Twelve thousand dollars.

That’s how much more male doctors earn compared to their female colleagues. It’s not really a surprise that the wage gap also exists in the medical field but for a long time it was thought that it’s mainly because of a difference in work hours, specialization, and productivity: Women often choose lower-paying, less specialized fields and many only work part-time. A new study by the University of Michigan however, took all of this into account and concluded that female doctors earn about $12,000 less per year – which roughly adds up to a loss of $350,000 over a career. One of the reasons is familiar and depressing: Women don’t ask for raises or promotions often enough and don’t negotiate as aggressively as their male colleagues. This study is a great example how costly passiveness can be. Ask for more. It’s the doctor’s order.

Riling up some Kickstarter users

Kickstarter projects can do a lot of good. Last week however, it brought out the worst in some people. Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist pop culture critic and a gamer herself, started a Kickstarter page for “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games”, a project that wants to examine female characters and stereotypes in video games. Sarkeesian challenges the industry to stop limiting female characters to dull and boring clichs such as the sexy sidekick, the sexy villainess or the damsel in distress that can be rescued by a heroic hero. Instead she hopes for more complex female characters with more interesting roles, while raising awareness and promote critical thinking – sounds like a interesting and innocent idea.
The good news: The project raised over $158,000. Way more than the initial budget of $6000 that was needed to do research and present the results in a video series.
The bad news: Some members of the gaming industry really do not like the word “feminism” and all that comes with it to question the status quo – reading the project description made them forget all their manners. Pardon my French, but there are some real jerks out there and they spent the last few days writing disgusting insults on Sarkeesian’s YouTube page, vandalizing her Wikipedia entry and threatening her on Social Networks. Mind you, all of this was done before a video was even produced. Some gamers voiced their opinion loudly and proudly and made sure everyone knows that “Tropes vs. Video Games” is a personal attack and not just a video series that nobody is forced to support or watch.
The irony here is that the insults and threats to prevent the project from being successful gave Anita Sarkeesian so much publicity that she raised more awareness and money than she could have ever hoped for. The gamers who wrote these insults proved that a project about sexism in video games seems to be more important than ever before. Unfortunately the financial success of the project will not mean game over for all the trolls out there. Now if only it was a punishment to send them to their rooms to think about what they have done.

Start sending in your business-pun Essie color names: Manicure Meetings are apparently a thing.

Playing golf seems to be a crucial part of business networking but what if you don’t (want to) play golf or have allergies that make you look like a raccoon as soon as you get near anything green? There is hope. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, there is a new networking trend in town. Manicure Meetings are the latest way to hold casual business meetings, catch up and possibly bond over gossip. It makes sense: Nail Salons provide a relaxed environment, you probably put your phone and laptop away and your job skills will only be judged by what color nail polish you pick – and not by your handicap on the green or by what you eat and drink during a lunch meeting.
Now all I want is a study that tells me which nail polish color will increase the likelihood that deals will be made and contracts get signed.

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Isabelle Mitchell is Levo’s tireless Midwestern Correspondent.