Coronavirus: The history of pandemics suggests we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg April 29, 2020 The term pandemic may conjure images of medieval plagues but they are a recurring blight of the modern era. Since the 1770s we have had a series of global epidemics: cholera smited the human race in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; there have been a series of influenza outbreaks since 1890. While Covid-19 is [...]
Debate: The government has suspended gender pay gap reporting this year — but should it be scrapped? March 27, 2020 Businesses have been told they do not have to report on their gender pay gaps due to the coronavirus outbreak. With 12 months until they have to report again, City A.M. asks whether it should be scrapped altogether. Yes, says Annabel Denham, director of communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs The decision to suspend [...]
Like a boss: Cherie Blair on helping women start their own business February 24, 2020 We tend to associate entrepreneurship with opportunistic founders operating out of bustling Silicon Valley hubs — or perhaps more specifically the five American tech giants whose combined market value, it was reported recently, has increased by $1.3 trillion in the past year. In fact, entrepreneurship exists wherever you are. The sharing economy is producing millions [...]
Keep an eye on data: a chat with Duco’s founder about the future of fintech in Britain February 17, 2020 When asked to narrate their journeys from startup to scaleup, entrepreneurs tend to fall into two camps. There are those for whom the travails of growth are a badge of honour: no 20-hour day, unconquerable challenge or unfulfilled investment pledge has been forgotten. Others display an insouciance, as though turning a light-bulb moment into a [...]
The parenthood penalty facing working mums and dads needs to be fixed December 10, 2019 Earlier this year, journalist Emma Duncan asked why we work so hard to avoid our children. Will future generations look back and wonder why parents fought tooth and nail for time in the office? If today’s battles result in a childcare sector that offers real choice at a lower cost, and a society where having [...]
DEBATE: Will more government subsidies help solve the childcare crisis for working parents? November 20, 2019 Will more government subsidies help solve the childcare crisis for working parents? Harini Iyengar, GLA candidate for the Women’s Equality Party, says YES. I am answering “yes” to this question — but I would first reframe it as greater government investment, not a subsidy. While childcare is traditionally framed as a cost, raising the next [...]
Brexit may bring uncertainty, but a Corbyn-led government is a bigger threat November 7, 2019 Where the Brexit vote differs from other political shocks is that three years on, the uncertainty has yet to subside. We’ve learnt little since 2016 about what our long-term relationship with the EU will look like. The Prime Minister now has a deal, but that’s only the start. Unlike the focus group stunned into silence [...]
How business rates reform can thwart the retail apocalypse October 1, 2019 When businesses like Thomas Cook fail to adapt, they are smited by new technologies with leaner business models and more efficient practices. This is Joseph Schumpeter’s creative destruction in action. Yet there is something profoundly bleak about boarded-up shops or “clearance sales” posters in the windows of once thriving businesses – particularly as the demise of [...]
DEBATE: Should we learn from the ‘Scandinavia summer’ model and take the month of August off? August 27, 2019 Should we learn from the ‘Scandinavia summer’ model and take the month of August off? Mathias Mikkelsen, chief executive of productivity startup Memory, says YES. For anyone visiting Oslo at this time of year, they might find it strangely quiet. Despite the sunshine bringing our maritime city to life, the streets are empty. The reason? [...]
DEBATE: With Uber drivers striking over pay and conditions, is the gig economy bad news for workers? May 9, 2019 With Uber drivers striking over pay and conditions, is the gig economy bad news for workers? Dalia Gebrial, researcher on the gig economy and workers’ rights at the London School of Economics, says YES. The gig economy is currently rigged against workers. Platforms like Uber hide behind their status as tech firms, rather than employers, to [...]
