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Youth Unemployment Costs Arab Countries $40bn Annually
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Top 100 GCC Companies 2018
Top 100 most powerful Arabs 2018
Top 50 GCC Banks 2017
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Top 100 GCC Companies 2016
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JW Marriott Dubai in Deira to suspend operations next month
New economy class seats - with no TV screens - unveiled by Abu Dhabi's Etihad
Dubai reveals dates for this year's three-day 'super sale'
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Plans cancelled for Dhs2.6bn Six Flags Dubai theme park project
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Saudia confirms that two of its crew members died in Sri Lanka attacks
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Copyright © 2019 by Gulf Business.
The Driven/Sophie Vorrath: Transition: “Massive” new EV factory announced for Victoria’s Latrobe Valley
The Driven
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Transition: “Massive” new EV factory announced for Victoria’s Latrobe Valley
Posted on October 30, 20184 minute readSophie Vorrath
A deal that promises to transform Victoria’s former coal power hub into a national centre for Australian electric vehicle production has been announced by the state Labor government, through a support package that will help build a “massive” EV assembly plant in the Latrobe Valley.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews and minister for industry Ben Carroll announced on Tuesday that the Labor government had committed an undisclosed amount to underpin the construction of a SEA Electric EV factory, most likely in Morwell, in the state’s Gippsland region.
The facility is expected to employ 500 Latrobe Valley locals, and assemble 2,400 vehicles a year – specialising in the production of electric delivery vans and minibuses using SEA Electric’s proprietary, and world-first, electric drive technology.
“Our announcement today, in partnership with SEA Electric, is all about making sure that the Latrobe Valley is the national capital for electric vehicles,” Andrews said during a press conference in Morwell.
“This is 500 manufacturing jobs, 500 new jobs in this proud region, putting together (electric) vehicles.
“It will be a particularly big facility.”
Andrews said the five-year support package was drawn from the $266 million Latrobe Valley support package, set up by the Labor to help the Valley transition from coal, after last year’s closure of the Hazelwood power plant.
“We can’t be telling all of our competitors and setting the price, if you like. We need to make sure that we get good value, and we have.
“This is exactly what we said we would do when we set up the Latrobe Valley authority,” he continued.
“This new plant will not only create jobs ongoing … but there’ll be jobs in the construction of the brand new factory.
“And of course, when you’re producing 2,400 vehicles a year, there’s more opportunity for more of that supply chain to be brought local, into this proud region.”
The deal is a major coup for SEA Electric, which – as company founder, majority share-shareholder and CEO, Tony Fair-weather explained on Tuesday – only came to market at the beginning of last year.
The company has proven its technology over the last 12 months – working from its existing Dandenong plant – which has featured in a number of major developments, including the debut of Victoria’s first all-electric garbage truck, earlier this month.
The new factory – which will be in addition to the Dandenong facility – will specialise in assembling the cab, battery pack and electric motor of SEA Electric’s E4V product: a 10 cubic meter delivery van that was released in July.
According to Fairweather, that van is currently achieving a range of well over 300km and has a payback period of well under four years, in comparison to the diesel equivalent.
It will also produce a 15-seat E4B, which is a commuter bus – tapping the company into what Fairweather says is “a very large segment” in Australia.
“There’s about 25,000 of those collective units sold a year in Australia – every one of them is a internal combustion engine, every one of them is fully imported. So we’re entering a segment that is large, and is dominated by imported OEM.
“We at SEA Electric are extremely excited about this opportunity… and not just for the opportunity of employing hundreds of Latrobe Valley residents,” he said.
“Also, we see it as providing an opportunity for Victorian automotive suppliers, components suppliers, to transition through innovation into this exciting new automotive segment, and be able to supply us, and global markets for that matter, with components we’re still required to import.
“This EV revolution is here, it’s here to stay. It’s being driven by economics now,” Fairweather added.
“It’s not just an environmental play, and it’s not just a noise play. It’s cheaper to have a 100 per cent electric commercial vehicle for delivery and distribution purposes that it is an internal combustion engine vehicle.
“We’re at the pointy end of the economic cycle in this particular space. And we’ve got a global point of difference, not just a Latrobe Valley point of difference, or an Australian point of difference. So we’re extremely bullish about this particular space.”
Fairweather said the company was currently scouting for potential sites for the Latrobe Valley factory, and hoped to have it up and running – and producing EVs – within a year.
In terms of jobs, however, the company is already recruiting.
“We’d like to see Latrobe Valley employees producing E4Vs and E4Bs out of Dandenong within the next three or four months,” he said.
Minister Carroll said the state government investment – which is not dependent on the outcome of the upcoming election – in the new facility would put Victoria on the path to be a “national leader” in EVs.
“The auto sector is going to change more in the next five years than it has in the past 50,” Carroll said on Tuesday.
“These SEA vehicles … (are) one of a kind, they’re world-first and they’re going to be built right here in the Valley.
Andrews stressed that the factory would be “a particularly big facility,” to add to SEA Electric’s “significant already” Dandenong base.
“This is a big next step, but what comes after it may be even bigger.
“There is limitless potential beyond that… to deliver a product that will be the envy of the world.”
Sophie Vorrath
Sophie Vorrath
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
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The Driven/Bridie Schmidt: Daimler plans all-electric truck future and high-powered 3MW charging
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Daimler plans all-electric truck future and high-powered 3MW charging
Posted on April 30, 20193 minute readBridie Schmidt
Daimler's eCascadia and eM2 trucks feature fully electric drivetrains. Source: Daimler
Daimler’s eCascadia and eM2 trucks feature fully electric drivetrains. Source: Daimler
Daimler Trucks North America chief Roger Nielsen has told a gathering in Long Beach, California, that the German truckmaker that the end of diesel engines is nigh and that it believes the most viable energy source for clean buses and trucks is not hydrogen, nor gas or hybrid – it is 100% battery electric.
An aggressive plan is being undertaken by the truckmaker, which is the largest maker of trucks on the North American continent, which will in the future see it manufacture only pure electric trucks and buses.
In addition to planning to go fully electric, Daimler Trucks are also apparently making moves to develop high-powered charging facilities, as a key responsibility in a job posting on its website indicates:
Lead future strategy, concepts, and innovation for next generation advanced charging systems, including strategies for very high power charging up to 3MW.
The ability to recharge at a rate of 3,000 kilowatts puts the notion of an “ultra-fast charger” (such as 350kW chargers that supply hundreds of kilometres of range to electric cars in just 10 minutes) to shame; although not likely to ever by used for passenger vehicles any time soon, such high-powered charging is imperative for all-electric trucks.
The plan to completely electric by the truckmaker is all the more significant considering the 123-year-old Daimler Trucks is supplier of 52% of trucks operated in the top 100 fleets in North America, accounting for 750,000 trucks.
Speaking to the annual Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (ACT Expo), held last week at the Long Beach Convention Center, on April 24, Transport Topics reported that Nielsen said that,“I believe the future is electric.”
“The road to emissions-free driving will be driven by battery-electric vehicles,” he said.
Roger Nielsen of Daimler Trucks North America basically declared the beginning of the end of the internal-combustion era in trucking and busing. #ACTExpo pic.twitter.com/YRnxlaZ4Tl
— Jim Stinson (@jimstinson) April 24, 2019
While hydrogen technology is being touted as a clean energy solution for long-haul vehicles such as trucks, there are questions as to the high financial and energy costs associated with hydrogen production.
Nielsen believes that while hydrogen may be a suitable solution in the future, it is not yet viable – and that PHEV or gas-powered trucks offer only a temporary answer to lowering transport emissions.
“For trucks, I do not believe in plug-in hybrids,” he said. “For trucks, I believe that natural gas-powered engines are only an interim solution. For trucks, fuel cells as a range extender on battery-electric vehicles have promise, but hydrogen fuel cells alone are not yet viable.”
But Nielsen admitted that electric trucks have their challenges also, largely due to the high costs of the large batteries that are required for long-haul transport, and that subsidies and funding are needed for the time being.
“Unfortunately, there is no business case today for a sane and sober customer to buy a battery-electric truck,” Nieslen told attendees.
“Yes … it’s stripped of its accouterments of a diesel engine … But the battery packs that we add in? Boy, are they expensive. They’re heavy, and they’re large.”
“In the interim, we need financial incentives and government industry partnerships in order for us to scale up,” Nielsen said. “Incentives help.”
Nielsen’s comments at the ACT Expo come as Kenworth and Toyota unveiled 10 hydrogen fuel cell trucks that will service Long Beach’s and Los Angeles’ ports, thanks to $US41 million ($A57 million) awarded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in August 2018.
Daimler presented two fully-electric trucks in June last year at a Capital Market & Technology Days event made by subsidiary Freightliner, the Freightoliner eCascadia and the electric variant of the Freightliner eM2, and also has the FUSO eCanter, the fully-electric Mercedes-Benz Citaro city bus and the Thomas Built Saf-T Liner C2 Jouley school bus completing its current EV offerings.
Also present at the ACT Expo was Australian electric truckmaker SEA Electric, which has been attending several events in the US this month that has resulted in multiple orders for its Ford F-59 stripped chassis trucks with electric drivetrain.
SEA Electric’s recent expansion into the US market has been positively received and is encouraging for the Latrobe-based truckmaker which officially commenced operations with a new factory funded by the Victorian state Labor goverment late last year.
“Feedback in the United States to our SEA Electric technology from both government and private buyers has been extremely positive with several customers already placing orders,” he said in a note.
Bridie Schmidt
Bridie Schmidt
Bridie Schmidt is staff writer for The Driven, and Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, as well as using her technical skills in managing our websites.
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The Driven/Bridie Schmidt: GM to build an electric ute as part of all-electric future
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GM to build an electric ute as part of all-electric future
Posted on May 1, 20193 minute read
Bridie Schmidt
Could an all-electric Silverado be on the cards? Source: GM
Could an all-electric Silverado be on the cards? Source: GM
General Motors CEO Mary Barra has confirmed that the American carmaker will include a full-sized electric ute (or pickup) in its stable of vehicles as it moves to a fully electric future.
During the carmaker’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday (US time), Barra reconfirmed the carmaker’s plans to ditch petrol and diesel cars that it first announced in November 2018 and which will see the company undergo a massive restructure.
“GM has an industry-leading truck franchise and industry-leading electrification capabilities,” Barra told investors and journalists.
“I assure you we will not cede our leadership on either front. We intend to create an all-electric future that includes a complete range of EVs, including full-size pickups.”
A better-than-expected return was seen for the quarter which was a direct outcome from the cost-slashing the carmaker has instigated to enable funding of the restructure and its shift to electric vehicle manufacture, despite a fall in revenue of 3.4 per cent to $US34.88 billion ($A49.46 billion) from the same period last year.
The profits garnished from the cost cutting measures, which will once complete comprise the shutdown of five factories, firing of 15% of staff including 25% of executive staff, and the demise of 6 sedans in the carmaker’s lineup, were coupled with benefits gleaned from GM’s stakes in ride-hailing company Lyft and the French PSA Group.
Of the six sedans being slashed from GM’s lineup, it has already ended production of the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt (once badged as the Holden Volt in Australia), two weeks ahead of schedule in February 2019.
It then announced last month it would fund $US300 million ($A424 million) into upgrading its Michigan plant in order to begin development of a new electric car using the Bolt electric powertrain and the Cadillac badge.
It’s as yet unknown if GM will produce an electric pickup under the Cadillac badge (it does offer the luxury pickup/SUV Escalade crossover), but it has been observed that pickups are key to GM’s overall electric strategy.
According to Bloomberg, large utes/pickups account for $US65 billion ($A92 billion) in annual revenue for the group, and it’s these dollars that will fill the gap as the company moves to electric vehicles.
“GM’s truck program also does the most to help fill the financial hole created by the company’s electric vehicle program,” writes David Welch.
“In 2016, its first year available, each Chevy Bolt electric car sold lost about $9,000 for the automaker. Those losses only scratch the surface of overall spending on development of next-generation cars.”
GM is clearly aware that if its switch to electric is going to work, there needs to be investment in electric pickups; after all, the company derives $US9 billion ($A12.76 billion) a year from selling petrol and diesel variants.
But whether it will develop them itself remains to be seen; it was reported earlier this year that the American car giant was in talks with electric vehicle start up Rivian that has developed two very rugged electric offerings, the R1S SUV and the R1T ute.
However those talks fell through, supposedly because of unrealistic demands from the legacy carmaker, and Rivian has since cut a deal with GM’s competitor Ford for $US500 million ($A713 million), following a previous $US700 million ($A992 million) deal with online retail giant Amazon.
Bridie Schmidt
Bridie Schmidt
Bridie Schmidt is staff writer for The Driven, and Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, as well as using her technical skills in managing our websites.
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GM to build an electric ute as part of all-electric future
Posted on May 1, 20193 minute read
Bridie Schmidt
Could an all-electric Silverado be on the cards? Source: GM
Could an all-electric Silverado be on the cards? Source: GM
General Motors CEO Mary Barra has confirmed that the American carmaker will include a full-sized electric ute (or pickup) in its stable of vehicles as it moves to a fully electric future.
During the carmaker’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday (US time), Barra reconfirmed the carmaker’s plans to ditch petrol and diesel cars that it first announced in November 2018 and which will see the company undergo a massive restructure.
“GM has an industry-leading truck franchise and industry-leading electrification capabilities,” Barra told investors and journalists.
“I assure you we will not cede our leadership on either front. We intend to create an all-electric future that includes a complete range of EVs, including full-size pickups.”
A better-than-expected return was seen for the quarter which was a direct outcome from the cost-slashing the carmaker has instigated to enable funding of the restructure and its shift to electric vehicle manufacture, despite a fall in revenue of 3.4 per cent to $US34.88 billion ($A49.46 billion) from the same period last year.
The profits garnished from the cost cutting measures, which will once complete comprise the shutdown of five factories, firing of 15% of staff including 25% of executive staff, and the demise of 6 sedans in the carmaker’s lineup, were coupled with benefits gleaned from GM’s stakes in ride-hailing company Lyft and the French PSA Group.
Of the six sedans being slashed from GM’s lineup, it has already ended production of the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt (once badged as the Holden Volt in Australia), two weeks ahead of schedule in February 2019.
It then announced last month it would fund $US300 million ($A424 million) into upgrading its Michigan plant in order to begin development of a new electric car using the Bolt electric powertrain and the Cadillac badge.
It’s as yet unknown if GM will produce an electric pickup under the Cadillac badge (it does offer the luxury pickup/SUV Escalade crossover), but it has been observed that pickups are key to GM’s overall electric strategy.
According to Bloomberg, large utes/pickups account for $US65 billion ($A92 billion) in annual revenue for the group, and it’s these dollars that will fill the gap as the company moves to electric vehicles.
“GM’s truck program also does the most to help fill the financial hole created by the company’s electric vehicle program,” writes David Welch.
“In 2016, its first year available, each Chevy Bolt electric car sold lost about $9,000 for the automaker. Those losses only scratch the surface of overall spending on development of next-generation cars.”
GM is clearly aware that if its switch to electric is going to work, there needs to be investment in electric pickups; after all, the company derives $US9 billion ($A12.76 billion) a year from selling petrol and diesel variants.
But whether it will develop them itself remains to be seen; it was reported earlier this year that the American car giant was in talks with electric vehicle start up Rivian that has developed two very rugged electric offerings, the R1S SUV and the R1T ute.
However those talks fell through, supposedly because of unrealistic demands from the legacy carmaker, and Rivian has since cut a deal with GM’s competitor Ford for $US500 million ($A713 million), following a previous $US700 million ($A992 million) deal with online retail giant Amazon.
Bridie Schmidt
Bridie Schmidt
Bridie Schmidt is staff writer for The Driven, and Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, as well as using her technical skills in managing our websites.
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Bloomberg/Carroll, Chiglinsky, & Crowley: Bank of Buffett Drops $10 Billion Bomb Into Anadarko Battle
Bloomberg
Deals
Bank of Buffett Drops $10 Billion Bomb Into Anadarko Battle
By Joe Carroll
, Katherine Chiglinsky
, and Kevin Crowley
30 April 2019, 15:16 UTC
Updated on 30 April 2019, 20:23 UTC
Billionaire’s backing of Occidental bid comes at premium price
Anadarko board in midst of assessing competing takeover offers
What Buffett's Investment Means for Anadarko Battle
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Warren Buffett’s intervention in Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s $37 billion unsolicited bid for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. may tip the scales in the oil industry’s biggest bidding war in decades.
In a stunning escalation of the two-week-old contest for Anadarko, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Tuesday disclosed plans to inject $10 billion into Occidental in exchange for preferred stock and warrants. The bombshell landed in the midst of Anadarko board deliberations about whether Occidental’s offer is superior to a lower but already agreed-to deal with Chevron Corp.
The arrangement was announced just two days after Occidental’s corporate jet flew to Buffett’s hometown of Omaha. It’s contingent on the deal for Anadarko closing and would be his biggest investment in more than three years aside from Apple Inc. It also answers the question about what to do with a swelling cash pile just ahead of Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting this weekend.
Furthermore, the transaction is a major sign of approval for the future of the Permian Basin, the world’s largest oilfield, from an investor who has previously plowed dollars into oil refiners, drillers and Canada’s oil-sands.
Midas Touch
The Occidental transaction follows Buffett’s classic playbook: Getting above-market rates on a preferred stake and the upside of stock options in exchange for the Berkshire seal of approval and a big check. In the past he’s lent his reputation to banks facing doubts about their capitalization, and now he’s backing a proposed acquisition bid that’s facing questions over its legitimacy.
Buffett’s imprimatur is apparently valuable to Occidental Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub: The 8 percent that’ll be paid out on the preferred shares is more than twice the average coupon on Occidental’s debt.
Chevron stuck to its guns following Buffett’s move. “We believe our signed agreement with Anadarko provides the best value and the most certainty to Anadarko’s shareholders,” Chevron company spokesman Kent Robertson said in an email.
The California-based oil explorer’s cash-and-stock bid was valued at $31.5 billion, or $62.70 a share, as of 4 p.m. New York time. Anadarko was 0.1 percent lower at $72.85, a premium of about 16 percent to Chevron’s offer price.
What Bloomberg Intelligence Says
Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion preferred stock commitment tips support to Occidental’s Anadarko bid, but Chevron’s balance-sheet heft and ability to digest better-fitting assets still suggests to us Chevron can remain ahead if it ups its offer.
--Vincent G. Piazza and Michael Kay, senior industry analysts
Click here to view the research
Anadarko didn’t immediately responded to requests for comment.
The world’s fourth-richest individual is demanding a high price for his support, according to Leo Mariani, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The preferred stock represents “rather expensive financing,” he said in a note to clients. The arrangement with the Oracle of Omaha also came as a surprise, Mariani added, given that Occidental previously said it already had lined up financing for the Anadarko deal.
But Buffett’s backing means that Occidental may avoid a shareholder vote, said David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors Inc., which manages $800 million including Occidental stock. "It seems like the CEO with the board’s support is going to do everything and anything to get the deal done."
Omaha Meeting
For Buffett, it shows he can still find unique opportunities in an environment where he’s bemoaned the high prices for most companies. His annual shareholder meeting this weekend in Omaha is certain to feature questions about how he’d invest Berkshire’s cash, and he’s started laying the groundwork to increase share buybacks, an option he’s historically shunned.
Related Stories:
Buffett Backs Occidental’s Anadarko Bid With $10 Billion
Occidental Plunges as Investors Count Cost of Buffett Deal
Chevron Bid ‘Dead’ After Buffett Backs Occidental, Investor Says
Matt Levine’s Money Stuff: Warren Buffett Funds an Elephant
Buffett’s Seal of Approval Doesn’t Come Cheap: Tara Lachapelle
Occidental Jet Flew to Omaha This Weekend, Flight Data Shows
Anadarko Board Faces Scrutiny Amid $38 Billion Bidding War
While the deal isn’t the “elephant-sized acquisition” that Buffett said in February he was hoping for, it vaults Occidental into the top 10 of Berkshire’s public company holdings, among the likes of Apple Inc., American Express Co. and Kraft Heinz Co.
Berkshire didn’t have much exposure to oil in its $173 billion equity portfolio at year-end, though it did add a roughly $400 million stake in Canada’s Suncor Energy Inc. in the fourth quarter. The company is set to disclose its first-quarter stock purchases and sales next month.
What Bloomberg Opinion Says
The extra-sweet terms Berkshire secured from Occidental show how eager the oil company is to beat out rival bidder Chevron Corp. for Anadarko, which has assets in the prolific Permian Basin shale field that straddles Texas and New Mexico.
--Tara Lachapelle, columnist
Click here to view the column
Berkshire’s energy investments are mainly in renewables and power, but it also owns two natural gas transmission systems: Northern Natural Gas in the U.S. Midwest, and Kern River Gas Transmission in the West. Anadarko owns Western Gas Midstream Partners, which operates gas gathering and processing facilities in Texas, Pennsylvania and several western states.
— With assistance by Alex Nussbaum, Michael J Moore, Christine Buurma, and Rachel Adams-Heard
(Updates share prices in eighth paragraph.)
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Deals
Bank of Buffett Drops $10 Billion Bomb Into Anadarko Battle
By Joe Carroll
, Katherine Chiglinsky
, and Kevin Crowley
30 April 2019, 15:16 UTC
Updated on 30 April 2019, 20:23 UTC
Billionaire’s backing of Occidental bid comes at premium price
Anadarko board in midst of assessing competing takeover offers
What Buffett's Investment Means for Anadarko Battle
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Warren Buffett’s intervention in Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s $37 billion unsolicited bid for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. may tip the scales in the oil industry’s biggest bidding war in decades.
In a stunning escalation of the two-week-old contest for Anadarko, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Tuesday disclosed plans to inject $10 billion into Occidental in exchange for preferred stock and warrants. The bombshell landed in the midst of Anadarko board deliberations about whether Occidental’s offer is superior to a lower but already agreed-to deal with Chevron Corp.
The arrangement was announced just two days after Occidental’s corporate jet flew to Buffett’s hometown of Omaha. It’s contingent on the deal for Anadarko closing and would be his biggest investment in more than three years aside from Apple Inc. It also answers the question about what to do with a swelling cash pile just ahead of Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting this weekend.
Furthermore, the transaction is a major sign of approval for the future of the Permian Basin, the world’s largest oilfield, from an investor who has previously plowed dollars into oil refiners, drillers and Canada’s oil-sands.
Midas Touch
The Occidental transaction follows Buffett’s classic playbook: Getting above-market rates on a preferred stake and the upside of stock options in exchange for the Berkshire seal of approval and a big check. In the past he’s lent his reputation to banks facing doubts about their capitalization, and now he’s backing a proposed acquisition bid that’s facing questions over its legitimacy.
Buffett’s imprimatur is apparently valuable to Occidental Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub: The 8 percent that’ll be paid out on the preferred shares is more than twice the average coupon on Occidental’s debt.
Chevron stuck to its guns following Buffett’s move. “We believe our signed agreement with Anadarko provides the best value and the most certainty to Anadarko’s shareholders,” Chevron company spokesman Kent Robertson said in an email.
The California-based oil explorer’s cash-and-stock bid was valued at $31.5 billion, or $62.70 a share, as of 4 p.m. New York time. Anadarko was 0.1 percent lower at $72.85, a premium of about 16 percent to Chevron’s offer price.
What Bloomberg Intelligence Says
Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion preferred stock commitment tips support to Occidental’s Anadarko bid, but Chevron’s balance-sheet heft and ability to digest better-fitting assets still suggests to us Chevron can remain ahead if it ups its offer.
--Vincent G. Piazza and Michael Kay, senior industry analysts
Click here to view the research
Anadarko didn’t immediately responded to requests for comment.
The world’s fourth-richest individual is demanding a high price for his support, according to Leo Mariani, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The preferred stock represents “rather expensive financing,” he said in a note to clients. The arrangement with the Oracle of Omaha also came as a surprise, Mariani added, given that Occidental previously said it already had lined up financing for the Anadarko deal.
But Buffett’s backing means that Occidental may avoid a shareholder vote, said David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors Inc., which manages $800 million including Occidental stock. "It seems like the CEO with the board’s support is going to do everything and anything to get the deal done."
Omaha Meeting
For Buffett, it shows he can still find unique opportunities in an environment where he’s bemoaned the high prices for most companies. His annual shareholder meeting this weekend in Omaha is certain to feature questions about how he’d invest Berkshire’s cash, and he’s started laying the groundwork to increase share buybacks, an option he’s historically shunned.
Related Stories:
Buffett Backs Occidental’s Anadarko Bid With $10 Billion
Occidental Plunges as Investors Count Cost of Buffett Deal
Chevron Bid ‘Dead’ After Buffett Backs Occidental, Investor Says
Matt Levine’s Money Stuff: Warren Buffett Funds an Elephant
Buffett’s Seal of Approval Doesn’t Come Cheap: Tara Lachapelle
Occidental Jet Flew to Omaha This Weekend, Flight Data Shows
Anadarko Board Faces Scrutiny Amid $38 Billion Bidding War
While the deal isn’t the “elephant-sized acquisition” that Buffett said in February he was hoping for, it vaults Occidental into the top 10 of Berkshire’s public company holdings, among the likes of Apple Inc., American Express Co. and Kraft Heinz Co.
Berkshire didn’t have much exposure to oil in its $173 billion equity portfolio at year-end, though it did add a roughly $400 million stake in Canada’s Suncor Energy Inc. in the fourth quarter. The company is set to disclose its first-quarter stock purchases and sales next month.
What Bloomberg Opinion Says
The extra-sweet terms Berkshire secured from Occidental show how eager the oil company is to beat out rival bidder Chevron Corp. for Anadarko, which has assets in the prolific Permian Basin shale field that straddles Texas and New Mexico.
--Tara Lachapelle, columnist
Click here to view the column
Berkshire’s energy investments are mainly in renewables and power, but it also owns two natural gas transmission systems: Northern Natural Gas in the U.S. Midwest, and Kern River Gas Transmission in the West. Anadarko owns Western Gas Midstream Partners, which operates gas gathering and processing facilities in Texas, Pennsylvania and several western states.
— With assistance by Alex Nussbaum, Michael J Moore, Christine Buurma, and Rachel Adams-Heard
(Updates share prices in eighth paragraph.)
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Bloomberg/Margaret Cronin Fisk: America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
Bloomberg
America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
The power wielded by instructors and the high stakes faced by students create an environment where misconduct flourishes.
undefined
Illustration: Nicole Xu
By Margaret Cronin Fisk
30 April 2019, 07:00 UTC
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For medical students, the path to becoming a licensed doctor is filled with obstacles—brutal classes, insane hours and six-figure debt which can take decades to pay back.
For women, there’s often an additional challenge: the risk of becoming a victim of sexual misconduct. While such wrongdoing can occur in any educational or professional setting, the danger is significantly greater when it comes to the training of American physicians. Much of this is tied to the stakes—medical students have close to a decade of advanced education, critical career opportunities and even financial survival hanging in the balance.
Post-graduate medical education follows an apprenticeship model. Young doctors will spend years working closely with experienced medical professionals—supervisors who have tremendous sway over their future. A recent study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) said this teaching dynamic leaves students vulnerable to what Dr. Janis Orlowski, chief health officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), called “the power discrepancy.”
That discrepancy, in a field known for its insularity and opacity, manifests in rates of sexual harassment, assault and retaliation that far outpace other professional disciplines.
There is some change afoot, though. The national unraveling of sexual malfeasance in the workplace has cracked the medical bulwark. Doctors have even adopted their own hashtag, #MeTooMedicine, to share their horror stories. And in February, the AAMC, which includes 152 medical schools and 400 teaching hospitals, joined 50 other academic and professional groups to form the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine). The organization pledges to develop model policies that can be used to prevent sexual misconduct.
But victims, especially those whose lives have been derailed, are less than sanguine about such promises. Some who have complained or sued over mistreatment, both in medical school and post-graduate residency, contend there’s much more to be done before women can pursue a medical career free of fear.
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
Cyndi Herald sued the University of New Mexico Medical School after she was dropped from its residency program. She claimed it was retaliation for having reported that she was sexually assaulted by another resident.
Photographer: Brittany Greeson/Bloomberg
In the U.S., there are more than 91,000 students in medical school, 49.5 percent of whom are women. The cost of a medical education leaves the average student at graduation close to $150,000 in debt.
Their path typically begins with a four-year undergraduate degree, usually with a focus on science. A 3.7 grade-point average and a high score on the Medical College Admission Test are mandatory for those looking to land a desirable medical school, said Dr. Kevin O’Brien, a professor at the University of South Florida who has studied medical education for 14 years.
Recent surveys, including one by the NAS, cited “disturbingly” high rates of harassment in medical school—for men and women. The report said “20-50 percent of women students” said they had experienced “sexually harassing behavior perpetrated by faculty [or] staff.” In one study, about half of female medical school students at Penn State University reported being sexually harassed by faculty or staff. An investigation at the University of Texas found 47 percent of female medical school students there had been harassed, versus 22 percent for women students across the university as a whole.
Both studies were conducted as part of university-wide efforts to assess the rate for sexual misconduct, according to the schools. Citing a nationwide survey of graduating medical students in 2018, Orlowski said roughly 35 percent of respondents “experienced a behavior at least once that is categorized as sexual/gender harassment.”
“As soon as you report something, you’re no longer one of us. You’re on the other side.”
After four years of medical school comes residency—grueling training at a hospital that lasts three to seven years. Though medical school graduates are considered doctors, they must complete their residency (which pays an average of $59,300 per year) before they can be licensed. Competition is fierce, as candidates hope to match with hospitals that want them. For graduates who are passed over, the prospects can be grim.
Researchers and lawyers said sexual misconduct intensifies in the post-graduate setting. In February, a the University of North Carolina survey of more than 1,000 surgeons found 58 percent of female respondents experienced sexual harassment in the previous year. Those women who were in residency programs were more than twice as likely to be victims.
There are about 130,000 medical residents in America. Their supervisors are licensed doctors, medical faculty with little supervision who play a make-or-break role in their future, said Dr. Reshma Jagsi, a professor at the University of Michigan. In her 2016 study of female doctors, most of whom worked as clinical researchers, she found 30 percent said they had been sexually harassed.
Jagsi said she’s regularly contacted by women who said they have been harassed or assaulted during their residency. Almost always they don’t file a complaint for fear of retribution. “One of my colleagues went to a lawyer and asked whether she should file,” Jagsi said. “She was told, ‘If you know what’s good for you, don’t.’”
“In apprenticeship models, there have to be multiple ways to report,” Orlowski said. “It’s the institution’s responsibility to have multiple mechanisms to shield the resident.” Without them, the consequences can be severe. Evaluations turn bad and plum assignments are taken away. Women have been frozen out by professors and supervisors, blocked from moving to a different rotation—or given bad recommendations for prospective employers.
“A single bad evaluation,” Jagsi explained, “can be devastating.”
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
Illustration: Nicole Xu
Philadelphia attorney Patrick Griffin said medicine is different when it comes to the typical hostile work environment. “If you’re working at a company and you’re harassed by the boss, you can just quit and get another job,” said Griffin, a plaintiff’s lawyer. “That’s not an option for medical residents, whether they’re accusing supervisors or colleagues. There’s a very real fear of their careers being derailed.”
Griffin represented just such a resident in a lawsuit against Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Philadelphia. Identified only as Jane Doe, she alleged that when she complained of sexual harassment by a supervisor, she was first ignored, then referred to psychiatric care and ultimately fired, according to court papers filed in federal court in Philadelphia.
Mercy has denied any wrongdoing. The supervisor, who wasn’t identified, never sought to pursue a romantic relationship with Doe, the hospital said in a filing last year. Instead, Mercy cast blame on Doe, accusing her of inappropriate conduct. Andrea Kirschenbaum, an attorney for the hospital, declined to comment. Mercy is seeking dismissal of the case.
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
“I’ve applied to so many residency programs,” Herald said. “They just ignore me.”
Photographer: Brittany Greeson/Bloomberg
Cyndi Herald, a former resident at the University of New Mexico Medical School, said medical students and residents are generally discouraged from reporting sexual harassment. In 2011, she sued UNM, alleging she was kicked out of the program after reporting being sexually assaulted by another resident. Residents in her program had previously been warned by the director not to complain about working conditions or treatment by superiors or colleagues, Herald said in an interview. They didn’t want “whiners or complainers.”
As a result, she didn’t make a formal complaint. Instead, she told a colleague, who brought her allegations to the director, according to court papers. Herald, now 54, was called before a panel of three supervisors—all men, and including the director—who questioned her about the incident.
Herald was told not to say anything about the matter because it would harm recruiting, her attorney said at trial. Another supervisor told her the alleged attacker “‘was young, good looking—all the girls love him,’” Herald recalled. He was “implying that I was lucky that this guy paid attention to me.”
“I could tell by the end,” she said, “they were intending to protect the university instead of me.”
Notes taken at the meeting by a hospital employee were destroyed, according to testimony at a 2017 trial. The supervisors testified that they had been supportive of Herald, and encouraged her to report the assault to the police. They denied telling her to keep quiet. University witnesses also alleged that Herald was dropped from the program because she had been impaired by prescription medications.
Herald, who now lives in a Detroit suburb, settled the case during trial for $800,000. UNM spokeswoman Alexandra Sanchez declined to comment on the case.
“The tendency to protect your own exists no matter what rules are in place,” said Randi McGinn, Herald’s lawyer. “As soon as you report something, you’re no longer one of us. You’re on the other side.”
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
Dr. Kevin O’Brien, a professor at the University of South Florida, has studied medical education for 14 years. He’s been developing training methods to address and prevent mistreatment and harassment.
Photographer: Zack Wittman/Bloomberg
The American Medical Association said it has a “longstanding policy and practice of condemning sexual harassment, discrimination and physician misconduct,” with “zero-tolerance for any type of harassment.” But Jagsi contends hospitals don’t sufficiently protect women. Human resources departments, she explained, govern residents as employees, rather than students. Even lawyers who represent medical schools have been criticized for a lack of responsiveness.
The U.S. Department of Justice, after investigating the University of New Mexico, found in 2016 that it was failing in its response to allegations of sexual assault and harassment. The government cited a management structure that “created a conflict between” the stated goal of eliminating and redressing harassment and the Office of University Counsel’s role in limiting liability.
The probe, begun in December 2014, was “in response to complaints from multiple students alleging that UNM did not adequately respond to their reports of sexual assault,” the Justice Department said in a statement. (Herald wasn’t among the complainants, she said.)
The Justice Department found that, while the university had recently strengthened its efforts, it still had “significant gaps” in procedures, training and practices.
“The University of New Mexico, including the Health Sciences Center, takes any report of misconduct, sexual assault or harassment or any other policy violation very seriously,” said Sanchez, the university spokeswoman. “UNM has implemented robust training for all employees and students to aid them in better identifying and responding to allegations of misconduct.”
“I hold your entire future in my hand and I can do whatever I want to with it.”
Even before #MeToo, some parts of medical academia had begun to address sexual misconduct. At the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison, administrators created a structure unconnected to the school where students or employees can report wrongdoing. An independent representative works with the student on how to deal with the allegation, including whether to go to the police or administrators, said Associate Dean Elizabeth Petty.
“We want to hold staff and faculty accountable if there’s a sexual assault,” Petty said. Right now, “there is a lot of under-reporting.”
Sometimes the news media can help trigger change. After a series of articles in the Baltimore Sun about female residents who complained of harassment, and a resident who sued, the University of Maryland Medical Center in December announced a “cultural transformation,” one that included promoting multiple women into leadership positions. More broadly, medical schools are now required as part of their accreditation process to have new policies to encourage reporting of harassment, said Orlowski.
But there’s still a long way to go. In 2018, a former dean of Michigan State University’s osteopathic medical school was charged with soliciting nude photos from a student, grabbing two others and offering grade changes for sexual favors, prosecutors said. The defendant, Dr. William Strampel, pleaded not guilty.
Strampel told one student that “she was never going to make it in the profession if she did not dress sexier,” according to a March 2018 affidavit by Ryan Pennell, a Michigan state police detective. Strampel allegedly told a group of students that “I hold your entire future in my hand and I can do whatever I want to with it.”
Strampel’s trial is scheduled for May in state court in Lansing, Michigan. “We’re going to be vindicated,” John Dakmak, his attorney, said in a phone interview.
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
Dr. Kevin O’Brien plays a video demonstrating inappropriate behavior in the workplace at the University of South Florida’s Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare.
Photographer: Zack Wittman/Bloomberg
For those women who turn to the courts, the path to justice can be long and uncertain. The lawsuit by Griffin’s former client was filed over alleged behavior between 2011 and 2013. At first, the hospital succeeded in getting the case thrown out, arguing her claims weren’t covered under federal law governing education because it wasn’t an educational institution. An appeals court disagreed, ruling that medical residents are part of graduate medical training.
The hospital has filed a new motion to dismiss the case, which is pending.
In another case that’s lasted six years, a resident at the University of California Davis Medical Center sued that school after being dropped from its program. She alleged discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation. The school denied the allegations, claiming she was dismissed for poor academic performance. The university also said it couldn’t be sued because the claim violated its right to investigate or discipline doctors. An appeals court disagreed, finding no bar to the suit. It’s currently set for trial in July.
Herald, in her lawsuit against UNM, endured two trials, four mediations and one appeal after her original court complaint was filed in 2011. Even after her settlement in 2017, the wrangling didn’t end.
For her, the price of coming forward has been high.
“It’s been impossible to get jobs,” Herald said. “I’ve applied to so many residency programs. They just ignore me.” Some have given her cause for hope, but told her to first “straighten out your situation with the university.”
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America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
The power wielded by instructors and the high stakes faced by students create an environment where misconduct flourishes.
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Illustration: Nicole Xu
By Margaret Cronin Fisk
30 April 2019, 07:00 UTC
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For medical students, the path to becoming a licensed doctor is filled with obstacles—brutal classes, insane hours and six-figure debt which can take decades to pay back.
For women, there’s often an additional challenge: the risk of becoming a victim of sexual misconduct. While such wrongdoing can occur in any educational or professional setting, the danger is significantly greater when it comes to the training of American physicians. Much of this is tied to the stakes—medical students have close to a decade of advanced education, critical career opportunities and even financial survival hanging in the balance.
Post-graduate medical education follows an apprenticeship model. Young doctors will spend years working closely with experienced medical professionals—supervisors who have tremendous sway over their future. A recent study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) said this teaching dynamic leaves students vulnerable to what Dr. Janis Orlowski, chief health officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), called “the power discrepancy.”
That discrepancy, in a field known for its insularity and opacity, manifests in rates of sexual harassment, assault and retaliation that far outpace other professional disciplines.
There is some change afoot, though. The national unraveling of sexual malfeasance in the workplace has cracked the medical bulwark. Doctors have even adopted their own hashtag, #MeTooMedicine, to share their horror stories. And in February, the AAMC, which includes 152 medical schools and 400 teaching hospitals, joined 50 other academic and professional groups to form the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine). The organization pledges to develop model policies that can be used to prevent sexual misconduct.
But victims, especially those whose lives have been derailed, are less than sanguine about such promises. Some who have complained or sued over mistreatment, both in medical school and post-graduate residency, contend there’s much more to be done before women can pursue a medical career free of fear.
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
Cyndi Herald sued the University of New Mexico Medical School after she was dropped from its residency program. She claimed it was retaliation for having reported that she was sexually assaulted by another resident.
Photographer: Brittany Greeson/Bloomberg
In the U.S., there are more than 91,000 students in medical school, 49.5 percent of whom are women. The cost of a medical education leaves the average student at graduation close to $150,000 in debt.
Their path typically begins with a four-year undergraduate degree, usually with a focus on science. A 3.7 grade-point average and a high score on the Medical College Admission Test are mandatory for those looking to land a desirable medical school, said Dr. Kevin O’Brien, a professor at the University of South Florida who has studied medical education for 14 years.
Recent surveys, including one by the NAS, cited “disturbingly” high rates of harassment in medical school—for men and women. The report said “20-50 percent of women students” said they had experienced “sexually harassing behavior perpetrated by faculty [or] staff.” In one study, about half of female medical school students at Penn State University reported being sexually harassed by faculty or staff. An investigation at the University of Texas found 47 percent of female medical school students there had been harassed, versus 22 percent for women students across the university as a whole.
Both studies were conducted as part of university-wide efforts to assess the rate for sexual misconduct, according to the schools. Citing a nationwide survey of graduating medical students in 2018, Orlowski said roughly 35 percent of respondents “experienced a behavior at least once that is categorized as sexual/gender harassment.”
“As soon as you report something, you’re no longer one of us. You’re on the other side.”
After four years of medical school comes residency—grueling training at a hospital that lasts three to seven years. Though medical school graduates are considered doctors, they must complete their residency (which pays an average of $59,300 per year) before they can be licensed. Competition is fierce, as candidates hope to match with hospitals that want them. For graduates who are passed over, the prospects can be grim.
Researchers and lawyers said sexual misconduct intensifies in the post-graduate setting. In February, a the University of North Carolina survey of more than 1,000 surgeons found 58 percent of female respondents experienced sexual harassment in the previous year. Those women who were in residency programs were more than twice as likely to be victims.
There are about 130,000 medical residents in America. Their supervisors are licensed doctors, medical faculty with little supervision who play a make-or-break role in their future, said Dr. Reshma Jagsi, a professor at the University of Michigan. In her 2016 study of female doctors, most of whom worked as clinical researchers, she found 30 percent said they had been sexually harassed.
Jagsi said she’s regularly contacted by women who said they have been harassed or assaulted during their residency. Almost always they don’t file a complaint for fear of retribution. “One of my colleagues went to a lawyer and asked whether she should file,” Jagsi said. “She was told, ‘If you know what’s good for you, don’t.’”
“In apprenticeship models, there have to be multiple ways to report,” Orlowski said. “It’s the institution’s responsibility to have multiple mechanisms to shield the resident.” Without them, the consequences can be severe. Evaluations turn bad and plum assignments are taken away. Women have been frozen out by professors and supervisors, blocked from moving to a different rotation—or given bad recommendations for prospective employers.
“A single bad evaluation,” Jagsi explained, “can be devastating.”
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
Illustration: Nicole Xu
Philadelphia attorney Patrick Griffin said medicine is different when it comes to the typical hostile work environment. “If you’re working at a company and you’re harassed by the boss, you can just quit and get another job,” said Griffin, a plaintiff’s lawyer. “That’s not an option for medical residents, whether they’re accusing supervisors or colleagues. There’s a very real fear of their careers being derailed.”
Griffin represented just such a resident in a lawsuit against Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Philadelphia. Identified only as Jane Doe, she alleged that when she complained of sexual harassment by a supervisor, she was first ignored, then referred to psychiatric care and ultimately fired, according to court papers filed in federal court in Philadelphia.
Mercy has denied any wrongdoing. The supervisor, who wasn’t identified, never sought to pursue a romantic relationship with Doe, the hospital said in a filing last year. Instead, Mercy cast blame on Doe, accusing her of inappropriate conduct. Andrea Kirschenbaum, an attorney for the hospital, declined to comment. Mercy is seeking dismissal of the case.
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
“I’ve applied to so many residency programs,” Herald said. “They just ignore me.”
Photographer: Brittany Greeson/Bloomberg
Cyndi Herald, a former resident at the University of New Mexico Medical School, said medical students and residents are generally discouraged from reporting sexual harassment. In 2011, she sued UNM, alleging she was kicked out of the program after reporting being sexually assaulted by another resident. Residents in her program had previously been warned by the director not to complain about working conditions or treatment by superiors or colleagues, Herald said in an interview. They didn’t want “whiners or complainers.”
As a result, she didn’t make a formal complaint. Instead, she told a colleague, who brought her allegations to the director, according to court papers. Herald, now 54, was called before a panel of three supervisors—all men, and including the director—who questioned her about the incident.
Herald was told not to say anything about the matter because it would harm recruiting, her attorney said at trial. Another supervisor told her the alleged attacker “‘was young, good looking—all the girls love him,’” Herald recalled. He was “implying that I was lucky that this guy paid attention to me.”
“I could tell by the end,” she said, “they were intending to protect the university instead of me.”
Notes taken at the meeting by a hospital employee were destroyed, according to testimony at a 2017 trial. The supervisors testified that they had been supportive of Herald, and encouraged her to report the assault to the police. They denied telling her to keep quiet. University witnesses also alleged that Herald was dropped from the program because she had been impaired by prescription medications.
Herald, who now lives in a Detroit suburb, settled the case during trial for $800,000. UNM spokeswoman Alexandra Sanchez declined to comment on the case.
“The tendency to protect your own exists no matter what rules are in place,” said Randi McGinn, Herald’s lawyer. “As soon as you report something, you’re no longer one of us. You’re on the other side.”
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
Dr. Kevin O’Brien, a professor at the University of South Florida, has studied medical education for 14 years. He’s been developing training methods to address and prevent mistreatment and harassment.
Photographer: Zack Wittman/Bloomberg
The American Medical Association said it has a “longstanding policy and practice of condemning sexual harassment, discrimination and physician misconduct,” with “zero-tolerance for any type of harassment.” But Jagsi contends hospitals don’t sufficiently protect women. Human resources departments, she explained, govern residents as employees, rather than students. Even lawyers who represent medical schools have been criticized for a lack of responsiveness.
The U.S. Department of Justice, after investigating the University of New Mexico, found in 2016 that it was failing in its response to allegations of sexual assault and harassment. The government cited a management structure that “created a conflict between” the stated goal of eliminating and redressing harassment and the Office of University Counsel’s role in limiting liability.
The probe, begun in December 2014, was “in response to complaints from multiple students alleging that UNM did not adequately respond to their reports of sexual assault,” the Justice Department said in a statement. (Herald wasn’t among the complainants, she said.)
The Justice Department found that, while the university had recently strengthened its efforts, it still had “significant gaps” in procedures, training and practices.
“The University of New Mexico, including the Health Sciences Center, takes any report of misconduct, sexual assault or harassment or any other policy violation very seriously,” said Sanchez, the university spokeswoman. “UNM has implemented robust training for all employees and students to aid them in better identifying and responding to allegations of misconduct.”
“I hold your entire future in my hand and I can do whatever I want to with it.”
Even before #MeToo, some parts of medical academia had begun to address sexual misconduct. At the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison, administrators created a structure unconnected to the school where students or employees can report wrongdoing. An independent representative works with the student on how to deal with the allegation, including whether to go to the police or administrators, said Associate Dean Elizabeth Petty.
“We want to hold staff and faculty accountable if there’s a sexual assault,” Petty said. Right now, “there is a lot of under-reporting.”
Sometimes the news media can help trigger change. After a series of articles in the Baltimore Sun about female residents who complained of harassment, and a resident who sued, the University of Maryland Medical Center in December announced a “cultural transformation,” one that included promoting multiple women into leadership positions. More broadly, medical schools are now required as part of their accreditation process to have new policies to encourage reporting of harassment, said Orlowski.
But there’s still a long way to go. In 2018, a former dean of Michigan State University’s osteopathic medical school was charged with soliciting nude photos from a student, grabbing two others and offering grade changes for sexual favors, prosecutors said. The defendant, Dr. William Strampel, pleaded not guilty.
Strampel told one student that “she was never going to make it in the profession if she did not dress sexier,” according to a March 2018 affidavit by Ryan Pennell, a Michigan state police detective. Strampel allegedly told a group of students that “I hold your entire future in my hand and I can do whatever I want to with it.”
Strampel’s trial is scheduled for May in state court in Lansing, Michigan. “We’re going to be vindicated,” John Dakmak, his attorney, said in a phone interview.
relates to America’s Medical Profession Has a Sexual Harassment Problem
Dr. Kevin O’Brien plays a video demonstrating inappropriate behavior in the workplace at the University of South Florida’s Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare.
Photographer: Zack Wittman/Bloomberg
For those women who turn to the courts, the path to justice can be long and uncertain. The lawsuit by Griffin’s former client was filed over alleged behavior between 2011 and 2013. At first, the hospital succeeded in getting the case thrown out, arguing her claims weren’t covered under federal law governing education because it wasn’t an educational institution. An appeals court disagreed, ruling that medical residents are part of graduate medical training.
The hospital has filed a new motion to dismiss the case, which is pending.
In another case that’s lasted six years, a resident at the University of California Davis Medical Center sued that school after being dropped from its program. She alleged discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation. The school denied the allegations, claiming she was dismissed for poor academic performance. The university also said it couldn’t be sued because the claim violated its right to investigate or discipline doctors. An appeals court disagreed, finding no bar to the suit. It’s currently set for trial in July.
Herald, in her lawsuit against UNM, endured two trials, four mediations and one appeal after her original court complaint was filed in 2011. Even after her settlement in 2017, the wrangling didn’t end.
For her, the price of coming forward has been high.
“It’s been impossible to get jobs,” Herald said. “I’ve applied to so many residency programs. They just ignore me.” Some have given her cause for hope, but told her to first “straighten out your situation with the university.”
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