In the past two years, aside from having lived through a global pandemic, I became a mother while running my non-profit organization The Codette Project and holding down a full-time job.
While it has been challenging, it has also become very clear to me that there are far more women juggling even more difficult situations at home and work, and that it is past time for us to imagine better and more equitable workplaces for all.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that there are large disparities within and between societies, and we need to do something to prevent these gaps from widening.
It is worth pointing out that a fair workplace for all is not a zero-sum game.
If we can improve paternity provisions, for example, men would be able to take advantage of flexible working arrangements and they would be able to spend more time at home with the kids, as I am sure many fathers would love to do.
So here is my personal wishlist of what I hope companies will do to start creating more equitable workplaces for everyone:
RETHINK HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES
First, we should do away with the culture of confidentiality surrounding compensation packages.
This is a practice that benefits only companies, while disempowering employees from finding out whether they are getting fairly paid according to their skills and experience.
Having a more transparent culture around salaries will help women to find out if they are getting equal pay for equal work.
Second, companies that want to retain their staff for the long term should really be more generous with child, parental and family care leave.
Consider offering unlimited childcare leave or unpaid leave to parents for the first 12 to 18 months of their child’s life. Offer this to parents of adopted and foster kids too.
I believe that this will reduce staff turnover, especially for new parents and those wishing to become parents.
Continue reading: https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/minority-woman-tech-equality-workplace-1938166

Science and technology is a dynamic field that is constantly evolving and growing, but in one aspect it seems to remain stagnant and that is the gender disparity that exists to this day. Even today, only one in three scientists (33 percent) are women, as reported by a UNESCO Science Report 2021. This not only does lasting damage to women in the short term but also hinders the development of societies, innovation, and more, in the long term. 
Let us explore why women are so underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The low engagement of girls and women in science can be attributed to myriad reasons, such as the gender stereotype that has existed for generations in households and educational institutions which mandates that boys are better suited for science and more likely to succeed in STEM-based occupations.
This belief also leads to people believing that since STEM careers are highly male-dominated areas, they are not an appropriate area or career path for women to enter or work in. Cultural attitudes like the ideology that investing in a boy’s education rather than a girl’s education would be more beneficial and give higher returns, is also another reason why girls systemically lose out on the opportunity to study.
The consequences of these stereotypes and cultural attitudes are dire, as they withhold the growing economic opportunities that are being generated due to the increase of digitized economies, from women. It also leads to harmful technology like algorithms that discriminate against women searching for jobs.
They deny girls the basic right to education, as Article 21-A and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act which came into effect on 1st April 2010 stipulate. These Acts provide ‘free and compulsory’ education for all children between the age of six and fourteen years, making it a Fundamental Right. The current ruling dispensation started a women empowerment campaign named “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” in 2015 to address the education of girls.
Continue reading: https://feminisminindia.com/2022/07/11/women-in-stem-digital-technology-can-aid-in-reducing-gender-gap/

One of the primary reasons cryptocurrencies were developed was for them to be used as anonymous payments. This reason is often lost in the hype by media outlets and the financial sector, which are focused on prices going up and down. Prices are important, but it is more important to know how to pay with cryptocurrency because it is gaining so much traction and popularity.
Cryptocurrency is complicated, but using it to pay for something is relatively simple. Here's how and where you can pay with crypto.
How to Make a Payment With Cryptocurrency
At one time, sending a cryptocurrency involved diving into the command line on your computer and programming a transaction. Now, the complex process of sending and receiving crypto is much more simple, very much like using an app to send or receive money to and from your bank account. How you initiate the payment is specific to the application you choose, but generally speaking, here is how it works.
Acquire a Cryptocurrency
It isn't necessary to have an account with an institution, exchange, company, or other entity to acquire a cryptocurrency. However, it is one of the easier and more safe ways to get your hands on some cryptocurrency unless you're familiar with setting up a wallet and sending or receiving crypto.
A regulated cryptocurrency exchange will let you exchange fiat money for cryptocurrency. It will also give you some extra features if you need them, such as storing your private keys for you or helping you with technical issues. A reputable one like Coinbase, Binance.US, Kraken, or Gemini will be able to get you started when you create an account and fund it for your crypto purchases.
Continue reading: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/100314/what-are-advantages-paying-bitcoin.asp

The much-celebrated World of Women (WoW) NFT project launched its second drop on March 26 this year. WoW is considered one of the most successful women-led projects. Ahead of the pack, the floor price as of March 8 was 7.248 ETH. This potentially gave flippers about 104x if they had initially minted a genesis NFT when the project was first introduced.
Those who already had a genesis WoW in their possession were able to mint their WoWG for free. Come reveal day, some lucky individuals learned they had minted a 1/1 NFT Champion WoWG. The odds for that were 8 out of 22,222. After five days, such an NFT was selling for up to 80 ETH.
These lucky few happened to be in the right place with the right resources at the right time—or had certainly done something right in their past crypto lives.
This scenario highlights the continued problems of opportunity and access. It got me thinking: Is Web3 simply heading down the same path as Web 2.0, where the rich just keep getting richer?
Drivers And Impact Of Wealth Disparity
In her book Plutocrats, journalist and author Chrystia Freeland argues that globalization and technology are fueling rather than closing the global income gap. Despite all the innovation and value that has been created by globalization and technology, it has also driven the rise of the super-rich.
The divide between the haves and have-nots has real and severe consequences on our society. In his TED talk, Richard Wilkinson describes leading a team to create an index with indicators on life expectancy, math and literacy scores, infant mortality, homicides, imprisonments, teenage births, trust, obesity and mental health. They found that this index is strongly correlated to wealth disparity. Essentially, societies with wider wealth gaps are worse off.
Traditional Remedies For Wealth Disparity
The general consensus is that policy is the most direct way to correct the wealth gap. Surveys conducted by Pew Research and the PIIE revealed recommendations around education, taxation, job creation, conditional cash transfers, community wealth and credit availability.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/07/08/3-ways-to-bridge-the-wealth-gap-in-web3/?sh=6ce30f38dd61

Blockchain is the innovative database technology that’s at the heart of nearly all cryptocurrencies. By distributing identical copies of a database across an entire network, blockchain makes it very difficult to hack or cheat the system. While cryptocurrency is the most popular use for blockchain at present, the technology offers the potential to serve a very wide range of applications.
What Is Blockchain?
At its core, blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that stores data of any kind. A blockchain can record information about cryptocurrency transactions and ownership of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
While any conventional database can store this sort of information, blockchain is unique in that it’s decentralized. Rather than being maintained in one location by a centralized administrator – think of an Excel spreadsheet or a bank database – many identical copies of a blockchain database are held on multiple computers spread out across a network.
These individual computers are referred to as nodes.
How Blockchain Works
With blockchain, the digital ledger is described as a “chain” made up of individual “blocks” of data. As fresh data is periodically added to the network, a new “block” is created and attached to the “chain.”
This involves all nodes updating their version of the blockchain ledger to remain identical.
How these new blocks are created is key to why blockchain is considered highly secure. A majority of nodes must verify and confirm the legitimacy of the new data before a new block can be added to the ledger. For a cryptocurrency, they might involve ensuring that new transactions in a block were not fraudulent, or that coins had not been spent more than once.
This is different from a standalone database or spreadsheet, where one person can make changes without oversight.
“Once there is consensus, the block is added to the chain and the underlying transactions are recorded in the distributed ledger,” says C. Neil Gray, partner in the fintech practice areas at Duane Morris LLP. “Blocks are securely linked together, forming a secure digital chain from the beginning of the ledger to the present.”
Transactions are typically secured using cryptography, meaning the nodes need to solve complex mathematical equations to process a transaction.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/investing/cryptocurrency/what-is-blockchain/

When the ride-hailing company Uber sought to establish a new facility in Pittsburgh in 2015 focused on self-driving cars, it looked to the researchers and scientists at the nearby Carnegie Mellon University robotics center. Soon after, the company lured away 40 of the center’s employees, including the director, with doubled salaries and bonuses in the hundreds of thousands.
High-profile stories like these have contributed to a prevailing narrative that artificial intelligence experts leave academe for industry in droves. But the dearth of AI professors at U.S. universities is not the result of a distorted job market, according to a report issued this month from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Rather, AI experts remain interested in academic careers, but university hiring of AI faculty has not kept pace with student demand. Though big tech has stepped in to fill some of the gap, some experts urge caution given that the industry’s incentive structure differs from that of academe.
Historically, academe has delivered a steady stream of developers, engineers and entrepreneurs that has fueled an AI innovation ecosystem. This stream has been directly correlated with AI faculty teaching capacity. But while student enrollment in computer science programs has skyrocketed in the past decade, universities have not hired enough computer science faculty to meet that demand. (The researchers used student demand for computer science as a proxy for student demand in AI, as the latter is difficult to quantify.)
In an apparent response to increased student demand, universities have restricted access to AI programs by limiting enrollment in high-demand classes, reducing the number of small-enrollment classes and tightening computer science admission requirements, according to Jack Corrigan, one of the report’s authors. At the same time, burgeoning numbers of computer science Ph.D. recipients have expressed interest in academic careers, but universities have not responded with a commensurate increase in faculty positions. Contrary to the prevailing narrative that industry poaching of computer science faculty is rampant, universities generally succeed when they seek to hire AI faculty.
Continue reading: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/07/11/why-does-ai-faculty-shortage-exist-its-complicated

In 2022, the question for the C-Suite is no longer whether it should use artificial intelligence to compete successfully but how to do so well. How do you find an AI-augmented enterprise strategy and bulletproof results with a clear return on investment that is made future-proof by being built responsibly? These and other AI questions were discussed at a Dutcham event.
Artificial intelligence is profoundly and speedily transforming enterprises, industries and the economy. According to the majority of the executives, AI is now mainstream, representing a fundamental shift. C-suiters also think that the accelerating impact of the pandemic is apparent here. AI adoption is at a turning point: most companies have already engaged with AI in at least one strategic business function.
At the same time, AI is the first-ever “moral technology” that needs us to become better humans to be able to control it. The human factor should be the starting point in embracing AI technologies at any corporation. With human-centric, responsible AI adoption strategies, companies can build long-term capabilities and avoid the moral obstacles in talent, revenue and reputation risks.
“Augmented leadership successfully combines the best of the digital age with the best of the human mind, and all for the right purpose,” Erik Slooten, of T-Systems International, told the event, organized by the Netherlands-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (Dutcham), alongside the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary and the Joint Venture Association.
Slooten, a Dutch national, is the global leader of delivery quality and transformation cloud service for the German multinational and was also the Budapest Business Journal’s Expat CEO of the Year 2021. He has a background in telecommunication and IT engineering for 24 years, championing innovation and AI in internal programs and relationships with universities.
Continue reading: https://bbj.hu/business/people/appointments/ai-is-already-here-people-businesses-must-learn-to-use-it

Inflation is a global problem, and it's one that is being exacerbated by climate change. This is because the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events drive up prices for food, energy, and other necessities. But there is hope: AI can help us fight climate change by reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency, and increasing the use of renewable energy sources. Therefore, the Green transition is a key pillar in fighting inflation, and AI is an important tool in this effort.
In fact, according to a 2022 BCG Climate AI Survey report (shown below), 87% of private and public sector CEOs with decision-making power in AI and climate believe AI is an essential tool in the fight against climate change. Public and private sector executives identified the most significant business value of climate-related advanced analytics and AI in the field of mitigation (reduction) at 61%, with mitigation (measuring emissions) at 57%, as part of the same report (shown in Exhibit 3 below). Other areas include adaptation (forecasting hazards) at 44%, adaptation (managing vulnerabilities and exposure) at 42%, mitigation (removing emissions) at 37% and fundamentals (facilitating climate research, climate finance, and education) at 28%.
There are many ways in which AI can contribute to climate change mitigation, e.g., through energy efficiency or by reducing emissions from transportation, agriculture and industry. AI can also help us adapt to the impacts of climate change by improving our ability to predict extreme weather events and providing decision-support tools to help us respond more effectively. AI can also play a critical role in increasing our resilience to the effects of climate change by helping us identify risk factors and develop plans to mitigate them.
“The most urgent need in this context is not to have more powerful AI but to become smarter at where and how we use AI. There are so many unexplored opportunities,” states Lambert Hogenhout, Chief Data Analytics, Partnerships and Technology Innovation at the Office for Information and Communications Technology (OICT). This sentiment embodies the consensus among many experts in the field: that we need to be more strategic about where and how we deploy AI to make the most impact.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markminevich/2022/07/08/how-to-fight-climate-change-using-ai/?sh=6e0f95682a83

For years, there's been a cardinal rule for flying civilian drones: Keep them within your line of sight. Not just because it's a good idea — it's also the law.
But some drones have recently gotten permission to soar out of their pilots' sight. They can now inspect high-voltage power lines across the forested Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia. They're tracking endangered sea turtles off Florida's coast and monitoring seaports in the Netherlands and railroads from New Jersey to the rural West.
Aviation authorities in the U.S. and elsewhere are preparing to relax some of the safeguards they imposed to regulate a boom in off-the-shelf consumer drones over the past decade. Businesses want simpler rules that could open your neighborhood's skies to new commercial applications of these low-flying machines, although privacy advocates and some airplane and balloon pilots remain wary.
For now, a small but growing group of power companies, railways and delivery services like Amazon are leading the way with special permission to fly drones “beyond visual line of sight.” As of early July, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had approved 230 such waivers — one of them to Virginia-based Dominion Energy for inspecting its network of power plants and transmission lines.
“This is the first step of what everybody’s expecting with drones," said Adam Lee, Dominion's chief security officer. "The first time in our nation’s history where we’ve now moved out into what I think everyone’s expecting is coming.”
Continue reading: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article263204783.html

Because this is the only place where you can get unfiltered experts’ advice, and not relatives who are still planning to start a business (but you know well that they never will).
So, if you are searching for one of these pieces of advice which will actually help you, then you have reached the right place. In this excerpt below, we will be talking about one of the biggest pieces of advice which you have gotten (we are sure!).
Using Cryptocurrency for your small business!
Should you?
Is Cryptocurrency the right path for you to follow when it comes to expanding your small business? After all, it is a very volatile market, and it will take some time for you to get the hang of it.
How To Mitigate Risk
Risk is something that will always come first when you are investing in Crypto. However, there are ways in which you can mitigate these risks.
– Knowledge can protect you from many things. Therefore, before you start with Cryptocurrency investment, try to get as much knowledge about the subject and then dip your toes.
– Do not invest more than you can afford to lose. This is because, when you are learning your way through Cryptocurrencies, losses can be a big lesson.
– Do not get too tempted to try out everything. FOMO is a poison when it comes to investing in Cryptocurrency. You have to take each step carefully and calculatingly. This is not gambling at the end of the day.
– Learn about the different cyber crimes against Cryptocurrencies and try your best to be precautious to protect yourself from them.
So, if you are convinced, then start your Cryptocurrency trading and transaction from bitcoin prime today.
Continue reading: https://business-review.eu/tech/how-is-cryptocurrency-helping-small-businesses-in-the-long-run-232925

Gender imbalance has been a challenge for many areas of the tech industry, including fintech. And while much has changed, there’s still a long way to go.
The tech industry and its subsectors are known for their gender imbalances. A strong spotlight has been placed on diversity for many years now and, in many areas of technology, things are beginning to improve.
One of the areas that has suffered from this gender imbalance has been the fintech industry. According to the 2018 Irish Fintech Census, 19pc of Irish fintech companies comprised all men, while only 13pc had a 50/50 ratio of men and women. Additionally, only 60pc of fintechs reported having at least one woman on their executive team.
While these figures are stark, SiliconRepublic.com heard from two women within the industry who can attest that a lot has changed, with more women claiming roles in the space.
Michelle McGuire is the CEO of Gecko Governance, an Irish data-driven platform for the financial services industry. McGuire, who is also a member of the advisory board for cross-border group The Fintech Corridor, said the industry is becoming less dominated by men.
“This is hugely helped by the industry working groups like The Fintech Corridor, who demystify the fact that you don’t need to be a coder or a tech person to work in this space,” she said.
Continue reading: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/careers/women-in-fintech-gender-balance

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines artificial intelligence (AI) as "the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings." In simple terms, AI allows computers to perform tasks generally done by humans.
While much is said about what AI is, less is said about what exactly it can achieve for your company. In addition to automating workflows and tasks, AI is fulfilling functions of great importance in the daily processes of some of the best-valued companies worldwide. In fact, according to McKinsey, it is used by 56% of companies worldwide, a number that should keep growing.
Most people are familiar with some types of AI. Many people, for instance, interact with virtual assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa. Amazon developed this technology with core speech recognition and machine learning features to offer users effective interaction, as they might with a human assistant. The use of AI for voice recognition has not only managed to shake the foundations of business but has also turned our daily lives upside down, delivering new connections between man and machine.
Google has also ventured into AI. In addition to acquiring several startups working on AI technologies, Google is the creator of the TensorFlow project, an open-source library for machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/07/07/artificial-intelligence-investment-in-innovation-is-a-key-to-success/?sh=57fee2b86afa

Business owners in the last two decades have learned what it means to be resilient in crisis mode.
The 2008 financial crisis was the biggest economic downturn many business owners had to face in their lifetime, contending with a lending crisis and financial system freeze that almost shut down the entire system. Many drew parallels between 2008 and the financial challenges businesses experienced during the COVID pandemic in 2020, from which many are still recovering.
The 2022 challenge for businesses
Currently, businesses are experiencing continued, longer-term effects started or exacerbated by the pandemic. Much has been said about supply chain issues that still plague businesses at every level and industry. Inflation is a new concern this year, and for venture-backed companies, the venture capital market is experiencing a freeze period.
Getting a handle on cash flow and runway – a crucial statistic during times of restricted access to capital or economic downturn – usually takes a full team of people to oversee many moving parts in a business. But unlike in 2008, AI-backed technology exists to help simplify the process.
How AI can help
Businesses have so much helpful information but synthesizing it into insights can be especially challenging during times of crisis. But the more complex the business, the more benefits AI brings to that business. Here are four ways AI can help make it easier for businesses to thrive during a recession:
Continue reading: https://www.paymentsjournal.com/banking-ai-tips-for-preparing-your-business-for-a-recession/

The outsourcing companies in USA are of reputed and reliable nature. Every outsourcing company is well-established and can take up all sorts of works. They are fully equipped to take up all types of works and complete them on time. Healthcare records management also can be carried out by outsourcing. There are also revenue cycle management consulting services to provide excellent services to companies requiring them. By hiring these outsourcing companies, you can entrust them with all the vital tasks of your company while you can manage and look after the growth of your business. Are you a business owner and find less time to recruit suitable candidates to various positions in your firm? If so, you can rely on virtual staffing services to find the required and qualified employees for your firm.
Do you struggle to manage your customer base and inform them about your new products, services and policies? If so, you can hire reliable BPO service solutions. These solutions can work as your remote CS Team to promote your business. Time-bound service and quality-oriented work are the two features you are assured of when you make up your mind to hire call center outsourcing companies.

When environmentalist Brent Walls saw a milky-white substance in a stream flowing through a rural stretch of central Pennsylvania, he suspected the nearby rock mine was violating the law.
Recent rains had filled the ponds at the mine that allow sediment to settle out of the water, but Walls couldn’t easily take a look because they were surrounded by private property. To quickly investigate and avoid trespassing, Walls captured images of the area with his drone.
“That’s when I found the illicit discharge,” he said. The photo of cloudy liquid flowing into the creek provided evidence Walls used to accuse Specialty Granules LLC of violating the Clean Water Act.
Fifty years after that landmark legislation was signed into law, drones are giving environmentalists a new tool to capture wrongdoing where it is hard to see or expensive to find, though their use to investigate polluters is still pretty rare, Walls said.
He would like them used more often. With the help of a grant, he trains drone pilots for the Waterkeeper Alliance, a global network of clean water groups. The nonprofit wants activists from around the country to know how to use the technology for storytelling and to collect evidence that companies are polluting rivers and streams.
The Clean Water Act allows individuals – not just federal officials – to enforce the law. But citizens who want to use drones to collect evidence must have a federally-issued pilot's certificate and navigate layers of federal, state and local rules.
Walls is the Upper Potomac Riverkeeper and part of a riverkeeper network that has used drones in a handful of other instances to collect evidence of pollution and threaten lawsuits if they aren't satisfied with how companies respond to allegations. Drones were used, for example, to investigate a West Virginia coal operation that allegedly discharged coal residue into a nearby river. Walls said drone footage helped push the company to clean up the site.
On a pleasant, lightly windy day in June, Walls held an in-person training near the fourth hole of Bretton Woods Golf Course just off the Potomac River in Maryland.
Waccamaw Riverkeeper Cara Schildtknecht from the Carolinas coast said it was awesome to be able to finally pilot the drone. “We’ve been training to do this for months,” she said at the in-person training with three other clean water advocates.
Schildtknecht had been through Walls' online courses and passed the test for her pilot’s certificate. After she arrived, she peeled the stickers off her drone. It was her first time flying one.
Walls helped the group ensure their controllers connected properly with their drones before they each had a chance to pilot a practice flight for about 10 minutes.
Continue reading: https://www.wesa.fm/environment-energy/2022-07-02/environmentalists-train-drone-pilots-to-find-and-pursue-pollution

Distributed ledgers, blockchain, NFTs and cryptocurrency are the new languages underpinning what many see as the future for developers keen to forge a cutting-edge position. While the number of Web3 developers is comparatively lower than Web 2.0 developers, research suggests we’re on the cusp of an explosion, with 350,000 active developers using one blockchain development platform in 2021.
The Web3 future looks bright for many reasons. It heralds the realization of decentralized applications (dapps) that represent a return to the ideals of a publicly owned internet and a direct challenge to Web 2.0’s emergence as an ecosystem of corporate behemoths.
Using blockchain and peer-to-peer technologies, Web3 dapps are not like today’s apps, hosted on corporate-owned services and single cloud providers. Dapps are often open source and, as such, appeal to ambitious developers as a place to innovate and collaborate quickly (and often anonymously) within a flat structure where everyone is rewarded.
Think of Web3, which embraces testing in production, as the Lego of the developer world, where iterations and improvements are built on top of each other. For Web3 developers keen to witness the fruits of their labor quickly, this way of working strengthens their abilities to iterate products and innovate fast.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/07/01/why-developers-should-invest-in-web3-skills/?sh=21527fdf5f6b

The term “Web3” refers to the “next stage” of the internet, which, it’s anticipated, will be grounded in blockchain technology. Of all the Web3 terms out there, perhaps none is so important or pervasive as “decentralization.” While crypto is on the forefront of the movement, some in the tech industry believe that decentralization is an inevitable evolutionary step for the internet that will affect businesses across industries.
In addition to serving as cryptographically secured transactions ledgers, blockchains can store self-executable code, thus enabling a “decentralized” internet—Web3—not dominated by a central authority or large companies. Proponents say Web3 will put more control over their data in the hands of users themselves.
Whether or not the most ambitious predictions about Web3 and decentralization come to fruition, it would be wise for businesses to keep an eye on developments and take steps to prepare for what may come. Here, 11 members of Forbes Technology Council share some actions company leaders across industries can take now to be ready for the next phase of the internet.
1. Ensure Secure, Robust Access For Users
Decentralization is about coordination. With Web3, information is being democratized and decentralized. At the same time, Web3 will require advanced security capabilities to ensure secure access to apps from anywhere and everywhere, as well as the right type of connectivity. Supporting the user experience through computational power and cloud computing will be key pieces of the next phase of the Web. - Prashant Tripathi, Cisco
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/07/01/11-ways-companies-need-to-prepare-for-web3-and-decentralization/?sh=77c26bba6844

When people used to browse the internet in the early 2000s, the main attraction on offer was the downloading of content and less about social interaction - with that brought avenues for viruses that would cause havoc and produce financial gain for attackers. These were an inconvenience for the average user, which led them to begin using anti-viruses to provide some level of protection. People quickly learned not to click on random pop-ups, download weird files, and become more skeptical of the websites they used to pirate movies and music. Limewire was an infamous example of this.
As the internet evolved in the 2010s, so did the avenues of attack. Identity theft became a lucrative source of financial reward, with the growth of centrally controlled platforms operated by large commercial businesses. Attackers could focus on single targets for a bigger payoff. Users begin to give less attention to their own safety by-in-large as they kept to platforms they knew and trusted, and subsequently entrusted those very same platforms to safeguard their data. The failure of these platforms (like in 2019, where Facebook’s internal data was exfiltrated), started to erode this long-held trust.
But with the rise of Web3 and the underlying thesis of ‘ownership’ for all users, the cost-benefit analysis of security being a ‘nice to have’ has structurally shifted to being a ‘must have.’ Users again released that they were in control of their property, and their data.
Continue reading: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/web3-brings-a-structural-shift-in-the-need-for-security

Blockchain tech is pushing the boundaries of ID management as governments look for scalable solutions that promote privacy, control and decentralized data management.
The last 13 years have seen blockchain technology evolve into numerous use cases — finance, data, logistics and security, among others. However, the idea of using blockchain’s immutable capabilities to ID humans got new life when Changpeng “CZ” Zhao visited the island country of Palau to kick off its digital residency program. 
The blockchain identity management market is estimated to grow by $3.58 billion in the span of five years from 2021 to 2025. Key factors include the rising demand for digitalization and privacy-respecting identity solutions. As a result, a myriad of solutions breached the market serving this need in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFT), distributed ledger technology (DLT) and barebone blockchain technology.
Considering the plethora of use cases that blockchain can serve on a day-to-day basis, numerous government organizations began experimenting with the technology — weighing heavily on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and verifiable and immutable user identity.
Problems with traditional IDs
Correctly identifying — or ID-ing — an individual has always been paramount to governments to ensure targeted delivery of services and allowances, among other requirements, which holds true to this day. However, ongoing advancements in technology empowered the general public with tools to create IDs visually identical to the original. Given blockchain’s capability to store immutable records, authorities see the technology as a fighting chance against fraud related to ID theft and fakes. 
With traditional paper-based IDs comes the difficulty of confirming their legitimacy across different systems. History has shown how people successfully use fake ID cards to claim unauthorized access to a myriad of benefits. However, technological advancements such as blockchain have provided authorities with the opportunity to issue verifiable certificates and IDs while ensuring scalability, speed and security of the identity management system.
Efforts on this front saw the rise of a new ecosystem comprising various blockchain-based digital ID offerings. For example, Shubham Gupta, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, recently spearheaded the launch of a Polygon-based system for issuing verifiable caste certificates on behalf of the government of Maharashtra.
Continue reading: https://cointelegraph.com/news/integrating-blockchain-based-digital-ids-into-daily-life

Nowadays, the blockchain market as a whole is in its infancy, and the decentralized finance (DeFi) market is its most promising part. According to DefiLlama data, in 2021, the DeFi market had around $200 billion of liquidity locked in smart contracts. If we view this capital as an initial investment, this market looks like a highly promising venture. Not too many global companies can boast of such a capitalization. But any young market has its teething problems. With DeFi, the main issue is a lack of qualified blockchain developers.
This industry is very young and has a relatively small user base. Most people have at best heard about DeFi without having any idea about what it is. But as it happens with every new promising venture, it quickly creates a lot of speculative interest. Unfortunately, preparing personnel takes much longer, especially when it comes to such knowledge-intense spheres as blockchain and smart contract development. This means that some project teams will have to compromise and hire less experienced personnel.
This problem inevitably creates a growing risk of security loopholes in the code of these projects. And then we have to deal with its consequences in lost user capital. For just a brief understanding of how big this problem is, I can say that about 10% of DeFi’s total liquidity locked has been stolen by hackers. It should not surprise anyone that the mainstream public would prefer to stay away from a financial system that poses such dangers to their funds.
How have DeFi exploits changed recently?
Attacks on DeFi have long been centered around reentrancy attacks. We can recall the famous The DAO hack of 2016 that resulted in the loss of $150 million in investor capital and led to Ethereum’s hard fork. Since then, this vulnerability has been exploited many times in different smart contracts.
Continue reading: https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-development-of-blockchain-industry-and-how-to-defend-against-attacks-on-defi

In this digitized world, blockchain technology is one of the topics that is bound to turn heads. 96% of financial experts believe that blockchain technology has already achieved mainstream adoption. But is blockchain related to cryptocurrency only? Let’s find out in this beginner’s guide to blockchain technology.
What is Blockchain Technology?
Blockchain is an immutable, distributed ledger used to record transactions and track assets across a network of computers, called nodes. It provides a secure method of storing information that prevents anyone from changing, hacking, or cheating it. The blockchain serves two major purposes to any business or process it is deployed – decentralization and disintermediation. Each node has a copy of the blockchain database, which removes any single point of failure. All the nodes validate the transactions before storing them into blocks, removing the need for a central party. Transactions on a blockchain happen directly between nodes or network participants, removing the need for any middlemen.
Any business process that can benefit from decentralization can invoke blockchain utilities to its own advantage to make the system faster, economical, transparent, and secure.   
How Does Blockchain Work?
To understand how blockchain works, you must know some of the fundamentals of blockchain, such as blocks, peer-to-peer, mining, etc., work:
#Peer to Peer Transfers
Peer-to-peer (P2P) refers to the direct exchange of some asset (such as digital currency) between individual parties without the involvement of a central authority or a middleman. In a digital peer-to-peer network, each user is essentially an equal owner and contributor to the network. This type of network can be used for almost any type of information or file-sharing. Blockchain enables what P2P advocates: secure transfer of data without a middleman.
#Blocks
Blockchain technology stores transactional records in groups known as blocks. These blocks are connected to each other to form the ‘chain.’ This type of storage is commonly referred to as a ‘digital ledger.’ Every transaction in this ledger is authenticated and made secure via a combination of cryptography, consensus mechanism, and digital signatures. There are restrictions on how data can be added. Once stored, it is nearly impossible to change or delete it.
Continue reading: https://www.eastmojo.com/technology/2022/07/03/a-beginners-guide-to-blockchain-technology/

Sarita Digumarti and Gaurav Vohra started Jigsaw in 2011 after identifying an opportunity in skilling for data science. Jigsaw is now a part of the Manipal Group and is an arm of UNext Learning where Sarita is Chief Learning Officer. With over 22 years of extensive consulting experience across diverse domains including retail, healthcare, and financial services, Sarita Digumarti is the Chief Learning Officer at UNext Learning, an edtech organization with over 800 employees. Sarita is responsible for academics, content and delivery for online degrees, certifications and enterprise (B2B) programs.
She is also co-founder of Jigsaw (acquired by UNext) and was responsible for the delivery and success of programs for both enterprise as well as B2C verticals, strategic initiatives and partnerships, new programs and content development, and strategy. Featured among the top 10 most riveting data scientists of 2021 by Analytics Insight, Sarita is also an educator and instructor.
In an interview with HerStory, she talks about her career, why hiring the right talent is critical and her biggest inspirations.
Edited excerpts from the interview:
HerStory (HS): Tell us a little about yourself.
Sarita Digumarti (SD): I grew up in a small town in Odisha, but in an environment that encouraged extensive reading and independence. I had an idyllic childhood with very supportive parents. They didn’t expect me to pursue a career merely based on convenience. Continue reading: https://yourstory.com/herstory/2022/07/women-tech-remote-working-attract-women-sarita-digumarti

Ask a child what they want to be when they’re older and you’ll receive some pretty outlandish answers. A couple of generations ago, the response might have been a nurse, a train driver or, even more adventurously, an astronaut.
Times change. The children of today are more likely to have their sights on being a TikTok influencer or a successful singer in the Harry Styles mould. Some will also have the self-confidence to want to take a role in tech – but the number who feel this will almost certainly not be enough to fill the number of open jobs.
So many young people see a career in technology as being out of their reach. From my work in recruitment, I know that many view a lack of skills or a missing qualification means it’s impossible to break into the sector.
With the tech and digital skills gap widening, this is worrying. Our biggest challenge is reshaping perceptions and making tech futures inclusive and accessible for all. The lack of diversity and representation is deterring young people not just from a career in technology, but even from thinking about it.
Digging deeper into this trend, it’s even more concerning that more than 60% of people aged between 16 and 26 in the UK were interested in the idea of a tech job, but this interest was higher among young men or young people who have undertaken higher education studies.
Continue reading: https://www.uktech.news/guest-posts/women-tech-skills-gap-20220704

“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire...” — Oprah Winfrey
If anyone knows a thing or two about mounting the high wire -- and setting the bar high -- it’s Oprah.
Today, Oprah is an internationally recognized talk show host, media executive, actress, and billionaire philanthropist. But years ago, she had to navigate gender, economic, and race barriers to create her own opportunities for success. She secured an on-air primetime anchor position in Baltimore, but when ratings dipped, she was fired. Undeterred, Oprah shifted gears. She landed a job co-hosting a daytime talk show and the rest is history. Oprah has proactively sought out opportunities (from acting roles to authoring books), never feared failure, and always learned from each step of her life journey.
I think women in technology can apply a few of Oprah’s lessons to forge their own career paths, navigating career hurdles and roadblocks in the process. And when I mention hurdles, I’m referring to the long-standing underrepresentation of women in technology-related fields. Despite making up nearly half of today’s total workforce, women account for only 25% of those working in technology. And more than half (56%) of women leave the tech industry, by the mid-level point in their careers, often driven out by gender bias and institutional barriers they encounter. How can women best conquer potential hurdles and roadblocks as they pave their path to career success? Keep reading.
1. Don’t be afraid to be the ‘first’ and ‘only’
I grew up in Bangladesh within a large, extended family. I didn’t have a laptop and had to use the big desktop computer we all shared at the house. Imagine 10 people sharing one computer and you can sense the chaos around homework time. When the computer would crash, which was often because it was so heavily used, I would tell my uncle. My uncle’s reply: “I’ll call my friend -- he can fix it.” No one was allowed to touch the computer until this man showed up to repair it.
Continue reading: https://www.informationweek.com/it-life/how-women-in-tech-can-create-their-own-opportunities

If technologies and digital are omnipresent in our lives, this sector is not representative of society. The reason is a lack of diversity. Web3, the next iteration of the Internet being developed, could be a way to change that.
Social networks, e-commerce, information search… The Web is an integral part of our lives. Behind this Web hide thousands of tech companies offering their services. However, a problem has persisted in this sector for years: there are still few women there, despite the many initiatives to close this gender gap.
The web3 – a still vague concept considered to be the future version of the Internet – could perhaps allow women to have a better place there. Simply more space. The next version has been attracting a lot of interest since last year, especially with the breakthrough of NFTs, the metaverse and cryptocurrencies. Initiatives exist to include more women from the start, or almost. For example, when Meta announced the launch of an academy in France to train in metaverse professions, it indicated that it aimed to have 30% of women in the first class. Will these efforts be enough to bring about lasting change?
Closing the gender gap in tech
A few figures before getting to the heart of the matter. According to the Gender Scan 2022 study, women represented only 17% of digital jobs in 2020 compared to 15% in 2018 within the European Union. Regarding France specifically, this figure has increased from 12% in 2018 to 17% in 2020. Not only are few women working in tech, but they are even fewer in accessing management positions. In the case of Gafam, we can for example mention Susan Wojcicki, general manager of YouTube or Sheryl Sandberg, director of operations of Meta, who announced her departure at the beginning of June. According to a study by Fire Tech from August 2021, only 10% of CEOs among the 50 largest global technology companies are women.
To be seen and considered, women in tech are organizing. Entrepreneur Ayumi Moore Aoki founded Women in Tech in 2018, an international non-profit organization. The objective of this NGO? Reduce the gender gap and, above all, enable 5 million women and girls to access STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) professions by 2030. To do this, it focuses on four areas: education (skills programs, awareness sessions, etc.), business (entrepreneurship, talent center, etc.), social inclusion (scholarships, equipment for rural areas, etc.) and promotion (events, strategic partnerships, etc.). “We are about 250,000 women and girls today. And we’re also part of the Edison Alliance, a movement created by the World Economic Forum with a mission to impact 1 billion lives by 2025. We’ve pledged to impact 1 million women by 2025 and 5 million by 2030”explains Ayumi Moore Aoki.
Continue reading: https://oicanadian.com/the-web3-an-opportunity-for-women-to-impose-themselves-in-tech/