On the Day the iPhone 5 is Announced, Remember Those Who Make Them

In the ongoing debate about globalization, what’s been missing is the voices of workers — the millions of people who migrate to factories in China and other emerging countries to make goods sold all over the world. Reporter Leslie T. Chang sought out women who work in one of China’s booming megacities, and tells their stories.

In her reporting and writing, Leslie T. Chang explores the lives of workers in China, focusing on the experience of women. Some of those experiences are horrible and some are positive. In the words of Esther Hartwig, “I read her book ‘Factory Girls‘ a couple of years ago and thought it was great, definitely an eye-opener. You can’t compare our view on factory work to their view; they come from a different place, they have a different background and a different mentality. From what I understood, they are brave, hard-working and independent people, and they have a plan. I hadn’t thought of Chinese factory workers as much more than people who work under horrible conditions, but after reading the book and being introduced to different aspects of their lives and what they have to say about it, I think I have a better understanding now and surely a lot of respect.” Continue Reading

19% of Female Professionals Have Never Had a Mentor

LinkedIn surveyed nearly 1,000 female professionals in the U.S. and found that 19 percent of respondents had never had a mentor. LinkedIn asked the women who hadn’t had a mentor why that was the case. Fifty-two percent of the women noted they hadn’t had a mentor because they had, “never encountered someone appropriate.” As part of the survey, LinkedIn also asked the women who had never been a mentor why they weren’t mentoring another professional, and sixty-seven percent of those respondents said they have never been mentors because, “no one ever asked.” Continue Reading