If Dove expects women to cheer up, it hasn’t been paying attention | Harpreet Purewal

The “Dove Campaign for Real Beauty” has spent years telling women that we can all be beautiful regardless of our shape, size and colour. Like me, you may have been too busy trying to be a modern-woman-who-has-it-all to realise this, but luckily for us, the men at Unilever pointed it out. For their latest campaign the purveyors of patronising soap have paired up with a “behavioural investigator” (me neither) to tackle negativity online.

Not the daily harassment and threats that women face online, of course. But those negative pals in your life who are always moaning to you on social media. And it’s hard to see what there could be to moan about as a woman in 2016 – everything’s great, right? You see, Dove thinks your attitude stinks as much as your armpits.

Dove (@Dove)

If you know a girl who has been negative online—about herself or others—try this fun activity to spread positivity. #SpeakBeautiful pic.twitter.com/cEZZbCz4ye

October 18, 2016

It would be easy to think of Dove as the male colleague who periodically tells you that you could go far if only you looked a little more enthusiastic in meetings, but really what woman doesn’t look better when she smiles? So next time you notice a friend being negative online why not give her a reason to cheer up; it’s not that the news today is bad, it’s the way you’re choosing to interpret it. Just tell the negative Nellies in your life to peruse a few of the many reasons she has to be cheerful – and then unfriend away.

Wage gap

Never mind that the current gap stands at 9% which is equivalent to more than a month’s free work a year, new analysis by Deloitte says the wage gap will finally close in 2069, a full 99 years after the Equal Pay Act. This may feel like far away, but if you’re a woman in your 20s today you will definitely feel the benefit because you’ll still have rent to pay. Mark 2069 in your calendars now as the time when you’ll be able to hold your head up high in the knowledge that you now earn as much as Dave!

Sexual harassment

New research from the TUC shows that 52% of women and 63% of women aged 18-24 said they have experienced sexual harassment at work. Statistics are all about the interpretation; looking at it another way, 48% of women haven’t been sexually harassed at work – that’s almost one in two women. You go girl!

The US election

This year’s presidential election has amplified the voices of women. At the time of writing, 10 have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Donald Trump. The Republican candidate himself was kind enough to share a platform with three women who have made accusations of rape and sexual harassment against Bill Clinton. Cynics might argue these women are being used as pawns but I genuinely can’t remember an American presidential election when we’ve heard from so many women. And that’s without even mentioning the likely next incumbent of the Oval Office, Hillary Clinton …

Health fears

A recent study of more than a million women demonstrated what many have suspected all along; the contraceptive pill is linked to depression. The study showed that women taking the combined pill were 23% more likely to be prescribed antidepressants and those taking the progestin-only pill were 34% more likely than those not on the pill. While this sounds like a bad news story, it’s really just another victory for women’s intuition.

Maternity services

In the UK, our lady prime minister, Theresa May, has endorsed plans to crack down on maternity tourism by introducing passport checks in maternity wards. This may mean that women in late stages of labour have to hold tight, turn around, head home and find their documents, but really it shows that our labour wards are popular international destinations like the ones you find in Condé Naste Traveller and in-flight magazines!

Superhero stance

The choice of Wonder Woman as a United Nations ambassador, has been met with shock and anger. Rather than bother to find a real woman to campaign for gender equality, the UN has chosen a comic book character owned by DC (who coincidentally will be coming to a cinema screen near you in 2017). More predictable choices may have been Muzoon Almellehan, a Syrian teenager who has worked to encourage other girls in refugee camps to continue with their education or perhaps model Alek Wek, whose work with Unicef and Doctors Without Borders has helped to raise awareness about the difficulties faced by people in Sudan..

But enough with the negatives, let’s ask another question: apart from an improbable waist to bust ratio, what does Wonder Woman have that a real woman doesn’t? In choosing a work of fiction, the UN has managed to avoid any problems they might have incurred with a real woman with a body and mind. The transport, food and accommodation budget for this ambassador will be slim and you don’t have to worry about her saying anything off-brand because between them, the UN and DC control every word she says. There’s simply none of the difficulty or fuss of working with a real-life woman. If anything, this is a woman that refuses to be held back by her status as a work of fiction, and how many men can you say that about?

If Dove expects women to cheer up, it hasn’t been paying attention | Harpreet Purewal

Under-fire Southern Health chief quits over "media attention"

The boss of an NHS trust that was widely criticised for failing to investigate unexpected deaths of patients with mental health problems or learning disabilities has resigned, citing “media attention”.

Katrina Percy, the chief executive of Southern Health NHS foundation trust, who has been under pressure to stand down for months, announced her resignation on Tuesday.

The trust’s leadership was censured in an independent report commissioned by NHS England after 18-year-old Connor Sparrowhawk, who had learning disabilities, drowned in a bath after an epileptic seizure at Slade House in Oxfordshire in July 2013.

In December the inquiry team concluded that the trust had failed to properly investigate the deaths of more than 1,000 patients with learning disabilities or mental health problems over a four-year period, and criticised a “failure of leadership”.

In April the trust’s chairman, Mike Petter, stood down just before the publication of another critical report, this time by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which said the trust was still not doing enough to protect people in its care.

But Percy resisted calls to quit, including from Connor’s mother, Dr Sara Ryan, and the former shadow health minister Luciana Berger, until Tuesday.

Announcing her decision, Percy said: “I have reflected on the effect the ongoing personal media attention has had on staff and patients and have come to the conclusion that this has made my role untenable.

“I know and understand that many will say I should have stepped down sooner given the very public concerns which have been raised in the past months. I stayed on as I firmly believed it was my responsibility to oversee the necessary improvements and to continue the groundbreaking work we have begun with GPs to transform care for our patients.”

Percy said she would be taking up an alternative role providing strategic advice to local GP leaders. Julie Dawes, who joined the trust in May as director of nursing and quality, will take over as chief executive on an interim basis.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb welcomed Percy’s “belated” resignation, but said: “Rather than taking responsibility and doing the honourable thing by stepping down, Katrina Percy continued to put her own interests before the public interest.

“Reports that she will move into another well-paid job advising GPs on strategy are deeply concerning and will aggravate the sense of injustice felt by the families of those who lost their lives.”

Deborah Coles, the director of the charity Inquest who worked with Sparrowhawk’s family, said: “The CEO and board presided over dangerous systems and practices that cost lives. Despite repeated warnings there was a failure to act.

“Those patients and families affected have a right to be justifiably angered that this resignation is not an acceptance of responsibility for systemic failings but further denial and obfuscation by blaming ‘media attention’.”

The report commissioned by NHS England, carried out by the audit firm Mazars, concluded that failures by the trust’s board and senior executives meant there was no “effective” management of deaths or investigations and a lack of “effective focus or leadership from the board”.

The CQC, which subsequently carried out a snap inspection, said: “The key risks and actions to address them were not driving the senior leadership or board agenda.” It said the leadership did not proactively address risks “before concerns are raised by external bodies”.

In June the trust accepted responsibility for Connor’s death and agreed to pay his family £80,000 in compensation. Last October an inquest jury concluded that neglect contributed to the death of the teenager, who was known affectionately as Laughing Boy or LB.

Southern Health’s interim chairman, Tim Smart, said Percy had reached the conclusion that “due to the significant focus on her as an individual, it is in the best interests of the trust, patients and staff for her to step down”.

Under-fire Southern Health chief quits over "media attention"

There is a much better way to help disabled folks pay attention to us, for starters | Sue Marsh

Disabled men and women protest at Westminster against cuts in their advantages Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian

Employment and support allowance (ESA), the benefit that offers support if you are too unwell or grow to be so disabled that you cannot operate, is failing on each level.

These days, the Spartacus network of disability campaigners – all sick or disabled ourselves – launches its report Beyond Barriers, the most up to date evaluation of how the ESA, the Work Programme and the workplace itself is avoiding disabled men and women from discovering employment, reaching their total potential and is failing to conserve the taxpayer cash.

The assumptions on which the ESA was founded in 2008: that the caseload was also large that incapacity advantage was too simply available that there had been folks claiming IB who weren’t ill enough to merit it that work is fairly significantly universally “excellent for you” are unsound. The framework, set by the Department for Operate and Pensions, that decides who does or isn’t going to qualify is inadequate, inconsistent and incomplete health-related proof is not sought in sufficient instances numerous centres are inaccessible to the disabled people they must assess and effective appeals have hit an all-time large of 43%, the highest of any advantage.

But perhaps the biggest failure of all is the lack of support for people told they have to locate function and assured they will be “supported at every single stage”. Just 5% of these referred to the Work Programme on ESA have located sustained function. Companies are accused of “cherry-picking” the best to assist claimants even though “parking” people with higher demands with small or no speak to. There is no communication between ESA and the Function Programme, which means that, astonishingly, a perform supplier hardly ever has any knowledge or understanding of the disability affecting someone’s potential to perform. In practice they typically treat the sick or disabled particular person just like any other jobseeker.

To comprehensive the cycle of failure, it is clear that the workplace is all also often nonetheless not a welcoming location for individuals who suffer from long-phrase health situations, mental well being concerns or disabilities. Disabled people with similar abilities and qualifications to non-disabled people are significantly less very likely to be in work, are paid significantly less, are a lot more most likely to live in poverty and they report high amounts of discrimination awhen searching for perform.

In the 21st century it is achievable to do so a lot a lot more: flexible functioning modern schemes much more fluid help with less complicated transition on and off social protection. We could make certain that somebody attempting to access help can discover all the information they require – work support, training, rehabilitation, rewards tips and health care in a single place from one particular supportive adviser or caseworker. We could improve the capability of people who nevertheless require some support to do a minor work and make that operate pay out.

But if we don’t engage employers and companies and guarantee that they do more than “aspire” to like sick and disabled people in their structures, just how much can the state do to ensure that every person achieves their full potential?

Our report sets out our vision for what need to exchange ESA, how the marketplace can much better accommodate all employees, regardless of impairment and how a operate programme may possibly perform that really offered the help now promised but not delivered.

Crucially, the report concludes: “A program that works for sick and disabled people, while also making worth for taxpayers, need to have not be a contradiction in terms. But to achieve it, we need to very first be prepared to pay attention.”

Adhere to #BeyondBarriers on Twitter and Facebook these days and join us in calling for a far better deal for people living with illnesses or disabilities and their carers.

There is a much better way to help disabled folks pay attention to us, for starters | Sue Marsh

There is a greater way to help disabled men and women pay attention to us, for starters | Sue Marsh

Disabled people protest at Westminster towards cuts in their benefits Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian

Employment and help allowance (ESA), the advantage that supplies assistance if you are as well sick or turn into so disabled that you cannot work, is failing on every single level.

Nowadays, the Spartacus network of disability campaigners – all sick or disabled ourselves – launches its report Beyond Barriers, the most up to date evaluation of how the ESA, the Perform Programme and the workplace itself is preventing disabled people from discovering employment, reaching their total potential and is failing to save the taxpayer cash.

The assumptions on which the ESA was founded in 2008: that the caseload was as well large that incapacity benefit was as well simply available that there were people claiming IB who weren’t ill adequate to merit it that perform is rather considerably universally “excellent for you” are unsound. The construction, set by the Division for Function and Pensions, that decides who does or isn’t going to qualify is inadequate, inconsistent and incomplete health care evidence is not sought in ample circumstances many centres are inaccessible to the disabled men and women they should assess and successful appeals have hit an all-time high of 43%, the highest of any advantage.

But possibly the best failure of all is the lack of support for people informed they must discover work and assured they will be “supported at every single stage”. Just 5% of individuals referred to the Perform Programme on ESA have identified sustained perform. Suppliers are accused of “cherry-picking” the best to support claimants even though “parking” those with greater demands with small or no make contact with. There is no communication amongst ESA and the Perform Programme, which means that, astonishingly, a perform provider hardly ever has any knowledge or comprehending of the disability affecting someone’s potential to operate. In practice they often treat the sick or disabled individual just like any other jobseeker.

To comprehensive the cycle of failure, it is clear that the workplace is all also typically nevertheless not a welcoming spot for folks who suffer from long-phrase wellness conditions, mental well being troubles or disabilities. Disabled people with equivalent abilities and qualifications to non-disabled individuals are much less probably to be in perform, are paid significantly less, are a lot more most likely to dwell in poverty and they report high ranges of discrimination awhen seeking operate.

In the 21st century it is possible to do so much far more: flexible operating revolutionary schemes far more fluid help with less complicated transition on and off social safety. We could make certain that a person making an attempt to accessibility help can uncover all the information they require – work assistance, coaching, rehabilitation, benefits advice and well being care in one particular spot from 1 supportive adviser or caseworker. We could improve the capacity of individuals who nevertheless want some assistance to do a little function and make that operate pay.

But if we don’t engage employers and organizations and make certain that they do more than “aspire” to like sick and disabled folks in their structures, just how much can the state do to ensure that absolutely everyone achieves their full potential?

Our report sets out our vision for what need to replace ESA, how the marketplace can far better accommodate all staff, irrespective of impairment and how a operate programme may function that in fact provided the help now promised but not delivered.

Crucially, the report concludes: “A system that performs for sick and disabled folks, although also generating value for taxpayers, want not be a contradiction in terms. But to achieve it, we have to very first be prepared to listen.”

Stick to #BeyondBarriers on Twitter and Facebook today and join us in calling for a better deal for men and women living with illnesses or disabilities and their carers.

There is a greater way to help disabled men and women pay attention to us, for starters | Sue Marsh

Pay attention, NHS. Stuart Rose isn"t just any retailocrat. This is an M&S retailocrat | Marina Hyde

‘I preserve imagining individuals currently being wheeled into theatre for a bypass only to learn that this week it is a world foods cafe.’ Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Photos

You’ve quite much admitted to ruling by dare the minute you hire Philip Green to publish a report on government profligacy. (The Topshop boss’s most current birthday celebration reportedly value £6m.) So it’s not the best shock to understand that Stuart Rose, former M&ampS chief executive and recent Ocado chairman, is now to be tasked with fixing the NHS.

Sir Stuart has been engaged by Jeremy Hunt, and will advise the overall health secretary on transforming the management of failing hospitals, on the tantalisingly intangible basis that he is “one of the country’s most inspirational leaders”. And maybe he is – sadly, his tenure at M&ampS coincided with my neighborhood store’s apparent insistence on moving every single stock item to a different place every number of days, so I keep imagining individuals currently being wheeled into theatre for a heart bypass only to learn that this week it truly is a planet meals cafeteria.

When did it take root, this bizarre concept that the fantastically complex apparatus of the state is analogous to a store? The observation popularised by Napoleon, that England was “a nation of shopkeepers”, has grow to be a governmental axiom. They’ve all had a crack – or rather, the main crossover stars have: the ones of whom governments imagine Ordinary People may well have heard. There was Mary Portas off the telly, and the aforementioned Philip Green.

Now there is Stuart Rose, who is reduce from equivalent cloth. Relatively above-optimistically, Ordinary Folks are deemed to know about him, simply because he was as soon as the chief executive of Marks &amp Spencer, a keep which is usually mentioned as although it had been one of the cornerstones of British life. It really is a bit like Manchester United these days. Each have to be addressed as even though a dip in their fortunes have been a dip in all our fortunes, akin to the country’s whole harvest possessing failed. A run of poor final results is not merely a run of bad outcomes – it have to be swept up into wider and grander factors about the standard loss of believe in in our best institutions: politicians, police, banking institutions, the media, United’s back 4. And, certainly, M&ampS hosiery. Do you sense a gathering darkness, serfs? That would be your lodestars currently being extinguished.

As for the form guide on shopkeepers possessing a go at government, it does not augur immensely well for individuals hoping the Rose commission will be the response. We have already dealt with the savage self-parody of a government employing Philip Green to lecture it on wastefulness, but I suppose the nicest point you could say about that appointment was that it scrupulously averted costs of a conflict of interests. Ninety-two per cent of Sir Phil’s Arcadia Group is in his wife’s name, and she is resident in Monaco, so you could hardly say he had any influence over how her taxes would be invested.

As for Phil’s conclusions, nicely, the ones that hadn’t been advised in at least 3 preceding reports have been both pointlessly evident or plainly unscalable. Centralised procurement was his massive notion – who knew he was a Marxist? – but the apparent total failure to grasp the chasm in between the state and a shoe division was boggling.

Mary Portas was subsequent, and however the former inventive director of Harvey Nichols would seem to have accomplished her really best, a You and Yours investigation for BBC Radio 4 last yr located that ten of the 12 “Portas pilot” towns – which obtained government funding to regenerate their high streets according to the suggestions of Portas’s report – had truly noticed a fall in the variety of occupied retail units.

Rose has at least differed from his retailocrat predecessors in that he acknowledged the distinction among his old life and the job that will occupy him for an unspecified proportion of the next couple of months. “Obviously the NHS is a very distinct institution from M&ampS,” he stated, in case any person was under the impression that the latter also employed 1.3m staff (even which includes self-service tills).

Still, just as soon as, maybe as a humorous experiment, it would be wonderful to believe we were appointing someone who was actually considered an professional in the discipline. Forgive the repetition in this space, but I can’t support feeling that David Freud should actually have been the final hurrah of this concept that being aware of naff-all about a topic was a plus, due to the fact you deliver that fabled “fresh point of view” to it. David Freud – now Lord Freud, of program – was the former investment banker charged by the Blair government with solving welfare. Shortly following the publication of his report, he defected to the Tories, and is now the government’s minister for welfare reform.

“I did not know anything at all about welfare when I started out,” he breezed just after delivering that initial report, “but that may have been an benefit … In a funny way, the answer was obvious.”

Without a doubt it is humorous, is not it, that anything that has tied up the best political minds since its inception could have appeared so transparently simple to Freud – and to view the triumphant dealing with of universal credit score, or his lordship’s faintly clueless physical appearance before the operate and pensions pick committee into housing costs final week, it is clear the fruits of his labour have left welfare thinkers from Adam Smith to Beveridge with historical egg all more than their faces.

You could recall it took Lord Freud just the three weeks to analysis and compose his report, but let us hope that Sir Stuart will indulge the wellness service with at least double that. Following all, these are not just solutions. These are M&ampS answers.

Twitter: @MarinaHyde

Pay attention, NHS. Stuart Rose isn"t just any retailocrat. This is an M&S retailocrat | Marina Hyde