Emily Chang, Host of "Bloomberg Technology" and Author of "Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley" joins The Hive to discuss the dark secrets of Silicon Valley.
Chang talks about the rising trend of polyamorous relationships and sex parties in the Valley. She talked to over three dozen people who are involved in this scene and found that women reported more double standards than men. She explains these parties are more about the power struggle than the sex, with a power dynamic that is lopsided.
She says that a lot has to be done, culturally, to change the way women are seen in the tech sector. The pay gap in Silicon Valley is 5 times the national average...which Chang says isn't publicized enough.
However, after years of reporting on Silicon Valley culture Chang is still surprised over one thing: in the 40s and 50s women played vital roles in the computer programming sector. She says in the 60s and 70s companies were desperate for talent and two psychologists said that good computer programmers "didn't like people." Well, if you're hiring someone based off that, Chang says you're most likely going to only hire men. Thus, the stereotype of the white nerd was born.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-silicon-valleys-brotopia-culture).
Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are set to begin voting to unionize for a second time after workers at the facility in the town of Bessemer overwhelmingly voted against forming a union during an election early last year; but in November, the National Labor Relations Board overturned the vote, upholding a union challenge of the results which argued that Amazon undermined the conditions for a fair election. Another round of ballots will now be mailed out to works at the warehouse for a so-called re-run election. Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University John Logan and National Field Director for Our Revolution Mike Oles joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
February 8 is Safer Internet Day, and Google has partnered with online education organization Khan Academy to release a courseload focused on internet safety. The partnership includes a $5 million donation towards content development from Google, with modules to be made available in various languages throughout 2022. Founder of Khan Academy, Sal Khan, joined Cheddar News to discuss the partnership. "We need to get to a world where everyone of all ages has a chance to learn and practice and feel good that they can navigate the internet in a safe way,” said Khan.
Big tech companies such as Amazon and Google are garnering criticism for failing at their proposed climate pledges, most of which rely on carbon offsets — a potential loophole where companies pay others to address their omissions. Gilles Dufrasne, policy officer at Carbon Market Watch, joined Cheddar News to explain the organization's negative evaluation. "The objective here is not to bash companies and say everybody is doing the wrong thing," he said. "The objective is to also provide lessons, and there are some companies that are doing the right thing."
U.S. markets opened lower as disappointing Meta earnings dragged down the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Today, investors will be watching for Amazon's Q4 earnings report set for release after the market close. Greg Swenson, Founding Partner, Brigg Macadam joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Markets opened mostly higher led by gains in the tech sector on strong Q4 earnings. It comes after a tumultuous January which saw stocks suffer one of their worst months since the early days of the pandemic. Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer, Wealth Consulting Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss early market activity.
CLMBR is hoping to become the next big thing in connected fitness. The brand offers a high intensity, low impact workout with on-demand, instructor-led classes. Avrum Elmakis, CLMBR's CEO and founder, joined Cheddar to discuss where the company is heading next.
