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Carey Mulligan has argued that the film industry is still hugely unequal, saying: "In terms of the amount of interesting roles there are for women it's obviously massively sexist."

In the Time Out interview she added: "There's a lack of material for women. A lack of great stories for women."
Far From the Madding Crowd review: Carey Mulligan shines in Hardy perennial
Mulligan has taken on a series of strong leading roles, from her breakthrough as a schoolgirl being romanced by an older man in An Education, to her damaged singer in Shame, and Daisy in Baz Luhrmann's take on The Great Gatsby. She can soon be seen in an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd, and will appear later this year in Suffragette, about the fight for women's voting rights in the early 20th century - it also features Meryl Streep playing Emmeline Pankhurst, and is written by Abi Morgan, who wrote The Iron Lady and the aforementioned Shame.

"The mere fact that it's taken 100 years for this story to be told is hugely revealing," Mulligan said. "This is the story of equal rights in Britain, and it took years of struggle and women being tortured, abused and persecuted, and it's never been put on-screen. It's such a reflection of our film industry that that story hasn't been told yet."

Elsewhere in the interview, Mulligan praised the "ask her more" campaign around this year's Oscars, which encouraged interviewers to go beyond questions about the actors' dresses and jewellery, and said of Far from the Madding Crowd: "I just loved that there was a story set in Victorian Britain about a woman who rejects a proposal in the first 20 pages. She doesn't start off looking for a man to marry. It was amazing that he wrote such a complex, interesting, fully fleshed out character who was so ahead of her time."

Mulligan also celebrated Streep as "using her power in the industry in a really positive way. She's wanted to make a film about women's rights for a long time." As well as championing women on screen, this week Streep launched a mentorship program for female screenwriters over the age of 40.
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Carey Mulligan: film industry is 'massively sexist'

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Carey Mulligan has argued that the film industry is still hugely unequal, saying: "In terms of the amount of interesting roles there are for women it's obviously massively sexist." In the Time Out interview she added: "There's a lack of material for women. A lack of great stories for women."

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Most books in childcare center have white, middle-class heroes

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Most books in childcare center have white, middle-class heroes

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February 11, 2020 by Helen Joanne Adam, The Conversation

Credit: Shutterstock.com

Only 18% of books available in four Australian childcare centers include non-white characters. Animal characters make up around half the books available, with the animals largely leading lives, and adhering to values, of middle-class Caucasians.

My study, published in The Australian Educational Researcher recently, analyzed 2,413 books in four Western Australian childcare centres. Most of the small proportion of books that included minorities tended to perpetuate stereotypes rather than providing an authentic representation of the people and their lifestyle.

The books we share with young children can be a valuable opportunity to develop their understanding of themselves and others. But the overwhelming promotion of white middle-class ideas and lifestyles risks alienating children from minority groups and giving white middle-class children a sense of superiority.
Five categories of books
I used a format from multicultural literature experts to split the books into five categories: culturally authentic, culturally neutral, culturally generic, solely Caucasian and no people.

Culturally authentic books have a main character from a minority background and are usually written by an author from the background represented. Only 2% of the books I analyzed were in this category.

An example of this type of book is " Sam's Bush Journey". Written by Sally Morgan and Ezekiel Kwaymullina, the book is about an Aboriginal boy learning about his culture.

Culturally authentic books allow children to see reflections of their backgrounds. These often have storylines most children, of all groups, can relate to in some way.

They can increase children's understanding and appreciation of those from different cultures, which helps break down stereotypes and misunderstandings.

Culturally neutral books usually have a white main character with non-white characters playing minor roles, often just in the background in pictures. The authors of these books are usually white.

An example of this type of book is " Ready for Kindergarten, Stinky-face". Stinky Face is a white boy who voices many anxieties about going to kindergarten. Some of the illustrations of Stinky Face's anxieties have children from minority groups.

Culturally neutral books allow children to see some diversity but present majority viewpoints. Only 5% of the books in my analysis were culturally neutral.

Culturally generic books usually aim to teach children about cultural diversity. People appearing in culturally generic books from minority backgrounds are usually portrayed in stereotypical ways, often with a focus on their special clothing, food or celebrations.

Sometimes, books in this category present diversity in socially conscious ways but the authors of these books are usually white. In my analysis, 11% of books were in this category.

Credit: Oz Publishing

An example of this type of book is " Where are you from?", which teaches kids about the different cultures of the world.

Culturally generic books can be used to talk about or challenge stereotypes. But in my study-as well as a similar one I conducted in 2011 - they were often the only book representing a particular culture or race.

Relying on this type of book to teach about a particular race or culture can reinforce stereotypical beliefs about non-white races.

Solely Caucasian books are ones in which all the characters are white and they are usually written by white authors. Around 33% of the books in my analysis were in this category.

No people represented the largest proportion of books I analyzed-49%. Most of these are animal stories, mirroring white middle-class storylines. The storylines are shown through such things as style of dress, housing, daily activities and food.
Why is this a problem?
Many of the books I've described are, on their own, of a high quality and worth sharing with children. But collectively, they represent a problem.

Credit: The Conversation

Books can be mirrors - allowing children to see themselves, their lifestyles and backgrounds. This helps develop a positive sense of self.

Books can also be windows, allowing children to see how those different to themselves live, as well as note similarities and differences between them. This can help develop understanding, acceptance and appreciation of diversity.

Children develop their sense of identity and views towards others from a very young age. Research shows children develop a bias towards their own race from as young as three months of age. By the time children are four to six years old they already show awareness of racial stereotyping or prejudice in different situations.

But studies also show this bias can be changed or prevented even through brief exposure to other racial faces, including in pictures.

Despite Australia's multicultural society many children from ethnic minority groups are more likely to see a dinosaur or rabbit as a main character in a book than a member of their own culture. And the few characters that do represent a minority culture play secondary roles to white characters, can give the impression whiteness is of greater value.

We can take action and choose books that increase diversity and present our children with authentically diverse viewpoints. If we want to see genuine and long lasting change in society, we need to start with our children.

Provided by The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Most books in childcare center have white, middle-class heroes

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February 11, 2020 by Helen Joanne Adam, The Conversation Only 18% of books available in four Australian childcare centers include non-white characters. Animal characters make up around half the books available, with the animals largely leading lives, and adhering to values, of middle-class Caucasians.

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Steyer slams Bloomberg for using ‘racist stereotypes’ in defense of stop-and-frisk

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Steyer slams Bloomberg for using ‘racist stereotypes’ in defense of stop-and-frisk

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The other billionaire in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination called out former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday for using "racist stereotypes" while defending his controversial "stop-and-frisk" policy in 2015.

"Mike Bloomberg's remarks in the video are extremely disturbing," Tom Steyer tweeted, inaccurately referring to an audio recording that surfaced online earlier in the day.

"The racist stereotypes he uses have no place today, and anyone running for the presidential nomination should disavow them."

In a speech to the Aspen Institute, Bloomberg claimed that cops could use a "Xerox" description to identify suspected murderers because "95% of murders, murderers and murder victims fit one M.O."

"They are male, minorities, 16 to 25. That's true in New York, that's true in virtually every city," he said.

Bloomberg also admitted that the NYPD's use of stop and frisk - which was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge - targeted kids in minority neighborhoods "because that's where the crime is."

The billionaire media mogul publicly apologized for stop and frisk shortly before launching his White House bid last year.

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Steyer slams Bloomberg for using 'racist stereotypes' in defense of stop-and-frisk

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The other billionaire in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination called out former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday for using "racist stereotypes" while defending his controversial "stop-and-frisk" policy in 2015. "Mike Bloomberg's remarks in the video are extremely disturbing," Tom Steyer tweeted, inaccurately referring to an audio recording that surfaced online earlier in the day.

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How This Mom Teaches Her Son To Shut Down Gender Stereotypes

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How This Mom Teaches Her Son To Shut Down Gender Stereotypes

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Paulun went on to list why it's important that her son - and really, every single man - is encouraged to help with household tasks. Beyond having to be able to take care of himself on his own, she explained, he also needs to learn to take responsibility. "Because one day when he has kids and a spouse, he's going to need to do his fair share around the home," she wrote. "Because I live in a generation of people who complain that school didn't teach us how to cook, do laundry, tie a tie, or pay taxes. Because teaching my son how to do these things and be a productive member of society both outside the home and inside, starts with ME." She explained that while "it's okay to let your child be a child," it's also important to teach them lifelong lessons - such as the fact that you're never "too manly" to cook or do chores. Paulun wants her son to be "the kind of man who can come inside from changing a tire to check on his pot roast," and the kind of man "who can properly sort his laundry and mow the lawn too." Since being posted to Facebook, Paulun's photos have received over 56,000 shares, with other Facebook users chiming in to agree with her. Several users even commented with photos of their own sons doing chores. The idea that men should also be responsible for household chores shouldn't seem so revolutionary, but we're glad that Paulun and other mothers are consciously raising their children to break down gender stereotypes. As Paulun put it, "A man who believes he shouldn't have to cook or do chores was once a boy who was never taught any better."

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Mom Teaches Son Chores, Gender Stereotypes Life Lesson

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Paulun went on to list why it's important that her son - and really, every single man - is encouraged to help with household tasks. Beyond having to be able to take care of himself on his own, she explained, he also needs to learn to take responsibility.

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Schools in Uzbekistan Will Remove Gender Stereotypes From Their Textbooks

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Schools in Uzbekistan Will Remove Gender Stereotypes From Their Textbooks

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Gender stereotypes are harmful and can prevent women and girls from realizing their full potential. Global Goal 5 promotes gender equality for all and calls for an end to gender-based discrimination everywhere. Join us and take action on this issue here.
Uzbekistan is set to conduct a review of school books to root out harmful gender stereotypes across 207 textbooks, spanning grades one to 11, following a UNESCO-led education reform training workshop in the country.

The workshop, which looked at the books from a gender equality perspective, found that Uzbek textbooks aim to steer female students toward careers in education and health care over science and technology, the BBC reported.

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of the Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was also troubled by the lack of women choosing non-traditionally female careers in the country, citing negative gender stereotypes in textbooks and schools.

To show support for the reform, the Uzbek Review published a page from one of the primary school textbooks in question, in which male students discuss wanting to become engineers and businessmen, while female students dream of becoming clothing designers and gymnasts, according to the BBC. All of the historical figures and famous Uzbeks cited in the text are men.

Textbook illustrations also depict harmful gender stereotypes for both girls and boys, according to the BBC. Illustrations and photographs often depict girls and women doing housework and laundry, while boys are described as destructive and non-emotional.

"According to the principles of gender equality, each textbook, for example, where there are illustrations, should display both girls and boys in equal numbers," UNESCO Gender Equality Consultant Laziz Karshiboev said during the workshop in January. "This approach gives children an understanding that our society is diverse and inclusive. In addition, there should be no stereotypical biases in the distribution of gender roles."

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The textbooks' contents will be further analyzed and reviewed by a team of experts, who will be working alongside Uzbekistan's Ministry of Public Education. UNESCO also accepted applications from citizens looking to work on the project, which is expected to conclude in April.

During the review, experts will analyze both male and female characters in every textbook. Characters' relationships with each other will also be studied and taken into consideration.

The team will then work with ministry officials to produce new textbooks that promote gender equality across all professions.

"It is also important that textbooks take into account the use of gender-neutral language and avoid gender-specific words and phrases," Karshiboev added.

While Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has previously attempted to highlight profiles of women in government positions, women remain unequal in most professions in Uzbekistan, with the exceptions of education and health care.

Women make up 11.9% of judges are in Uzbekistan and only 5% of government employees, according to the Uzbek Review.

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Schools in Uzbekistan Will Remove Gender Stereotypes From Their Textbooks

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Gender stereotypes are harmful and can prevent women and girls from realizing their full potential. Global Goal 5 promotes gender equality for all and calls for an end to gender-based discrimination everywhere. Join us and take action on this issue here.

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Could discussing race during criminal trials reduce juror bias?

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Could discussing race during criminal trials reduce juror bias?

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Image from Shutterstock.com.
Empirical studies show that discussion of race during trials and pretrial hearings reduces reliance on stereotypes, according to a paper published in the Seattle Journal for Social Justice.

Criminal defense lawyers can draw on psychological findings about race consciousness to reduce implicit bias by judges and juries, according to the paper's author, Walter Gonçalves Jr., an assistant federal public defender in Tucson, Arizona. The Crime Report has a Feb. 10 summary of his paper, available here.

Although Gonçalves focuses part of his paper on combatting bias against Latinos, he also outlines strategies that can address bias against any minority client.

His strategies include:
* Pretrial motions and experts.
Pretrial motions to suppress evidence may allege that police officers used race as a basis for a search or may allege that cross-racial identifications are less reliable.

Experts witnesses can be called to help bolster those claims.

In the case of an officer accused of racial bias, the lawyer could introduce evidence of an officer's record of arrests or witness accounts of interaction between the officer and defendant.
* Voir dire.
Defense lawyers can educate jurors about implicit racial bias in voir dire. One way to break the ice with jurors is for the lawyer to ask potential jurors to share a personal story about race.

Defense lawyers could also ask a judge to require potential jurors to take the Implicit Association Test, which reveals implicit bias.

Gonçalves also points to the tack taken by U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett of Iowa. The judge includes a discussion of implicit racial bias in a PowerPoint presentation to potential jurors before allowing lawyers to question jurors individually.
* Develop a narrative.
Defense lawyers can develop a narrative that promotes the client as an individual. Some examples include describing the client as a devoted husband, a loving father, a committed son or a dedicated employee. Character witness testimony can be used to boost the narrative.

In cases involving illegal entry into the country, defense lawyers can change the narrative by describing the life-threatening journey across the border or a quest to reunite with family, the paper says. Information about immigrants' hard work and self-sacrifice can also decrease biases.
* Jury instructions.
Lawyers can request jury instructions that address implicit bias or racial stereotypes. Bennett uses an instruction before opening statements.

Part of the instruction reads: "I strongly encourage you to evaluate the evidence carefully and resist jumping to conclusions based on personal likes or dislikes, generalizations, gut feelings, prejudices, sympathies, stereotypes or biases."
* Look within.
Lawyers should also be aware of their own implicit biases that could make them favor some clients over others, according to the paper. In public defender offices, triage standards could be developed that prioritize cases based on objective standards, such as custody status and speedy trial dates.

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Could discussing race during criminal trials reduce juror bias?

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Image from Shutterstock.com. Empirical studies show that discussion of race during trials and pretrial hearings reduces reliance on stereotypes, according to a paper published in the Seattle Journal for Social Justice. Criminal defense lawyers can draw on psychological findings about race consciousness to reduce implicit bias by judges and juries, according to the paper's author, Walter Gonçalves Jr., an assistant federal public defender in Tucson, Arizona.