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The consulting firm McKinsey and womens nonprofit Lean In just released their annual Women in the Workplace report, which examines how gender disparities are impacting womens career prospects. Unfortunately, this years results show that companies are backsliding on their commitment to workplace equityand one way thats harming women is by making it more difficult for them to work remotely. This is the 11th annual Women in the Workplace report, and its results reflect a broader pattern across corporate America: a retreat from inclusive efforts amidst a Trump administration thats gone out of its way to cut back on DEI policies. Per the study, two in 10 companies say theyre placing low or no priority on womens career advancement, a figure that rises to three in 10 for women of color. Further, almost one in six companies scaled back on formal sponsorship and discontinued or diminished career development programs with content tailored for women. This year, only half of companies are prioritizing womens career advancement, part of a trend in declining commitment to gender diversity, the report reads. One major roadblock to womens success in the workplace is that, in our modern era of flexible work, women are penalized for choosing to work remotelydespite the fact that, at the same time, theyre still expected to shoulder most of the responsibilities in the home. Flexibility stigma: How women are penalized for working remotely McKinsey and Lean In found that women who work remotely most of the time are less likely to have a sponsor (or someone championing their career advancement) and far less likely to have been promoted in the last two years than women who work mostly on-site. In contrast, men receive similar levels of sponsorship and promotions, regardless of where they work. For context, the data showed that 49% of men who worked mostly remotely received a promotion in the last two years, compared to just 37% of women. Similarly, 52% of primarily remote men had a work sponsor, while only 37% of women could say the same. Women who came into the office more often saw a major boost in these percentages, while men saw only a small increase. On top of these existing challenges, companies are now beginning to remove flexible work options entirely. The report found that one in four companies now offer fewer remote and hybrid opportunities. Thats especially detrimental to women who, despite being more penalized for working remotely, are simultaneously expected to carry more of the burden at home. In 2024, women with partners were more than three times more likely as men to be responsible for all or more housework. And, this year, almost 25% of entry or senior level women who reported not being interested in a promotion said personal obligations made it difficult to take on more work; whereas only 15% of men said the same. Flexibility stigma is one of the biggest factors holding women back at work, the report reads. When women use flexible work arrangements, coworkers often assume they are less engaged and productive, while mens commitment is taken for granted.
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E-Commerce
Gen Zs latest online fixation is the so-called ‘millennial optimism’ era. The TikTok trend sees users posting early-2000s throwback snaps set to The Middle Easts 2009 song Blood. Think moustache tattoos, Apple Photo Booth selfies, and owl-print tops paired with galaxy leggings. For those too young to experience it firsthand: the 2010s were a simpler, happier time. As one TikTok creator posted: “Millennial optimism era really had me thinking I could make a living as a part-time barista and live in a six-bedroom house with all my friends.” As one commenter confirmed: Tbh this was actually possible in 2012. In another clip, one Gen Zer wrote: “Every day I’m faced with the sad reality that performative millennial hipsters from 2005-2012 really did have it so much better.” It was a time where Barack Obama was president. Instagram was still for uploading grainy images of nights out and snapshots of your coffee. One Direction was formed. Life was good. Right? In case you may not remember, in 2010, millennials were just starting out in the workforce and unemployment was as high as 10% in the wake of the Great Recession. Many are still carrying the economic baggage well over a decade later, with research showing that those who graduate during a recession could see stagnation in financial growth for up to 15 years. In the 2010s, college tuition also more than doubled since the 1980s. Wages were suppressed and many millennials struggled to get their careers off the ground (sounds familiar, Gen Z?). In the US, student loans were staggering. Those who lived through this period have stepped in to set the record straight online. One millennial suggests the TikTok trend is “missing the mark in only the way a TikTok trend can.” He explained: “I assure you that during the early 2010s-late 2000s, I was the most pessimistic that I’ve ever been in my life.” Other millennials agreed in the comments, with one writing: “The music was great, the times were hard.” Another added: “Only the millennials living in New York, in poverty, back in 2010s, fresh out of college and post financial crisis, would understand how far back my eyes rolled when I saw this trend. They added: we hustled and had 4 different jobs for a decade and were dead inside.” For millennials at the time, optimism was simply a survival strategy. So much music that has been deemed millennial optimism is upbeat but has devastating lyrics, a third commented. Which mimics how I felt in my twenties, smiling or partying through severe hopelessness. Chelsea Fagan, a millennial writer, dubbed the early 2010s “the last era of sweet delusion” earlier this year. Objectively, things were tough. And yet, despite these hardships, there was still an enduring belief among millennials that if you worked your way up the ladder, you would be rewarded with a house, a car, and a comfortable life, with an employer who would return your loyalty. The early 2010s were full of a general sense that everything would just work out, Fagan wrote. Was it a little delusional? Absolutely. Today? Recent graduates seem to have no such delusion.
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E-Commerce
Want to visit the U.S.? Be prepared to cough up your social media history. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection filed a legal proposal today that will make it mandatory for many tourists to submit the last five years of their social media history as part of the application required to visit the country. The public has 60 days, until early February, to submit comments to this proposal. The social media requirement, if enacted, would apply to any visitor from the 42 different countries in the Visa Waiver Program. Rather than applying for a visa, these tourists must submit an application to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization and pay a $40 fee for visits of 90 days or less. That list includes many countries with close ties to the U.S. and whose citizens regularly visit, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia. If enacted, this requirement could strike yet another blow to international tourism. Through October, more than 9.3 million tourists have visited the U.S. from five countries that would be affected by this proposalthe United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, and South Koreaand the number of overseas visitors more broadly has fallen 2.5% compared with the same period in 2024, according to figures from the International Trade Administration. NEW HIGH VALUE DATA FIELDS The social media requirement isnt the only proposed change for tourists visiting the U.S. The Trump administration also wants to add several other high value data fields to the ESTA application. These include telephone numbers used in the last five years, email addresses used in the last 10 years, and biometrics information that include fingerprints, DNA, and a photo of the iris. Customs and Border Protection didnt immediately respond to a request for comment from Fast Company. There was no information in the legal filing about how the U.S. plans to enforce this proposed change, particularly given how many tourists visit from the affected countries. The changes to the requirements for non-visa tourists are being proposed to comply with one of the executive orders President Donald Trump signed in January, related to protecting the country from foreign terrorists. The latest proposal is similar to a new policy that the State Department announced in June requiring that applicants for certain U.S. visas would be instructed to set their social media profiles to the public setting to facilitate the vetting process. A PARADIGM SHIFT Such moves are relatively unprecedented. Americans visiting the European Union currently dont have to submit any sort of application if their stay is less than 90 days. That will change once the EU implements a travel authorization requirement, but a social media history isnt part of that vetting process. And the administrations latest proposal could prove to have a chilling effect on tourism, opponents argue. In 2024, tourism spending produced $2.9 trillion in economic output, according to figures from the U.S. Travel Association. This proposal marks a paradigm shift of how the government is approaching social media by scrutinizing online speech and using that information to potentially deny travel based on discretion and policy about what the person said, Bo Cooper, a partner at Fragomen, told The New York Times. Itll be interesting to watch the tourism numbers. Whats more, the proposal sends a worrying message to potential tourists, who should not have to fear that self-censorship is a condition of entry,” Sarah McLaughlin, senior scholar for global expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told Axios. “This is not the behavior of a country confident in its freedoms,” she said.
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E-Commerce
Charli XCX is making a trip to the Sundance Film Festival in January. The pop singer-songwriter appears in three films premiering at the 2026 festival, including a mockumentary that she produced and stars in. Programmers on Wednesday unveiled a lineup of 90 feature films set for the festivals last hurrah in Park City, Utah. The slate includes documentaries on basketball great Brittney Griner, Nelson Mandela, Salman Rushdie, Courtney Love, and Billie Jean King. There are starry features with the likes of Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Seth Rogen, Channing Tatum, Danielle Brooks, Olivia Colman, DaVine Joy Randolph, Alexander Skarsgrd, and Ethan Hawke. Olivia Wilde directs her first feature since Dont Worry Darling, in The Invite. Judd Apatow chronicles comedian Maria Bamfords mental health journey. And Gregg Araki will be back in Park City with a restoration of his 2004 coming-of-age drama Mysterious Skin and a new film as well. Its a broad, eclectic and bold program, Sundance public programming director Eugene Hernandez told The Associated Press. He said the lineup for the festival’s final year in Park City really honors that well with this mixture of new, exciting voices paired with some really, really great familiar faces from Sundances past that I think will create a great alchemy for this really unique edition in Utah. Ever a festival of discovery, of the 90 features culled from 4,255 submissions, 40% are from first-time directors. The programmers laugh when they hear people say things like thats a Sundance movie, as if its one, easily categorizable thing. I look at the films in this program and say, You tell me what a Sundance film is because theyre so different, said programmer John Nein. Three Charli XCX movies Charli XCX plays a rising pop star prepping for her first arena tour in the mockumentary The Moment, which Hernandez said is like her version of This is Spinal Tap. She also appears in Arakis I Want Your Sex, in which Cooper Hoffman plays an intern who gets wrapped up in the world of an artist and provocateur (Wilde). And shes among the ensemble of The Gallerist. Theres a sense of humor that she has about herself and her work, but also a creativity and a star quality that is apparent. I mean, she is magnetic on the screen, Hernandez said. Its great to have someone who represents sort of a next generation of creativity embracing the world that we inhabit. Some great comedies This years slate includes more than a few exciting comedies in unexpected places. Cathy Yan directed and co-wrote The Gallerist, a satirical look at the art world and attempting to sell a corpse at Art Basel Miami, with a large ensemble including Portman, Ortega, Sterling K. Brown and Zach Galifianakis. David Wain also has Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass about a woman out to even the score after her fiance uses the free pass, starring Zoey Deutch and Jon Hamm. Programmer Kim Yutani said she thinks Wicker, about a woman who asks a basket maker to weave her a husband, starring Colman and Skarsgrd, will be a big crowd pleaser. Other standouts are Jay Duplasss grief-themed See You When I See You, with Cooper Raiff and David Duchovny, Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! set inside Tokyos ballroom dance scene and Wildes The Invite, about a crumbling marriage in which she stars alongside Rogen. They are finding comedy in some of the toughest places, Nein said. In the Midnight section, theres Buddy, from Too Many Cooks creator Casper Kelly, about a girl who has to escape a kids TV show. There are some quirky, humorous documentaries too, including Joybubbles and John Wilsons The History of Concrete. Timely documentaries at Sundance Sundance has become famous for its documentary programming, many of which go on to be nominated for and win Oscars. This year is likely to be no different. Across the board, both in the U.S. and internationally, you have a program that deals with the world where it is right now, Nein said. These documentaries, they’re incredibly sophisticated, theyre very mindful of how complex world issues are, and they bring you into that process. One that might make waves is When A Witness Recants, in which author Ta-Nehisi Coates revisits the case of the 1983 murder of a boy in his Baltimore middle school and learns the truth. American Doctor follows three professionals trying to help in Gaza. All About the Money looks at heir-turned -communist Fergie Chambers. Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell take on artificial intelligence in The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist and Sentient is about animal testing. A lot of them are sort of optimistic in one sense, in that theyre about people power, Nein said. Its about the power of community to affect change, the power of one person who you havent heard of necessarily. Those include Jane Elliott Against the World, about an Iowa schoolteacher who taught anti-discrimination in 1968, and Seized, about the police raid on the Marion County Record in Kansas. Ones to watch at Sundance 2026 New talents often emerge from Sundance, like Eva Victor last year with Sorry, Baby. This year programmers noted several gems in the lineup, including Beth de Araújos Josephine, about an 8-year-old who witnesses a crime, with Tatum and Gemma Chan. TV veteran Molly Manners Extra Geography, about boarding school friends in England, is one that Nein said is one of the funniest, most sophisticated debut features that hes seen from the U.K. in years. He also spotlighted LADY, a first feature from Nigerian filmmaker Olive Nwosu about a cab driver in Lagos, as well as the queer genre film Leviticus. As in years past, the Sundance competition titles will also be available to watch online. Yutani said her go-to recommendation for the remote audience is the world dramatic competition title Levitating, from Indonesian director Wregas Bhanuteja. Its set in this community where theres these trance parties, Yutani said. It is a thrilling film. This years festival will also honor its late founderRobert Redford with legacy screenings and serve as a celebration of its 40+ years in Park City before it relocates to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. The 2026 festival kicks off on Jan. 22 and runs through Feb. 1. Lindsey Bahr, AP film writer
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Mega billionaire Elon Musk, in a friendly interview with his aide and conservative influencer Katie Miller, said his efforts leading the Department of Government Efficiency were only somewhat successful and he would not do it over again. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who also owns the social media platform X, still broadly defended President Donald Trump‘s controversial pop-up agency that Musk left in the spring before it shuttered officially last month. Yet Musk bemoaned how difficult it is to remake the federal government quickly, and he acknowledged how much his businesses suffered because of his DOGE work and its lack of popularity. We were a little bit successful. We were somewhat successful, he told Miller, who once worked as a DOGE spokeswoman charged with selling the agency’s work to the public. When Miller pressed Musk on whether he would do it all over again, he said: I don’t think so. … Instead of doing DOGE, I would have, basically, built … worked on my companies. Almost wistfully, Musk added, They wouldn’t have been burning the cars” a reference to consumer protests against Tesla. Still, things certainly have turned up for Musk since his departure from Trump’s administration. Tesla shareholders approved a pay package that could make Musk the worlds first trillionaire. Musk was speaking as a guest on the Katie Miller Podcast, which Miller, who is married to top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, launched after leaving government employment to work for Musk in the private sector. The two sat in chairs facing each other for a conversation that lasted more than 50 minutes and spanned topics from DOGE to Musk’s thoughts on AI, social media, conspiracy theories and fashion. Miller did not press Musk on the inner workings of DOGE and the controversial manner in which it took over federal agencies and data systems. Musk credited the agency with saving as much as $200 billion annually in zombie payments that he said can be avoided with better automated systems and coding for federal payouts. But that number is dwarfed by Musk’s ambitious promises at one time that an efficiency commission could measure savings in the trillions. Miller has not responded to an Associated Press request for comment. Bill Barrow, Associated Press
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