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Where you live determines a lotespecially if you’re a woman. From physical and mental well-being to unemployment rates to median income, key components of life satisfaction in the U.S. vary drastically based on location. And given that the pay gap also worsens for women, in particular, as they age, the city they call home can be a huge factor in determining earnings and quality of life later on. A new WalletHub study ranked 182 cities in the U.S. to find out which ones are best for women. The rankings are based on two factors: women’s economic and social well-being, which includes median earnings, unemployment rate, and job security; and women’s healthcare and safety, which looks at access to abortion, the quality of women’s hospitals, and suicide rates. The top-ranked cities have higher annual wages when adjusting for cost of living; good healthcare; and low rates of poverty for women. The lowest-ranked cities have larger gaps in womens healthcare and fewer opportunities for well-paying jobs. First on the list is Columbia, Maryland, which has the highest median wage for women at $61,778 and a relatively low poverty rate of 8.2% (the eighth lowest in the U.S.). The unemployment rate for women is just over 4% and nearly a quarter (23%) of businesses are owned by women. While many cities in the study are struggling with women’s healthcare gaps, Columbia has the 10th-best life expectancy for birthing women in the U.S. Seattle, which ranked second among the cities studied, has the seventh-highest percentage of women-owned businesses, and just 11% of women live below the poverty line. The median salary is $47,792 and only 3.5% of women are uninsured. The city has the 11th-highest life expectancy at birth for women, and crimes against women and suicide rates are comparatively low. Overland Park, Kansas, is the third-best city for women. While its ranking for healthcare and safety was 58 out of 182, it scored second on economic and social well-being. With a strong economy, only 3.6% of women are unemployed in Overland Park, and it has the second-highest median income for women. On the other end of the spectrum, a number of cities in the American South ranked poorly. Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Montgomery, Alabama; Gulfport, Mississippi; and Fort Smith, Arkansas, are all in the bottom 10. Ranking worst of all is Jackson, Mississippi, at 176 out of 182 for economic and social well-being and 175 for womens healthcare and safety. Analysts explained in their report that local policies are massively important in terms of whether women are able to thrive in a certain city. “Government officials need to look at how dismantling of DEI programs will greatly impact gender equity in the workforce and including access to institutional resources (STEM training, for example),” commented Cecilia Rio, an associate professor at Towson University in Maryland. “White women, in particular, benefited a great deal from the implementation of affirmative action in the past in order to open up professional and other traditional male occupations. Rio added, “It is ironic, for example, to hear Trumps press secretary complain about wokeness when the very policies that came from the social movements of the 60s and 70s knocked down the doors of discrimination and stubborn glass ceilings that kept women out of such prestigious careers to begin with.” Find the full list of best and worst cities for women here.
Category:
E-Commerce
The secret of TikToks success since its launch has been its algorithm, which presents videos to its 170 million users in the United States. The ability to synthesize users interests and keep them scrolling has been the reason the app has grown stratosphericallyand is part of the reason why the average user spends more time on the app than watching the average feature film. But TikToks fate is in jeopardy, with its owner ByteDance reportedly approaching a unique deal involving the Trump administration. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told Fox News over the weekend that the algorithm will also be controlled by America, as part of a deal that would see the apps data held on secure servers operated by Oracle, the large U.S. data company, and run with a consortium reportedly including media mogul Lachlan Murdoch, the son of Rupert Murdoch. Trump’s press secretary outlined more details of the deal today. The future of TikTok has never looked as grim as now, says Marcus Bösch, a TikTok researcher and consultant. If the United States does manage to wrest control of the algorithm powering the U.S. version of TikTok and deliver it to American ownership, it would be a win for the White House. It would assuage anti-China hawks, who fear the role the app plays in Americans lifestyles. Their campaign against TikToks continued existence led to the ban on its operation in the U.S., which Trump has repeatedly delayed through executive orders. Without evidence, those who oppose TikTok argue that its algorithm could be weaponized to push anti-U.S. sentiment onto millions of impressionable young users. But the latest developments could be a Pyrrhic victory. If the U.S. version of the apps algorithm differs in any way from the core apps offering, American citizens could end up with a subpar version of TikTokand abandon it in droves. TikTok did not immediately respond to Fast Companys request for comment. While the specifics of what a post-deal TikTok would look like are unclear, the current app heavily leverages an algorithm developed over the years by ByteDance, including being trained on predecessor apps. There are fears among experts that this highly honed feed could become one designed solely to promote Trump-favorable content. A nationalized feed may feel safer or more familiar, but I believe it risks narrowing what people see to American concerns, while filtering out the messy, global commons that once made TikTok so distinctive, says Tom Divon, a researcher studying TikTok at the Hebrew University in Israel. Others are equally worried about a whiplash effect. I anticipate stark shifts in the FYP algorithm, says Jessica Maddox, associate professor of media studies at the University of Georgia. Maddox has already seen TikToks algorithm tending to promote what she calls daytime TV content during politically tense timesincluding footage of cutesy animals and toddlers or wholesome dances. I see this becoming more of the norm with users struggling to train their algorithm back to their specific interests, Maddox says. TikTok will become more fluffy, general content instead of being known for its hyper-specific niches. And given that its success has, thus far, stemmed from its ability to offer hyper-specific tailoring of content to its usersin contrast to homegrown tech titans like YouTube and Instagramsacrificing that advantage seems like a great leveler. Donald Trump has previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has approved the terms of the deal, though Chinese and U.S. explanations of the agreement have differed, particularly around the future of the algorithm. According to Chinese state media, China’s Communist Party has said that both parties have reached an agreement to allow ByteDance to retain control of TikToks algorithmsomething Trump appears to have contradicted. Bösch believes that the apps fate could be similar to X after it was transformed from Twitterone that looks unrecognizable to its core of users but retains a loyal following among a committed minority. And under Trump, what is and isnt allowed could change significantly. I can foresee political terms that dont align with an administrations political goals being suppressed, Maddox says. Users may also see a change in content moderation guidelines, with objections that could once be overturned on appeal no longer being the case. Those who have studied TikTok extensively also fear that the quality of content could drop if users desert the platform. This one will most likely be filled with so much AI-infused propaganda, Bösch says. Nice to study. Most likely not so nice to use in private.”
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E-Commerce
Tech giant Oracle will oversee the security for a licensed copy of the recommendation engine powering TikTok under the terms of a proposed divestment deal, according to a senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday. Determining next steps for the algorithm, currently owned by the Beijing-based ByteDance, has been one of the most closely watched issues during negotiations over TikTok’s future. The Trump administration official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the emerging deal, said they believe the plan will satisfy national security concerns if TikTok divests from its Chinese parent, ByteDance. President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation before leaving office, requiring the Chinese company to sell its assets to an American company or face a ban. American officials have previously warned the algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way thats difficult to detect. It wouldnt be in compliance if the algorithm is Chinese. There cant be any shared algorithm with ByteDance, said a spokesperson for the House Select Committee on China. Oracle would receive a copy of the algorithm and oversee the app’s security operations. The algorithm would be fully inspected and monitored for any abnormal behavior, the senior White House official said Monday. In a call with reporters, the official later emphasized that the content recommendation formula would be retrained using U.S. data in order to make sure the system is behaving appropriately. It is currently unclear if retraining the copy of the algorithm would essentially create a separate TikTok experience just for domestic U.S. users, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed in a Monday press briefing that TikTok users in the U.S will be able to see videos posted by users in other countries and vice versa. What the president will sign later this week is an executive order, essentially declaring that the terms of this deal meets Americas national security needs, the White House official said. He notes that China is expected to sign and approve a framework deal for TikTok’s divestment by the end of the week, upon which Trump will issue a 120 day reprieve, giving both nations time to get necessary agreements finalized. Full details on investors have not been released. However, the official confirmed that the U.S. operations will be a new joint venture with a board of directors that will have a majority of American membersOracle and Silver Lake, a private equity firm, are the only confirmed consortium participants so far. The White House official also said that under the preliminary dealwhich still requires Chinese officials to sign off on a framework agreementthe United States will not take equity stake in the new venture or have representation on the controlling committee. Trump, a Republican, has extended the deadline several times as he worked to reach a deal to keep TikTok available. He spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. Chris Megerian, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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