Tools to help close the gender pay gap

 

In its ‘Strategy for equality between women and men 2010-2015’, the European Commission commits to supporting initiatives in the workplace which aim to encourage equal pay, such as the development of tools for employers to close unjustified gender pay gaps.

These tools include instruments designed to help employers, managers and human resources personnel identify if a company has a pay gap between its male and female employees. Such tools have been developed in countries including Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
The software calculates whether there is a gender pay gap and if this gender pay gap is due to objective factors (such as a person’s level of education or years of service) or factors that cannot be explained and which, for the most part, it can be assumed are caused by pay discrimination.
If inequalities are found, advice and support is available to companies to help them develop solutions to close the gap.
Both the German and Luxembourgish calculators build on a Swiss calculator which was developed in 2009 by the country’s Federal Office for Equality between Women and Men.


Note: In Germany, the Logib-D (Lohngleichheit im Betrieb – Deutschland) management tool helps employers identify if there is a pay gap between their male and female employees. Through analyzing payment structures, this online tool enables employers to explore if a gender pay gap exists and the reasons for the gap. It also helps employers to develop solutions to ensure equal pay for all employees. The instrument was developed by the German Federal Government in cooperation with partners.

"Drug Mule" busted on CT scans

         

•  CT (Computer Tomography)  plays a growing role in the global war on drug abuse, helping snag smugglers who conceal drugs inside their bodies. Some "drug mules" swallow drug packets with the idea of evacuating them later. Others stuff packets into body cavities. 
• In any case, the contraband shows up more clearly on CT scans than in ordinary X -rays,
  says Dr. Priscilla Flach, a radiologist at University Hospital in Bern, Switzerland, and the author of a new study comparing the two imaging techniques.