Sudara: The Clothing Company that is Changing Women’s Lives in India

Women's iLab

Photo from sudara.org

“…the United States State Department, the United Nations and India’s Human Rights Commission have all identified India as a major hub in the international sex trade, a global phenomenon that may involve upwards of 27 million people,” stated this New York Times article in 2013. This article was written by the New York Times’ Editorial Board in response to a brutal gang rape that occurred in Delhi, India, in 2012 and made national headlines.

India’s sex and slave trafficking, most of the time one in the same, is not new. This has been a growing epidemic for decades, if not hundreds of years. In response to the national headlines, India has now made sex trafficking and sexual violence a criminal offense. It’s important to note that it had to take national headlines and international outrage to spark this bill to be passed. If 27 million people are…

View original post 474 more words

What Startups Can Learn from Hathaway and Di Nero’s ‘The Intern’

Women's iLab

Photo from trilbee.com

I recently went to the movies to see the new comedy The Intern starring Robert Di Nero and Anne Hathaway. The movie centered on Jules’s (Hathaway) online fashion startup company implementing an outreach program for senior citizen interns. The idea of this outreach program was that older generations who have been in the business world might have a lot to add to the company – which Di Nero provides flawlessly.

The film The Intern celebrates entrepreneurs and startups, as well as comments hilariously on our tech-obsessed generation; like the scene where Ben (Di Nero) is baffled by a younger co-worker who only apologized to a girl through text and email. Ben then states, “I assume you’ve talked to her, apologized….” as the young man says, “I emailed her. Subject line I wrote, I’m sorry, like with a ton of O’s…”

But while Ben and Jules (along with…

View original post 983 more words

Lady Gaga’s ‘Til It Happens to You’ Calls for Awareness of Sexual Assault on Campus

Women's iLab

Photo from theodysseyonline.com

Lady Gaga is calling for awareness about campus sexual assault in her latest music video for the song ‘Til It Happens to You.’ The ballad was written for the 2015 documentary The Hunting Ground, directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering. The Hunting Ground is centered on college students who are rape victims and face retaliation when they seek justice. Fittingly, the music video mirrors The Hunting Ground’s PSA.

The video begins with a warning that states, “The following contains graphic content that may be emotionally unsettling but reflect the reality of what is happening daily on college campuses.” The screen then fades and begins a short black and white film with four main characters—one girl working with a male friend in her dorm room; another girl, who appears to be transitioning to male, getting dressed in the dorm bathroom; and two girls going to a college…

View original post 476 more words

Viola Davis Makes History as First Black Woman to Win Lead Actress Emmy

Women's iLab

Photo from qz.com

History was made on September 20^th during the 67^th annual Emmy Awards when Viola Davis became the first black woman to take home the Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy. Davis was awarded this Emmy for her role as Professor Annalise Keating on the popular drama series How to Get Away with Murder.

Davis was immediately hugged by Taraji P. Henson on her way to the stage, whom she later thanked, along with other actresses of color such as Kerry Washington and Halle Berry for “taking us over that line.”

Viola Davis opened her acceptance speech by quoting Harriet Tubman: “In my mind, I see a line. And over that line I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can’t seem to get there no-how. I can’t seem to get over…

View original post 217 more words

The Dapper Chicks ‘Suit Up’ in New York

Women's iLab

Photo from instagram.com/thedapperchicks

A new women’s equality group is making waves on social media and gaining notice by the day. Who are they? The Dapper Chicks of New York, or DCNY. Comprised of seven women, DCNY combats inequality by embracing individuality through men’s fashion with terrific style.

Ariam Geffrard is the founder of The Dapper Chicks, and is known as an artist and menswear fashion blogger.

She states, “Dapper Chicks of New York is a project I created to bring a community together. We are uniting to showcase individuality, and style. We are all different chicks, but we do have one common thing that binds us all together. We love fashion. We love men’s fashion.”

The Dapper Chicks website contains an abundance of goodies to search through. There are posts of Ariam Geffrard, who goes by Sara, modeling different outfits with a message from her at the bottom of…

View original post 394 more words

5 Netflix Shows to Binge-Watch this Fall

Women's iLab

Photo from digitaltrends.com

You could say I have a small Netflix addiction. And as the days get shorter during the fall, I find myself turning to Netflix after a long day of work even more so than any other time of the year. Luckily, Netflix has a plethora of amazing titles to dive through—which, truthfully, can also be a bit overwhelming. How many times have you scrolled through Netflix pondering what TV show or movie to actually start watching?

I usually ask around for advice from my friends and family if I’m stuck and don’t know where to begin. Blogs can come in handy with their suggestions as well. And sometimes, because Netflix loves us, they will email you about their original show releases that may match another viewing you’ve already seen. Regardless, word of mouth is usually the best way when you’re bogged down with endless titles. To save…

View original post 674 more words

The Era of Self-Publishing

Women's iLab

Photo from lifehack.org

Technology has opened doors for entrepreneurs, media, and publishing. The world is teeming with ways for people to connect ideas, market their products, and build their own online empires. Empires that can manifest into large presences in society and, in the publishing world, hopefully get that big-time publisher to pick up your work.

So what is the deal with self-publishing? Why is it something that is being heard more commonly, as opposed to the traditional pitching to a publishing house or literary agent?

For one, it’s easy. Amazon and Createspace (owned by Amazon) give you total control and 70-80% of the royalties from your book. Through Amazon, you have the ability to publish through Kindle, which distributes it globally as well as gives you the option to publish in multiple languages. Their website states that it would be up on Kindle within about 2 days.

Publishing print…

View original post 624 more words

End-of-Summer Goals: Relax, Rejuvenate, and Refocus

Women's iLab

Photo from theleap.co.uk

As Labor Day waves the End-of-Summer flag, we are forced to admit that lazy days at the beach will soon be replaced with autumn’s crisp breeze. Granted, as beautiful as autumn is, I personally look back on an amazing summer that I am not ready to say goodbye to just yet. Realizing that I’m going to be back full-force into the work week and start donning long-sleeves again makes me contemplate moving to warmer climates year-round.

But it’s not just the spectacular weather that we love about summer, is it? It’s the summer mindset. In the summer, though we still work, there is a certain air of relaxation about us. Some offices grant early leaves on Fridays, or long weekends throughout the summer in general. We understand that many of our family, friends, and co-workers may be on vacation for periods of time. We may indulge in…

View original post 658 more words

ReThink Software: 15-Year-Old Entrepreneur Creates App to End Cyber-Bullying

Women's iLab

Photo from trishaprabhu.com

Tech entrepreneur Trisha Prabhu is already changing the world. The 15-year-old innovator is the creator of a scientifically proven and award-winning app called ReThink, an app geared towards stopping cyber-bullying.

In 2013, after hearing about 12-year old Rebecca Sedwick’s suicide due to cyber-bullying, Prabhu set out to find a solution. On her website, Prabhu states that she has “always been fascinated by the inner workings of the brain and how it impacts our lives…[ReThink] stops cyber-bullying at the source before the damage is done.”

Once the software is installed on a computer or smart-phone, it “uses patented context sensitive filtering technology” to determine whether or not a post an adolescent is about to post is offensive. Prabhu told ABC News that the technology is able to “understand the difference between ‘I hate Chicago’s weather,’ and ‘I hate you,’ because those are two different scenarios.”

When the…

View original post 271 more words

Saudi Women Register to Vote: But Will There Be Progression Civilly?

Women's iLab

Photo from pbs.org

As of 2015, Saudi women have finally won the right to vote and run in municipal elections. Voter registration began this August and goes through mid-September.

This has been in the works since 2011 when the now-late King Abdullah announced that he was granting women the right to vote and run as candidates. Municipal councils are the only elected bodies in the entire kingdom. Two-thirds of the seats in the elected council are based upon votes, with the rest of the council seats granted by appointment.

While this is great news, will it actually lead to any progression for women civilly? In a country with little to no gender equality, we may wonder what affect these political advancements will have in these women’s day-to-day lives.

In Saudi Arabia, women have “male guardians,” that may be compared to the relationship between a parent and their child. Women must…

View original post 279 more words