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<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/madison-marsh-air-force-miss-america-duties-photos-2024-5">Madison Marsh</a> is bridging the divide between the US military and pageantry.</li><li>As Miss America and a US Air Force officer, she aims to dispel long-held misconceptions about both.</li></ul>The US military and beauty pageantry are often seen as polar opposites — one known for toughness, discipline, and combat readiness, and the other for elegance, grace, and competition for a crown.Madison Marsh, a US Air Force second lieutenant and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-officer-madison-marsh-crowned-miss-america-photos-2024-1">Miss America 2024</a>, is on a mission to show that the two worlds are not so different.Marsh spent the last year in both crown and sash and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-officer-madison-marsh-crowned-miss-america-photos-2024-1">USAF uniform</a>, serving as an active-duty officer and pageant titleholder. In an interview with Business Insider, the 23-year-old said she'd used her platform to show there's no conflict between being a military officer and a beauty contestant."A lot of people don't understand what military services are, or maybe they have some of the outdated views on how the Air Force used to operate," Marsh said. "Now I'm getting to change the idea of showing people that the Air Force is rebranding itself. We are in a new phase where the Air Force is inviting others to take charge of their passions outside of the uniform."Marsh said she is also urging people to look beyond the glitz and glam of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-photos-of-miss-america-beauty-pageants">Miss America</a> to see the deeper purpose behind the century-old competition."We often have to explain to people how pageants aren't stereotypically what people believe them to be," she said. "The pageant, as in Miss America, that I compete in is about community service, leadership, and public speaking — all of these core skills and values that hold to be true in the Air Force as well."<div type="image" title="Madison Marsh salutes with Joe Biden on a large videoscreen in the background" height="665" width="999" msid="113966827" hostid="261" sizebytes="22442"></div>Breaking these long-held stereotypes was not one she "actively" wanted when she became the first active-duty officer to be <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miss-colorado-madison-marsh-crowned-miss-america-air-force-harvard-2024-1">crowned Miss America</a>, she said."I didn't step into this role trying or actively wanting to break those stereotypes. I was simply just doing something that I loved," she said. "In the process of being authentically me and ensuring that I still did all the things that I loved, I was able to break some of those stereotypes and show people that if you have passion in different areas, even if they're conflicting with one another, you can still get it done."Nonetheless, the task came easily to her, she said, as she drew on her own fears and uncertainties prior to attending the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/every-uniform-us-air-force-academy-cadet-issued-2023-8">US Air Force Academy</a> to quell those in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-new-air-force-cadets-go-through-on-day-one-2021-7">potential future cadets</a>.After her win in January, Marsh embarked on a national tour, returning to her hometown of Fort Smith, Arkansas, throwing the first pitch at a Nationals game, and giving her fellow Miss America delegates a tour of the Air Force Academy.Her Miss America title took her overseas as well, speaking with Royal Air Force cadets in the United Kingdom at the world's largest military air show and commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France.And in her 10-month reign as Miss America, Marsh said she is already seeing an impact."This young freshman came up to me with her and her mom, and she told me that she was really considering not going to the [US Air Force] Academy anymore until she had seen that I became Miss America because that showed her that she could still be feminine in and out of uniform, that she could still be herself, that she could still take charge of her outside passions while still serving," Marsh said.<div type="image" title="Madison Marsh smiles for a photo in front of an aircraft displaying &quot;US Air Force.&quot;" height="643" width="1000" msid="113966823" hostid="261" sizebytes="19194"></div>Marsh doesn't have to take up the mantle of representing military women in the world of pageantry alone. In August, 2nd Lt. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miss-usa-alma-cooper-army-west-point-pageants-2024-8">Alma Cooper</a>, a US Army military intelligence officer, was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-miss-usa-michigan-us-army-officer-2024-8">crowned</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miss-usa">Miss USA</a> after a tumultuous year in one of the country's biggest pageants.While the new titleholders haven't connected about their respective wins, Marsh said Cooper is "another great representative who can talk about what it means to be a woman in the Army, and hopefully, that can bring some better recruiting in that area as well."With both <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miss-usa-miss-america-pageant-differences">Miss America and Miss USA</a> being active-duty officers, Marsh said it's "giving a broader representation of the direction that the military is moving in" — where service members have the freedom to pursue outside passions and interests even if they're high-profile.Beyond pageantry and military, Marsh champions awareness and advocacy for pancreatic cancer, the disease that took her mother Whitney's life when Madison was just 17. She turned her grief into action, founding a nonprofit named after her mother, Whitney Marsh Foundation, assisting in pancreatic cancer research, and pursuing a master's degree in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School, which she deferred until January as she balances pageant duties and active duty.As Marsh approaches her last few months as Miss America, several paths lie before her as she looks to the future — whether it be attending flight school to become an Air Force pilot (she already has a civilian pilot's license), continuing her master's degree to shape future public health policies, or participating in more research and advocacy for pancreatic cancer.<div type="image" title="Madison Marsh sits on the ramp of a C-130J in flight" height="665" width="999" msid="113966828" hostid="261" sizebytes="30540"></div>If there's one thing that people will take away from her reign, Marsh said she hopes she's shown that putting on a uniform — be it crown and sash or flight suit — adds to your identity, not takes away from it."Now we can start to talk about these misconceptions that the general public has, showing that you don't have to give up these vital, passionate parts of yourself to put on that uniform," Marsh said."My passion for serving the pancreatic cancer community still exists when I put on that uniform every morning," she added, "and that's what the military now wants us to move toward: recognizing we don't have to give up these outside passions to still serve."

Miss America Madison Marsh says people just keep getting pageantry and the Air Force wrong

India’s political landscape is increasingly being defined by the troubling nexus between crime and politics. A study has highlighted a startling correlation: the election of politicians with criminal records is directly linked to a rise in crime across the country, particularly in states with weaker institutional frameworks. As India's political system continues to grapple with this issue, the societal consequences are becoming clear. <h2>A history of <keyword id="23341122" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="criminal-politicians" source="keywords">criminal politicians</keyword></h2><keyword id="21026899" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pappu-Yadav" source="keywords">Pappu Yadav</keyword>, a veteran politician from Bihar, serves as a prime example of this disturbing trend. Having represented his constituency for nearly 25 years, Yadav has faced 41 criminal cases, including serious accusations of murder and kidnapping. Despite his conviction in 2008, Yadav was acquitted in 2013, and he continues to hold political influence. His case is not unique; the political scene in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh is littered with politicians facing multiple criminal charges. Anant Singh, another prominent figure from Bihar, holds a political career shadowed by 38 criminal cases, including murder, kidnapping, and attempts to murder. These individuals represent a broader pattern where politicians accused of serious crimes continue to serve in public office despite their criminal backgrounds. "They are getting elected, and over time the number has only been going up," remarks lead author Nishith Prakash. "In some states, it could be as high as almost 40% of people who are representing the state have some kind of a criminal accusation." <h2>Crime begets crime</h2>The research delves into the ramifications of electing criminally accused politicians. The study found that states with a higher number of such politicians also experienced increased <keyword id="22044507" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crime-rates" source="keywords">crime rates</keyword>. For example, states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh, known for their historically weak institutions, have seen crime rise by 4.3% annually with the election of criminal politicians. The number increases to 5.8% when the politicians are accused of serious crimes like murder and kidnapping. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113692670" title="What will it take for Kangana Ranaut’s &amp;#39;Emergency&amp;#39; to finally hit theatres?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Prakash notes that weak rule of law and institutional failure create fertile ground for such politicians to not only rise to power but also exacerbate the deteriorating law-and-order situation. When politicians themselves are involved in criminal activities, they often manipulate legal and administrative systems, further weakening law enforcement and emboldening criminal networks. The reign of <keyword id="20122630" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lalu-prasad-yadav" source="keywords">Lalu Prasad Yadav</keyword>, president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party in Bihar, illustrates the adverse impact criminal politicians can have. Under his leadership, Bihar’s political environment devolved into what is now infamously known as "Jungle Raj," a period marked by rampant kidnappings for ransom, particularly targeting affluent individuals like doctors and schoolchildren. The researchers note that during this time, the kidnapping industry flourished as criminals enjoyed either direct or indirect support from the state. <h2><keyword id="22404298" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="impact-on-women" source="keywords">Impact on women</keyword> and <keyword id="19900794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-growth" source="keywords">economic growth</keyword></h2>Beyond the immediate rise in general crime rates, the study revealed alarming statistics regarding crimes against women. Electing criminally accused politicians was found to increase crimes against women by 12.6%. In states where such politicians held office, female labour force participation dropped by 10-11%, as women felt unsafe and chose not to engage in work outside their homes. The research also highlighted the economic toll criminal politicians take on their constituencies. Areas represented by politicians accused of serious crimes saw economic growth lag between 2.3% and 6.5% per year compared to other regions. These leaders often misappropriate public funds, divert resources for personal gain, and enable criminal enterprises, all of which stifle local development. <h2>Legal measures taken</h2>India has made strides in identifying and tracking criminally accused politicians. A landmark 2003 ruling by the <keyword id="19895345" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Supreme Court" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Supreme Court">Supreme Court</keyword> mandated that candidates for political office must disclose their criminal records, making it easier for voters and institutions to scrutinise their backgrounds. However, the law only disqualifies convicted individuals from running for office, allowing accused politicians to continue their political careers while facing serious charges. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113446721" title="It&amp;#39;s not just the rhetoric — apathy and jokes could be fueling a spiral of retaliatory political violence, expert warns" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>The research conducted by Prakash and his team has caught the attention of Indian courts and the Election Commission. While reform is slow, there is growing recognition that the quality of political leadership has a profound impact on societal outcomes, from crime rates to economic performance. "The quality of politicians matters," Prakash notes. "Who you elect has implications on outcomes that we care about. It could be economic growth, it could be crime against women, it could be labour force participation. These are very important outcomes for society and the economy." The findings of this research have been published in Journal of Law Economics and Organization and can be accessed <a href="https://docs.iza.org/dp15259.pdf">here</a>.

Not only does electing “criminal” politicians often lead to an increase in crime in India, it can also be terrible for the economy: study

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Women are rapidly rejoining the labor force, boosting the economy.</li><li>A rise in remote and hybrid jobs has allowed many women to seek higher-income roles. </li></ul>Women are rapidly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-from-home-women-careers-jobs-pandemic-flexibility-gender-equality-2023-7#:~:text=Today%2C%2077.8%25%20of%20women%20between,by%20a%20strong%20economic%20recovery.">rejoining the labor force</a> — and it's a great sign for the economy.Many women were forced to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/september-jobs-report-women-labor-force-participation-2020-10">leave their jobs during the pandemic</a>, thanks to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/great-resignation-women-pay-gap-quitting-jobs-to-make-more-2022-3">poor market conditions</a> and a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-are-working-at-record-highs-2023-8">rising need for childcare and older adult care.</a>Recent data from the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.economy.com/getfile?q=C04AA617-DD47-4882-8016-E2E879B89F69&amp;app=download">US Bureau of Labor and Statistics</a>, however, suggests that women are having a major comeback in the workforce. In the US, around 70% of working-age women participated in the labor force in 2020. That number had jumped to 73% at the end of 2023.In fact, the number of women in the workforce has <a target="_blank" href="https://19thnews.org/2023/09/women-back-to-work-pre-covid-employment-levels-surge/">surpassed pre-pandemic levels</a>.The impact of more women in the workforce trickles down into future professional development for women. For example, women in corporate leadership <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ellevest.com/magazine/personal-finance/great-wealth-transfer-survey?utm_campaign=women-wealth?utm_medium=marketing-site?utm_source=hero-banner">are likely to</a> hire other women, contribute to positive <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/charts-employment-economic-situation-of-women-2022-2">workplace policies</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-will-benefit-from-wealth-trends-millennials-boomers-investment-finance2024-3">invest in future generations</a>.An increase in remote and hybrid roles are largely responsible for this workforce growth, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.economy.com/getfile?q=C04AA617-DD47-4882-8016-E2E879B89F69&amp;app=download">report from Moody's Analytics</a> published in February found. Additionally, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/03/30/about-a-third-of-us-workers-who-can-work-from-home-do-so-all-the-time/">a survey</a> from Pew Research Center published in March 2023 found that 41% of people with jobs that can be done remotely work on a hybrid schedule.Women, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-will-benefit-from-wealth-trends-millennials-boomers-investment-finance2024-3">especially millennials</a> with families, are facing financial pressures from the high cost of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/high-childcare-costs-in-us-women-workforce-cheapest-countries-kids-2024-2">childcare</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/federal-reserve-interest-rate-mortgage-affordable-housing-prices-market-cost-2024-2">housing.</a> Remote jobs also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-us-economy-economic-inflation-unemployment-rate-mothers-remote-work-2023-11">offer more flexibility</a>.The amount of women in entry-level, manager, vice president, and C-suite roles all increased between 2015 and 2023, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.economy.com/getfile?q=C04AA617-DD47-4882-8016-E2E879B89F69&amp;app=download">per Moody's</a>, with the number of women in C-suite roles growing by 11%.More women are also turning to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-makes-six-figures-freelancing-remotely-side-hustle-van-life2024-2">freelance</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pandemic-spurs-women-to-choose-flexibility-freelancing-over-office-jobs-2022-12">gig work</a> to maximize their income and lifestyle.The are still fewer women in the labor force than men — 67.9% of men over 25 were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/employment-differences-of-men-and-women-narrow-with-educational-attainment.htm#:~:text=TED%3A%20The%20Economics%20Daily&amp;text=In%202022%2C%2067.9%20percent%20of,smaller%20as%20educational%20attainment%20increases.">employed in 2022</a>, compared to just 55.4% of women — but increased hybrid options are closing the divide. Moody's research identified <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-up-how-consumer-price-index-looked-december-2024-1">inflation</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-kids-cost-raising-child-inflation-childcare-tax-exemptions-2024-1">high childcare costs</a> as factors that could risk women's recent labor force success.Still, Moody's research shows that the narrowing of labor force gender gaps since 2019 has added $1.5 trillion to global income. Australia, India, Japan, and the European Union have been leading this growth."A silver lining of the havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic may be a permanent shift in attitudes towards working that paves the way for more women to actively engage with the labor market," the report said.Are you a woman who has shifted their career, or found success with remote and gig work? Would you be willing to share your experience? Reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:allisonkelly@insider.com">allisonkelly@insider.com</a>.

The pandemic forced many women to leave their jobs. Hybrid work is bringing them back. 

<ul><li><keyword id="93845" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="unemployment-rate" source="Orion">Unemployment Rate</keyword> in India has come down to 3.2% in 2022-23 from 4.1% in 2021-22.</li><li>In rural areas, the rate has decreased from 5.3% in 2017-18 to 2.4%.</li><li>The reference period for the <keyword id="159764" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nsso" source="Orion">NSSO</keyword> data is from July 2022 to June 2023.</li></ul> India's unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above was recorded at a six-year low of 3.2% during July 2022-June 2023, as per the Periodic <keyword id="1830313" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Labour-Force-Survey" source="Orion">Labour Force Survey</keyword> Annual Report 2022-2023 released by the National Sample Survey Office. Joblessness or unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. Considering the importance of the availability of labour force data at more frequent time intervals, the NSSO launched the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017. The reference period here is from July 2022 to June 2023. The Unemployment Rate (UR) in usual status for persons of age 15 years and above at the all-India level came down to 3.2% in 2022-23 from 4.1% in 2021-22. The UR was 4.2% in 2020-21, 4.8% in 2019-20, 5.8% in 2018-19 and 6% in 2017-18, showed the PLFS data released on Monday. The usual status means that the employment (status of a person) is determined based on the reference period of 365 days preceding the date of the survey. The statement on the data said that 2022-23 refers to the period of July 2022 to June 2023 and likewise for 2021-22, 2020-21, 2019-20, 2018-19 and 2017-18. "In rural areas, UR decreased from 5.3% in 2017-18 to 2.4% in 2022-23 while for urban areas it decreased from 7.7% to 5.4%. The UR for male in India decreased from 6.1% in 2017-18 to 3.3% in 2022-23 and corresponding decrease in UR for females was from 5.6% to 2.9%," it stated. The survey also showed that the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in usual status for persons of age 15 years and above increased to 57.9% from 49.8% in 2017-18. The LFPR is defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force -- working or seeking or available for work -- in the population. "In rural areas, LFPR increased from 50.7% in 2017-18 to 60.8% in 2022-23 while for urban areas it increased from 47.6% to 50.4%. The LFPR for male in India increased from 75.8% in 2017-18 to 78.5% in 2022-23 and corresponding increase in LFPR for female was from 23.3% to 37.0%," it stated. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in usual status (ps+ss) for persons of age 15 years and above also increased to 56% in 2022-23 from 46.8% in 2017-18. The WPR is defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population. "In rural areas, WPR increased from 48.1% in 2017-18 to 59.4% in 2022-23 while for urban areas it increased from 43.9% to 47.7%. The WPR for male in India increased from 71.2% in 2017-18 to 76.0% in 2022-23 and the corresponding increase in WPR for female was from 22.0% to 35.9%," it stated. Five Annual Reports are brought out on the basis of the data collected in PLFS during July 2017-June 2018, July 2018-June 2019, July 2019-June 2020, July 2020-June 2021 and July 2021-June 2022. Now the sixth annual report has been brought out by the NSSO on the basis of the Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted during July 2022-June 2023. "The field work for the collection of information in respect of the samples, allotted for the period of July 2022-June 2023, was completed timely for the first visit as well as revisit samples, except for 51 first visit and 68 revisit FSUs for the state of Manipur, allotted in the last quarter, April-June 2023, which were treated as casualties, due to disturbed field situation and unavailability of internet services," the report said. (With text input from PTI)

India's unemployment rate dips to a six-year low; rural areas report improvement

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Birmingham's guaranteed basic income program gave 110 single mothers $375 a month.</li><li>The program aimed to alleviate poverty for single mothers and help them afford bills and childcare.</li></ul>Birmingham, Alabama's guaranteed basic income program was the support some single mothers needed to get by."I can work knowing that she's safe, she's cared for, and when I get off she's happy to see me," one participant, who was able to keep a full-time job because she spent basic income on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/childcare-too-expensive-unaffordable-2024-3">day care</a> for her preschooler, told program researchers.The Embrace Mothers pilot gave 110 moms $375 a month from March 2022 through February 2023. Participants told researchers that the money allowed them to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/basic-income-parents-afford-childcare-get-stable-jobs-gbi-ubi-2024-8">pay for childcare</a>, maintain stable work, and cover household expenses, according to the pilot's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64f8b31cbb263222a1487bd6/t/66b259743f93ea0c56cd88fe/1722964353521/Birmingham_MGI+Report+Final.pdf">final report</a> that was published on August 12.The cash payments also helped moms <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/basic-income-mothers-afford-maternity-leave-baby-supplies-ubi-2024-8">spend more time with their children</a>, and some said they took their family to Christmas dinner, purchased toddler toys at Dollar Tree, or bought a package of cupcakes to celebrate their child's birthday.Embrace Mothers is one of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/basic-income-gbi-ubi-low-income-americans-afford-housing-food-2024-5">over 100 guaranteed basic income pilots</a> across America, and one of many <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pomona-basic-income-helps-new-parents-baby-parenting-gbi-ubi-2024-7">focused on families</a>. The model — which is an approach to poverty reduction — gives participants money for a set period of time, no strings attached.The program was a partnership between the city, the advocacy network Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, and several foundations. It had no income requirement, but the majority of participants were low-income, according to the report. All final report findings are based on participant spending surveys and interviews.But, for the majority of Birmingham participants, the positive impacts of cash payments didn't last. Most mothers reported sliding back financially in the months after the program ended: again falling behind on bills and struggling to afford childcare."This was a great year, but now what?" another participant told researchers.<h2 id="672bb3ec-99e3-433f-8358-23395a91a2d3">Single moms used basic income to pay bills and afford childcare</h2><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.birminghamal.gov/2022/01/18/applications-for-guaranteed-income-for-birmingham-single-mothers-soon-to-open/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CSingle%2Dmother%20led%20families%20represent,that%20has%20been%20very%20unsteady.">About half</a> of all households with children in Birmingham have single mothers as their main household income earner, according to the Embrace Mothers' report. Leaders of the program said their goal was to alleviate the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-economic-status-of-single-mothers/">heightened impact of poverty</a> on single mothers, especially among Black and Hispanic women.Researchers surveyed all participants every six months throughout the program about their spending and GBI experience. They also interviewed participants six months after the program concluded. The 110 participants were compared to a group of 132 single mothers in Birmingham who also met the program's criteria but were not chosen to receive payments.Prior to Embrace Mothers, the majority of participants reported being <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snap-alice-food-stamps-hunger-government-assitance-free-meals-2024-5">food insecure</a> and enrolled in government assistance — despite 73% being employed or a full-time caregiver. Nearly 80% of participants were behind on paying for their utilities, like electricity or heat.While receiving $375 monthly, many participants reported better financial health than control group members, including <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-basic-income-emergency-cash-rent-homes-government-housing-aid-2024-1">lower utility bill debt</a> and a higher ability to cover a $400 emergency expense. Mothers in the labor force also said they could better afford consistent childcare, allowing them to maintain jobs, improve work attendance, and work more stable hours compared to the control group. This also allowed some parents to spend more time with their children."These women are the engine of our economy, getting up every day to do what's necessary to provide the best they can for their children," Randall L. Woodfin, the mayor of Birmingham, said in a press statement. "They're already experts in making a little stretch a long way, Embrace Mothers proves that even a modest guaranteed income can help them overcome the barriers of poverty."Still, participants only received guaranteed income for one year. Researchers said the short-term cash did not have a statistically significant effect on participants' <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-basic-income-study-results-2024-7">psychological and physical health</a>, food security, education enrollment, and housing outcomes between the beginning and end of the program.<h2 id="cb6383d4-e37c-4ba4-acfa-2518ffa47f8a">Experts say basic income is 'critical help' even if pilots are temporary </h2>When researchers surveyed participants six months after Embrace Mothers ended, the majority felt their financial gains had vanished.While participants experienced stronger savings, fewer gaps in childcare, and lower debt than the control group during the program, both groups had similar levels of debt, childcare issues, and financial stress in the months after Embrace Mothers' conclusion. This data suggests that participants were not able to maintain their positive lifestyle changes, researchers said, and many of the mothers reported feeling "hopeless" when their payments ended."At the end of the pilot and beyond, participants reported less hope for the future and less sense of mattering than their control group counterparts who had not received a guaranteed income," researchers wrote. "That is, while receiving the money was helpful, losing it may have hurt more."To be sure, Embrace Mothers was a short-term program, and more research is needed to understand how cash payments could impact participants in the long run. Researchers said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poverty-line-leaves-behind-low-income-americans-snap-medicare-wic-2024-6">other systemic barriers</a> faced by participants — like high housing costs, a weak social safety net, low wages, and limited job opportunities — could have hindered the impacts of guaranteed income on their finances over time.Researchers added that future GBI pilots might see success with longer runtimes, larger payments, and more robust financial counseling and support for participants at the end of the program.The Birmingham Mayor's Office also told BI in a statement that some of the benefits of GBI for families "were highly individualized and more difficult to capture quantitatively." For instance, many parents were able to spend more time with their children and create positive memories — but improved childhood happiness can be challenging for researchers to quantify in a dataset.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saint-paul-minnesota-basic-income-pilot-500-stipend-2020-9">Melvin Carter</a>, the mayor of St. Paul, is a member of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, the organization that supported Birmingham's pilot. He told BI that the Embrace Mothers results show that many of America's families still need economic support — alongside the agency to manage their own money."That was critical help that they still need," Carter said. "The problem isn't that we helped families. The problem is that we need to help families more."Have you benefited from a guaranteed basic income program? Are you open to sharing how you spent the money? If so, reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" class="" href="mailto: allisonkelly@businessinsider.com">allisonkelly@businessinsider.com</a>.

Birmingham gave single mothers $375 monthly for a year, no strings attached. Participants felt more financially stable, but 'losing the money hurt.'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's defense industry is short some tens of thousands of skilled laborers.</li><li>Traditional gender roles limit women's participation in crucial jobs there, a report says.</li></ul>Russia's defense manufacturing sector is short some tens of thousands of skilled laborers — and its hard stance on traditional roles for women could be part of it, according to new reports.Two years into its war in Ukraine, Russia is ramping up its military with a record <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/30/russias-defence-spending-to-rise-by-25-next-year-the-highest-since-the-cold-war">40% of its overall budget</a> now devoted to defense. It also plans to expand its number of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-orders-russia-army-expand-experts-cannot-do-this-forever-2024-9">active soldiers to 1.5 million</a>.That requires vast amounts of military equipment, and the infrastructure to support it.And that, in turn, requires workers, which Russia is currently struggling to find.In January, Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted that "over half a million jobs were created in the defense sector over the last year and a half alone," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://tass.com/defense/1740983">according to Russian state-owned news agency TASS</a>.Yet, while the jobs may be there, the workers aren't.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/cd6qndy200xo">An analysis published this week by BBC Russia</a> found that in the space of a single month this summer, some 90,000 defense industry-related job postings had appeared, with wages much higher than average salaries.The BBC said there were some 18,600 vacancies for operators of computer numerically controlled machines, or CNCs, which are used for shaping materials and are in wide demand in manufacturing. But just 600 resumes had come in for those roles, the outlet reported.Some of the postings had stood unfilled for months, it added.Researcher Dara Massicot, who focuses on defense and security issues in Russia and Eurasia at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, highlighted labor shortage issues in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/09/russian-military-reconstitution-2030-pathways-and-prospects?lang=en">a recent paper</a> on how Russia is reconstituting its military.Workers who would normally plug the gap — such as migrants, students, and prisoners — are now being used as combatants to fight in Ukraine, she wrote."According to conservative estimates, wartime emigration and military mobilization have cost the workforce about 600,000 working-age males," Massicot said.Russia does have one largely untapped source of labor for the defense industry: women. But here it finds itself in a bind.Since the 1970s, women in Russia have been barred from a raft of professions that are crucial to the defense sector, for fear of harming their fertility or a pregnancy, according to Massicot."Women are prohibited from certain occupations deemed physically dangerous," she wrote, giving examples such as those that deal with hazardous chemicals or heavy metals, which rules out many defense industry jobs.Women are also barred from jobs like mining, heavy lifting, operating heavy machinery, most metallurgy, and handling various chemicals, she added.By contrast, 5% of US welders are female, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://weldingworkforcedata.com/">according to the American Welding Society</a> — a small proportion of the workforce that still amounts to tens of thousands of available workers."Russia would rather import foreign labor and use convicts than change the labor code (from the 1970s) to allow Russian women into certain types of jobs," Massicot <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/MassDara/status/1841921332230967464">wrote on X this week</a>.But Russia is in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-population-decline-worker-shortage-growth-outlook-ukraine-war-2024-8">a demographic spiral</a>, which pre-dates COVID and the mass mobilization for the war in Ukraine.At the end of 2023, Russia was short a record 5 million workers across all sectors, according to an estimate from the Russian Academy of Science's Institute of Economics, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-short-around-48-million-workers-2023-crunch-persist-izvestia-2023-12-24/">Reuters reported at the time</a>.The decline in Russia's labor force is forecast to continue until 2040, Massicot wrote.Meanwhile, Russia <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-ukraine-war-moscow-military-spending-currency-inflation-budget-2024-9">is now leaning on the war to keep its economy from collapsing</a>, putting more pressure on its labor force. Economists say the war is the only thing keeping Russia from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-ukraine-war-moscow-military-spending-currency-inflation-budget-2024-9">entering an immediate recession</a>.Yet Russia appears to be focusing on longer-term solutions to its demographic issues, with a strong turn toward traditional roles for women.Putin recently reminisced about a time when women "had seven or eight children, and maybe even more," adding that "large families should be the norm," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-12-08/abortion-restrictions-and-discouragement-of-female-university-students-moscow-wants-russian-women-to-focus-on-childbearing.html">El País reported</a>.Last summer, Russia's Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko proposed policy tweaks that would reduce women's access to abortion, saying that there is a "vicious practice" of prioritizing a woman's career before children, per El País.This would make bringing women into defense manufacturing a hard cultural and political pivot, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/MassDara/status/1841922270962364867">Massicot said on X</a>.

Russia's defense industry has a massive labor shortage. Rules on what jobs women can do are part of the issue.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has kept its use of deadly force secret. Until now. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="12278824" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="labor-force-participation-rate" source="Orion">labor force participation rate</keyword>, which tracks people working or looking for work, dropped in April.</li><li>It's a sore spot amidst a still-booming economic recovery, with the country adding 428,000 jobs.</li></ul>In a largely rosy report on the labor market's progress, one measure stood out as a clear reminder that the pandemic is still weighing on the US recovery.<keyword id="12021037" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="labor-force-participation" source="Orion">Labor force participation</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/april-jobs-report-428000-payrolls-unemployment-rate-labor-market-inflation-2022-5">dipped to 62.2%</a> from 62.4% in April, according to government data published Friday morning. That reflected the lowest rate since January and took some steam out of the report that otherwise showed the labor market adding jobs at a stronger-than-expected pace. The measure tracks the number of Americans either working or actively seeking work, meaning the overall pool of workforce participants shrank last month."It's the first time since May of 2021 that we saw a dip in participation," Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh told Insider. "I don't have a real good answer for that one."The prime-age labor force participation rate, which tracks 25 to 54 year olds, also dropped from March to April. Both the overall and prime-age rates are still below the levels seen before the pandemic in February 2020.As Nick Bunker, economic research director at Indeed Hiring Lab, pointed out on <a href="https://twitter.com/nick_bunker/status/1522556706378629120?s=20&amp;t=PEsIIhRlSuv_RuIDqzKL_A">Twitter</a>, the drop in the prime-age rate in April was "due entirely to a decline in female labor force participation."Bunker noted that this is just one month of data, however. Even so, there needs to be a "more robust recovery" in the industries where there are a lot of mothers and <keyword id="11892913" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="women" source="Orion">women</keyword>, especially mothers of color.The decline offers yet another sign that the <keyword id="11908404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="labor-shortage" source="Orion">labor shortage</keyword> is here to stay. The phenomenon first emerged in early 2021 as employers struggled to rehire amid the economic reopening. Job openings dramatically outpaced available workers, and data out earlier in May showed the imbalance intensifying through March. Job openings and quits <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/job-openings-march-jolts-labor-shortage-hiring-market-great-resignation-2022-5">both rose to record highs</a>, and openings officially doubled the number of workers available to fill them."I think the picture is of a healthy labor market, but we certainly don't want to see labor force participation start to backslide," Daniel Zhao, senior economist at Glassdoor, told Insider. "That's the wrong way to make improvements on the unemployment rate."Employers can help ensure their employees who want to keep working don't have to drop out of the labor force. Workplace <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/10/06/flextime-a-solution-for-working-mothers-and-their-employers/?sh=1677eaf347dd">flexibility</a> is likely to remain a top priority for working parents. There are other <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/5-benefits-working-parents-should-demand-from-employers/">benefits</a> that would also be helpful to make sure they can stay in the workforce, such as childcare benefits.Policies that allow mothers "to not only work in the paid labor market, but also balance that with demands at home" would certainly help make sure women can continue working and stay part of the labor force, Bunker said.

Fewer Americans were working or looking for work in April, and it means the labor shortage has no end in sight

Indian women’s participation in the labour force fell by 10 percent in the past 15 years

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In September, <keyword id="11892913" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="women" source="Orion">women</keyword> left the labor force in high numbers, meaning they weren't actively looking for work or employed.</li><li>According to the latest jobs report, 309,000 women ages 20 and over left the labor force last month.</li></ul>The Delta variant, a chaotic back-to-school season, and childcare issues have all led to yet another dismal month for women's <keyword id="11894931" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="employment" source="Orion">employment</keyword>. In September, hundreds of thousands of women dropped out of the labor force completely last month, while men came back. The US gained <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/september-jobs-report-194000-payrolls-unemployment-rate-down-to-48-2021-10">194,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month</a>, below the estimate of 500,000. Women lost 26,000 jobs in September, according to the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES0000000010#0">establishment survey</a> of businesses run by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "If you look in the <keyword id="11893570" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy" source="Orion">economy</keyword>, women are not coming back into the workforce in as strong of a way as we would want, or as the economy needs in order to continue to expand," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Insider. "And it's clear that the number one reason for that is that women are still struggling to find high quality, stable, affordable childcare."As seen in the below chart, while 182,000 men aged 20 and over entered the labor force in September, 309,000 women aged 20 and over left the labor force. That means that they weren't working or actively looking for work. Jasmine Tucker, director of research at the National Women's Law Center, told Insider that she's not surprised by this number, and in fact thought it could have been even higher.Tucker said with many schools not providing a remote learning option and concerns about the Delta variant, "that there were going to be another wave of labor force dropouts." She said it came as "no surprise that that was going to fall to women's shoulders to take on."In fact, September marked the biggest drop of <keyword id="12021037" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="labor-force-participation" source="Orion">labor force participation</keyword> for women this year - and the National Women's Law Center notes that this is the biggest drop since September 2020.The following chart shows just how much labor force participation differs between men and women: Betsey Stevenson, a former top economist for President Barack Obama, wrote on <a href="https://twitter.com/BetseyStevenson/status/1446460787921494022">Twitter</a> that "Women's employment growth has driven every recovery and its women's employment growth that has nearly ground to a halt and has slowed our recovery."This can be seen when looking at the Great Recession, where women returned to pre-crisis employment levels earlier than men. The following chart shows what the employment recovery looks like for men and women so far during the pandemic and how it compares to recovery from the Great Recession:Women's employment is 3.59% below its level in February 2020. Men's employment isn't as far below, at only 2.82% below where it was before the pandemic. <h2>Investing in childcare and paid leave could help ease the situation</h2>Tucker said there are a few things that the US and employers can do to support getting women - and parents, broadly - into the labor force. This includes investing in childcare infrastructure, giving all parents access to paid leave, and "strengthen workplace protections.""We need to make it so that women can afford to go back to work," Tucker said. "We need to raise the minimum wage. We need to put in job protections, we need to pave the path for unions so that these jobs are good quality jobs."Some good news is that child day care services did add 17,800 jobs in September, although it's still 10.4% below pre-pandemic levels. But a lot of childcare still remains inaccessible."It's expensive, and a lot of women can't afford it," Raimondo said. "That really holds them back from fully participating in the labor force. They don't take on all the hours. They don't work full time. They don't go for promotions and it's a huge drag on the economy."As Tucker succinctly put it: "If you're not making enough to cover your childcare costs, then you're probably not going to go back to work."

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