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charissekenion · 4 years ago

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What systemic racism in the British beauty industry looks like

Remember when Black Lives Matter content filled up the feeds of your preferred social platform? While the message still burdens many within the black community — as well as some allies — on a daily basis, for many it is business as usual; even one of my regular online beauty go-to’s has that in their homepage banner. I’m sure it’s more about things being back to ‘some kind’ of normal post-Covid, but who knows? To me, it seems like everyone is tired and weary of the triggering message of BLM and I believe that’s a sign that, if systems are not changed, things are likely to return to what they used to be, the word diversitybecoming one of those words people say out loud while using air quotes. I’ve already written about my own personal experience as a mixed/black woman in the beauty world, but I wanted to try and tackle the systems within the beauty industry. If I’ve missed anything, let me know!

Brands/Agencies Throughout the early days of BLM, brands and agencies around the globe paid close attention to where their ads were appearing. It wasn’t a moral stance however; brands had learned that ads placed near George Floyd or protest-related content, monetized at 57%* lower than other news content. The investment simply wasn’t worth it and words/phrases such as Black Lives Matter, George Floyd, Minneapolis and Black people were put on industry blocklists. While blocklists surely began as a way for the industry to ensure it wasn’t placing insensitive ads, in 2020 brands are using them purely because of the bottom line; revenue.

For me, the brands that have stood out during BLM are the ones that are more thoughtful in how they can help, long-term. Praise was given to Emily Weiss of Glossier for starting a grant for black-owned beauty businesses. Another stand-out show of support came from Caroline Hirons, a brand in her own right.

Hirons is known as the queen of skincare amongst the UK press — and she knows that is a very white press. She took a few days to get her ‘ducks in a row’, early on when BLM was being heavily supported, ensuring her donations were able to have Gift Aid applied (more of the cash actually going to the organisation), before announcing that she would be giving 100 percent of the 2020 proceeds from her best-selling Double Cleanse with Pixi to Black Lives Matter. Pixi duly matched her donation.

But for every positive there were several embarrassing examples of how notto do it. I don’t have the time or energy to give a comprehensive list of just how many brands got it so wrong during the days that followed #blackouttuesday for instance.

I’m not about forcing anyone to do anything, because if you don’t care, why would I want your help? For me the blame lays with brands who have the means to send out the right messages on the daily via social and in the media. It wasn’t just about calling out RMS Beauty on their Instagram for hiring such an insensitive social media manager. It was more about checking out the feeds of Maybelline, Chanel Beauty, etc, etc, and seeing if they had ever shown diversity in their campaigns. The results were lacklustre to say the least, but, if there was one truly classic example of what not to do, the medal would go to Marcia Kilgore (founder of Beauty Pie, Fit Flop, Bliss). I’ve been a diehard fan of Kilgore and her work ethic for years and I’ve lost count of how many interviews I’ve listened to of Kilgore sharing her business journey.

But throughout BLM I’ve seen some shockers coming from (seemingly) Kilgore’s own hand. I’ve been sent screenshots of comments on Instagram (later deleted) including one that shows Kilgore using the shrugs emoji. One of Beauty Pie’s diehard (white) fans just didn’t get why Beauty Pie was receiving negative feedback after not standing up soon enough or strongly enough for BLM. Kilgore replied to her fan with the shrug — she might as well have said: ‘gee, we just can’t seem to please these people.’

The Influencer Whether you love influencer culture or not, it’s clear that, for now, it’s here to stay. Mostly dominated by (white) women, with some being worth over £4million here in the UK, whatever their chosen area of specialisation, there seems to be a very cookie-cutter approach as to what and who’s adored and accepted. Look at wellness, look at fashion, and of course, beauty, and you’ll find that the popular accounts are usually owned by very blonde, very slim women. Life is just one long Instagram Story compiled of working out in Lululemon, wearing makeup from an expensive brand that’s never looked past 10 shades, sipping an iced green tea and getting your wedding paid for by your clever agency rep who’s reached out to countless companies that are guaranteed to find you so palatable and on-brand.

Now, I am not coming for these women; these women can exist alongside the women that I choose to follow — the women that can and do in fact influence me and how I purchase, whether they get paid or not. And there’s the rub. Brands have been making tons of excess profits from women of colour who just love that brand — essentially unpaid micro influencers.

As a self-confessed beauty addict, I know the allure of the ‘next big thing’. I know how it is when you feel, or felt, that that brand actually understood you. When that new shiny purchase arrives from the likes of Glossier, you’re like, ‘hey friend’, and off you go, sharing your unboxing for your fellow beauty enthusiasts to swoon over in the comments.

Like I said, many true beauty influencers are micro influencers, doing their thing purely for the love, and not a pay check, but that’s in sharp contrast to those who are actually paid to do so. These paid influencers put in the work, styling their stories to appeal to their audience and also the audience of the brand that’s paying them.

One such influencer, someone I’ve been following a while as I enjoyed her fresh aesthetic, is also a PR. To be fair to her, I’d become so used to seeing her bounce across fields of tulips and daisies, that I wasn’t expecting anything from her when it came to ‘real life’. However, I did happen to see her Instagram Stories late one night, where she ‘appeared’ to be crying about BLM. I say appeared because honestly, I’ve seen better performances at my nephew’s nativity play. I even recorded the crying just to check I wasn’t being too dismissive.

The next day I saw that she’d finally posted an image she’d found elsewhere (i.e. not spent time creating) and given information on how to donate and research. It all seemed very rushed and frankly, I imagine that zero attention was given to the words. I wondered if she’d been pressured to post, and apparently she had been, after being tagged in a post that prompted people to call out influencers and brands who weren’t stepping up.

She dutifully posted a black square when it was ‘expected’ of her on #blackouttuesday — which she has since deleted.

On top of that, behind the scenes she was contacting various bloggers — I can’t confirm race ratios. She sent DMs that did not address the individual, did not ask the person how they were doing at this truly tiring and stressful time. Instead she asked if they were supporting black-owned brands (she asked this of a mixed-race woman who identified as black and had been posting tons of information on her Stories…) Clueless, lazy — or worse?

She mentions in the DM that one of her clients is a black-owned business and asks if the blogger might be interested in talking about it. The following day I kept wondering, ‘okay, if you’re so supportive, why not post about this black-owned brand on your own feed?’ Or, how about you offer your services to black-owned businesses at a reduced rate? Not because you should, but because, after all, you are performing as if you care.

**Dominique, a black, London-based PR shared her thoughts on how her frequent social media support of a beauty brand (self-created and not paid for, purely because she wanted to), soon started to feel as if she was being treated as a token when she was shown as the only black face in the company’s newsletter. She also tells me of a black influencer in the UK who had been promised payment for several pieces of promo work and yet had gone unpaid and ignored. It wasn’t until her loyal followers bombarded the brand’s social media platforms that the brand paid her, in full, with no argument, or apology.

“It’s so intrinsic, and so embedded,” says Dominique. “Whether it’s content creation or Instagram — which is the first port of call for every business — it’s also the tech, it’s the algorithms used. It’s the influencers, it’s the appropriation, it’s the fact that black influencers aren’t on PR lists, and aren’t being paid the same rates.”

Dominique also talks of the pressure of ‘black guilt’ that black influencers and creators can feel: “You kind of hope and root for the brands that you spend your money on, that you will see a change. And then also, you kind of assimilate in your feed to try and see if that’s gonna help you build a following. I’ve done it. Black people have learned to compartmentalise to survive and it comes down to assimilating and trying not to broadcast your blackness.”

The PR I think, in some ways, the power of the beauty industry PRs often goes unnoticed. These are people who are in the business of carving out a niche for a brand, making it the ‘next big thing’; they advise clients on everything, from tone of voice to the right faces to use in an ad campaign to which influencers to send product to, and which influencers to offer lucrative ambassadorships to.

As most UK PR firms are owned by white men and women, it’s easy to see why inclusivity might not even enter their heads. Why would it? Let’s not forget, for decades the ideal beauty has been that of a very Eurocentric look. PR firms, alongside the rest of the industry, play their part in affirming this beauty standard — it isn’t their job to actually change it. But with more and more voices calling for change, and in the era of cancel culture, PRs are likely to be forced into taking a more active role.

For example, the labeling of BLM being a political rather than human issue by the head of CrossFit was clearly a PR nightmare of huge proportions, and no-one in the multi-billion dollar beauty industry wants that to happen to them. As a recent article on the Business of Fashion stated; too often public relations execs go along with what their client wants, and if ever they do try to steer the client in another direction they are often left unsupported or removed from the account completely.

The Magazines As someone who’s been a hair and beauty editor and writer for 15 years, I’ve seen a lot of trends come and go. But one trend that remains the same is that of the ‘spot the black journo in the room’. While things may be slightly more progressive in the US, here in the UK I can say that I have never seen more than three black or non-white journalists at a press event at the same time. And don’t get me started on the staff within the publications themselves.

I remember when former British Vogue editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman shared an image of her team in celebration of her last issue in 2017 — with not one black or brown face. I had long stopped my subscription to British Vogue, but when her replacement, Edward Enninful arrived, the man who had inspired me for years during his time at i-D magazine, I bought each issue with renewed excitement; oh how things would change!

But Enninful is one black man. And when Enninful himself is racially profiled while entering the doors of Conde Nast, you know that the problem goes way deeper. Add to that the fact that Vogue is still going to have to bow to its advertisers — the brands that keep it in print. It’s not us with our £2 ‘special price’ purchases that are keeping Vogue and others like it alive.

Elsewhere on Instagram, former Glamour editor Jo Elvin was bemoaning the fact that it wasn’t always the editor’s fault that there were no black models on the cover. Elvin said that black models often declined being on the cover (am guessing maybe it was because it was a pretty crap magazine back then?) because they ‘thought it would hurt their chances of getting covers with the high-end mags’.

And what is wrong with that? It’s far tougher for a black woman to get a Vogue cover, so if that’s that model’s goal, what’s it to Elvin and her crew? Perhaps they could seek out an unknown, rather than relying on the top three black faces over and over? Thankfully, Elvin was prompted to elaborate on her flippant comments, by none other than the aforementioned Caroline Hirons. Hirons ended by telling Elvin that the numbers don’t add up, and that bias is ‘systemic in Conde.’

I remember once going for a meeting with an online brand I avidly read. Naturally I was excited and flattered to be told: ‘you look so [insert brand name here]!’ as if I had just earned a special badge. Aside from the flattery, it really meant a lot to me and I was genuinely excited at the opportunity to write and shoot for them. I left the building buzzing, but over the coming weeks, my numerous pitches seemed to fall on deaf ears. ‘Hmm, she’s probably really, really, busy,’ I told myself.

Weeks later I noticed a new name on their writer roster and wondered if the fact that she was also mixed race was something to do with it; perhaps two was one too many? I think this is something we see and fear in many industries, but especially within fashion and beauty. While a non-black editor might enjoy being seen as the progressive one, he or she might also be nervous of ‘opening the gates’ and only employing non-white people! I’ve heard this from several black and brown people in the industry also. Once you get that role, you want to keep it both for career and financial reasons.

It’s clear that, across the board, work needs to be done, and we also need the work that is supposedly being done, to continue. It makes me nervous to see brands jumping on the Diversity Officer job role, while only offering six-month contracts. Does this mean that they hope BLM will just go away and people will just stop expecting their voices to be heard and their rights acknowledged? Are we all just so nostalgic over what normal used to be that we’d rather enter another year with blinders on?

It’s okay to admit that you’re completely unprepared for this fight. If you’ve never had to care about this fight, I get that. But whether you chose to use #blackouttuesday to gain some new fans, or you actually wanted to begin making lasting change, it’s clear, it’s going to take a lot more than a black square followed by vague epithets. Show the work; talk to your audience. Literally no-one can claim to be perfect right now, but if you want to build an anti-racist brand, take the steps, because we are all watching.

*Statistic taken from this NPR article: https://www.npr.org/2020/06/27/884213471/why-advertisers-wont-run-ads-on-black-lives-matter-content?t=1597134345822

** Name has been changed

Image: Photo by Hazel Olayres on Unsplash

This article also appears on Medium

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beestakez-blog · 5 years ago

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The Bee

Etymolo-bee

To begin with, the origin of the word “bee” should be examined. The Latin word for “bees” is “apes,” which has two reasons for which they are named. According to Isidore of Selville’s Etymologies, it is either due to the bee “binding” its feet (pes) together or because the bee is born without feet (a-pes) and grows them after it is born. Included below is a bee with its front legs “bound.” As the viewer can see in this close-up picture, the bee’s legs are not truly bound together, but that is how the bee appears to the common eye, and thus explains how the bee got its Latin name.

Bee-stiary

In the next picture, we see how bees were drawn in a bestiary (”a treatise on beasts” rather like an encyclopedia of animals both real and fictional) dated back to 1236, Harley 3244. Surprising to the modern viewer, the bees do not have their characteristic black and yellow striping. They are colored gray completely, and some have more legs than others (ranging from zero to six). Of course, the lack of detail in the legs may be due to the wear and tear of time. The picture depicts bees collecting pollen from flowers.

Bee-fore Modern Times

This bestiary’s depiction of bees directly contrasts Augustine of Hippo’s view of bees: they are, to him, vile creatures that lack a sex. This view is from the 400s, and showcases the negative perception people had of bees back then.

In the 600s, Isidore of Seville mentions that bees have “a king and army” to go to war with each other, interestingly projecting human societal roles onto the bees, since, as we now know, bees’ community is actually centered around a queen and her drones. He also says that people have seen bees emerge from the corpses of cattle.

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Interestingly enough, Virgil (70-19 BCE) also wrote similar things in Georgics: Book IV. He said that bees reproduced asexually, and that they got children from plants, producing a ruler and citizens in the bee hierarchy.

Socie-bee

The bee is an interesting insect in that it clearly has a society, just as humans do. Humans seek to distinguish ourselves from animals, saying that we are more “sophisticated” because of our ability to communicate with one another, as well as the complicated societies we have created. However, the bee seems to be just as sophisticated as humans in this regard, at the very least. Karl von Frisch won a Nobel Prize in 1973 for his work in discovering and deciphering the “waggle dance” that honeybees perform in order to communicate with one another where nectar is. The waggle dance is proof that bees can communicate with one another just as humans do.

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Bee-ligion

Moving to more religious associations, in the Bible, there is a particular extended metaphor that compares honey to wisdom. As the makers of honey, bees are also associated with wisdom. Through the years, human society has moved away from the association of honey with wisdom and bees with religion, and instead, in recent years, there has been more of a concern about the environmental impact of bees, or even the lack of bees.

Current-bee

The concern for the safety of bees has become especially prevalent, in part because of the debate centered around the ethical use of bee products such as honey. One side of the argument is that bees are harmed in the extraction of honey, though they do produce excess honey. The other is that bees remain unharmed throughout the process. Another part of the concern for bees is the fact that many bees are being put on the endangered species list. The “save the bees” movement was especially popular for some time in the last few years.

Beneath is a bee-bliography.

“Bee.” Medieval Bestiary, 15 Jan. 2011, bestiary.ca/beasts/beast260.htm.

"bestiary, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/18205. Accessed 18 October 2019.

Bienentanz GmbH. “Bee Dance (Waggle Dance)” Youtube, 2002, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7ijI-g4jHg.

“Harley 3244 f. 58v Bees.” Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts, The British Library, 25 Aug. 2005, www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=21536.

Karl von Frisch – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019. Fri. 18 Oct 2019. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1973/frisch/facts/>

Love Nature. “Why do Bees work Together?” Youtube, 15 May 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taIifXqvh70&feature=youtu.be.

Shaw, Gwen. “August 9: Spiritual Wisdom and Knowledge Is Like Honey.” End-Time Handmaidens and Servants Intl., 9 Aug. 2019, eth-s.org/main/august-9-spiritual-wisdom-and-knowledge-is-like-honey/.

“The Honey Industry.” The Vegan Society, www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/honey-industry.

“The Ultimate Guide to British Bees & How to Protect Them.” DIY Garden, 19 July 2019, diygarden.co.uk/wildlife/ultimate-guide-to-bees/.

#fall #bees

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collymore · 2 years ago

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Gary Goldsmith - pimp and drug dealer! Reinforcing this, also an aptly convicted vicious wife beater!

By Stanley Collymore Kate Middleton evidently made her customary, natural bone idleness look effectively feasible, basically because for years she essentially and absolutely quite permanently, made no efforts at all to do anything; really doing bugger all honestly, and consequently that then truly became her personality. Then so unexpectedly this African American woman crucially with a proper job, truly established work ethic, and the real ability to string sentences together quite well and likewise coherently too obviously came along, and so naturally and significantly, distinctly from Kate Middleton's obviously, demented perspective, very unwarrantedly abrogated, her cushy designated position and embarrassingly too vitally exposed her for what she really is; an ardent, successfully William Windsor avidly stalked keen Stepford wife, brood mare and likewise an obsessed social climbing, intensely jealous and significantly too an obsessively endemically, clearly ingrained, white, racist Karen, charlatan! Anyone with a functioning brain and has objectively therefore actually heard about Meghan and Harry, really knows instinctively that they're both of them very undoubtedly evidently recounting the truth. They have essentially, become surplus to requirements; as is basically, quite commonplace in this essentially discernibly truly dysfunctional, Windsor and likewise as well a rather poor excuse for a family has crucially happened to every other spare. Significantly as these casually, perceived as others must not be allowed to normally ever positively take the actual limelight in any way or distinctively at any cost. Thus accordingly the basically toxically evil and sickeningly egregious dark arts of this medieval monarchical entity firmly coupled with abundantly, and ongoingly too Palace payments most corruptly paid to the press literally have clearly seen to that. (C) Stanley V. Collymore 18 December 2022. Author's Remarks: Simon Rex the American actor was offered as a known acquaintance of Meghan Markle in excess of $700.000 dollars by the several British tabloids as a bribe to say publicly to them and they would gloriously print the story that he then and had repeatedly prior to, and actually after her marriage to Harry, did distinctly have an ongoing sexual relationship with Meghan. Simon Rex the literally conscionable human being that he is, totally unlike the scum who not only constitute but also work for these rags like the Daily Mail, Express, Telegraph and likewise Rupert Murdoch's clearly likeminded criminal stable of hacks, flatly turned them all down because he effectively knew egregious wrongdoing when he was presented with it, and moreover and rather importantly, he definitely wasn't having any such relationship with Meghan, never had done so and neither he nor Meghan contemplated having an amorous relationship. Simon Rex's admirable and distinctly commendable actions were and still are reported globally although you'll never see or hear of them doing so in rags like those, which I've purposely and as well aforementioned. Clearly and most disgracefully in all of this, there are those who're quite happy to wretchedly and vitriolically disparage Meghan and most unwarrantedly so even though they have never actually met her, don't know her and basically have zero chance of essentially doing either of these things; but they rather eagerly and uncaringly too go for the money offered to them by these very evil, hatred inducing invariably racist rightwing and Nazi rags, and their attendant media. Patently so to get much needed and a discernibly quite obsessive need also for any kind of propagandistic public relevance, principally because they're themselves racist Karen's, Gammons or has-beens who basically can't get it into their thick skulls that their days are evidently over! Even so, there are sufficient numbers of very braindead morons in Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and the United States to readily and fervently believe these rags sick narrative because so self-evidently their own lives are so devoid of any real meaning. Essentially they individually look in the mirror and the reflection they see is quite despairingly to them, so they then automatically their pathetic lives onto those they racially hate, toxically and unwarrantedly either despise, or else are discernibly envious of, while most ironically and hypocritically too, grabbing any attention and all money they can get for doing what they most odiously indulge in; while sickeningly, most ironically and hypocritically too lyingly blaming Meghan for precisely what they're themselves vilely doing. Camilla Parker Bowles quite recently celebrated her "white" Christmas at a party at which Jeremy Clarkson was her principal guest. This distinctively odious specimen for a human being who publicly in the Daily Mail quite malevolently stated that Meghan in effect should most unceremoniously be dragged naked through the streets of Britain distinctly killed - obviously like Diana Spencer? - this imagery of yours Jeremy Clarkson buddying up with Camilla Parker Bowles the clear nemesis of Diana Spencer isn't lost on those of us with intelligent minds and who quite skilfully, know how to use ours; as you go on to say Jeremy that you intensely hate Meghan Markle: a woman you've never met and clearly don't know, far more than you really ever could white Rosemary West, the UK's actually worst female convicted serial killer currently still languishing in jail. Are you really privy Jeremy, to something, which your Palace buddy effectively told you, requisite to their planned demise of Meghan exactly as they similarly did with Diana? You're evidently, an arrogant and repulsive asshole I know Jeremy Clarkson, but coming out with that "deadly" and as well timely riposte after your "white" Christmas celebration party obviously with Camilla, distinctly can't be sheer coincidence! Still, you so delusionally and unconvincingly seek to asininely portray Britain as this non-racial and highly civilised country. In your own fucking dreams and sick denials! Finally, there's Garry Goldsmith! I'll not waste my undoubtedly valuable time and energy castigating him and instead will let the myriad articles by the identical rightwing and Nazi rags now conveniently and desperately too praising him do the job effectively. So here are some of their past, and also far from flattering but accurate tales about him. Just a brief section as they are multiple scores of them across the media if you gullible assholes care to look. "Prince William is forced to cut ties with Kate's drug dealing Uncle" - the Daily Mail.// "Kate Middleton's uncle Gary exposed as a drug dealing millionaire" - the Daily Mail.// "Gary Goldsmith! That cocaine sting in villa Bang Bang. Sympathy from Canada. And the truth about £17 million Pound fortune - Kate and Pippa's "black sheep" uncle" Daily Mail.// "Prince William to have a drug dealing uncle-in-law" - Vanity Fair// "Gary Goldsmith: Kate Middleton's uncle is a pimp and drug dealer" - Fame watcher.// "Kate Middleton's uncle arrested for thumping his wife in the street after a 1 AM drugs row" - the Sun. "Duchess of Cambridge uncle fined £5000 for assaulting wife after drunken row over drugs" - Independent. // "Kate Middleton's uncle is branded "a mean, nasty drunk" after punching his wife unconscious as he's fined £5000 and ordered by the court into rehab" - Daily Mail.// Court ruling: "You called your wife a nothing and a whore". Gary Goldsmith was sentenced to a 12 month Community Order with 20 sessions of a rehabilitation order. He was also fined £5000 and ordered to pay £170 victim's surcharge and £85 towards the prosecution costs. Quite lenient really simply because of whom he's biologically connected to. Other people have done and are still serving jail time for far less than what this odious prat has done and carries on doing. But hey, he's white has the requisite connections and discernibly because his undeniably racist views do absolutely gel with yours he can asininely castigate Meghan as much as he likes and that's specifically fine with all you distinctively sick, racist mother fuckers, totally ensconced in your repulsively delusional world of racism denial!

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adollarformythoughts · 7 years ago

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American Immigration Standards and the Misunderstanding of Family Separation

Every industrialized nation has immigration laws in place. America is one of those nations and has controlled the influx of people since British colonization. The British registered all people who came to America by ship rosters. Ports required registration and taxes to be paid when a boat arrived. After the revolutionary war, immigrants were required to report to Ellis Island to register. With that being said, people still argue that America should have open and free borders.

The American deficit at the end of 2017 was $665 billion. The largest amount paid towards undocumented immigrants is through health care. A total of $18.5 billion of federal funds was spent on undocumented immigrants in 2016. In addition to those medical services, immigrants are able to partake in public school, utility services, housing services, food programs, etc. The money received from the federal government is in addition to the allocated funds from each state which varies based on that state’s budget and allocation to each program. Frankly, America cannot afford to open borders to all immigrants without those immigrants coming to our country legally and being eligible for employment and taxation to support themselves. If they are not registered, they do not obtain identification numbers. Without identification numbers, they cannot participate in employment or taxation.

A common argument against open borders references crime rates. It is difficult to support this argument because every immigrant who passes the border without completing the required registration is, by definition, a criminal. Therefore, every undocumented immigrant has committed a crime. It is understood that the major thought processes focus on murder, rape, etc., but do you want to share your community with someone who lacks the ethics and morals to make the decision which best suits that community? With that in mind, we should not forget that Mexico, the country which provides the most undocumented immigrants to America, has the second highest homicide rate in the world, second only to Syria. If we allow everyone from Mexico to cross our borders, are we not then allowing them to bring their crime with them?

Many Democrats are calling for The Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be removed. Many Americans don’t seem to realize that the day to day function of ICE also consists of stopping human and sex trafficking rings and illegal drugs from passing through our borders unchecked. Because they are also the leaders in border control, political parties are calling for the complete culmination without thought to the effects that this action will have on other areas of oversight.

National security remains at the top of most governmental agency agendas. The world sees hundreds of terrorist attacks a year from ISIS alone. I fear that today’s millennials are too young to remember the fear, grief, and determination that every American had after that day. Those in their 30s and older have no excuse for not understanding the need for safe and secure borders. Without these measures in place, America would be much less safe than it is in its current state.

Lately, it has come to the media’s attention, possibly as a result of the May 2018 zero tolerance decision, that immigrants are being separated from their children at the borders. While many are just discovering this, those of us familiar with government legislation and the law have known that this has been the law for over twenty years. In fact, the memorandum specifically references laws that were already in place in the United States Code. It is also important to note that this was not POTUS’ order, but a decision from Attorney General Sessions based on the 203% rise in illegal immigration between 3/2017 and 3/2018.

In 1996, The Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act was passed. This Act outlined when, why, and how deportations would occur. The Act specified that undocumented immigrants would be incarcerated in the project facility which was built in Anaheim, California while they awaited trial. In the midst of the adult incarceration, children were being left unattended. The Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act never specified the treated of accompanied children unless they were refugees under the battered women and children clauses.

Yet, before the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the Flores Settlement Agreement was imposed in 1987. The Flores Settlement was overseen by the Human Rights First non-profit in California. The case originated in 1985 based on immigrant children being detained. This settlement specified that when a parent is incarcerated as an illegal immigrant, the child was to be sent to be with family within the United States. If there was no family in the United States, the child would be released to a licensed agency for foster care. In principle, America was already using the standards of detainment, it just wasn’t enacted until 1996.

Zero tolerance policies and standards in law enforcement are not a problem. All laws should be followed with a zero tolerance policy. Undocumented parents have been being separated since at least 1985 when the Flores case originated. Are the masses only just realizing that this is occurring and now they have a problem or have they never cared until it was an item of discussion under the current POTUS? I have shared the links to The Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act, The Flores Settlement Agreement, and the Attorney General Memorandum for you to peruse at your leisure. I have also left you some quotes to ponder.

https://cliniclegal.org/sites/default/files/attachments/flores_v._reno_settlement_agreement_1.pdf

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/ocomm/ilink/0-0-0-10948.html

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1049751/download

“We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.” (Bill Clinton, Remarks At State Of The Union, Washington, D.C., 1/24/95)

“Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship -- a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At State Of The Union, Washington, D.C., 2/12/13)

“While Congressman Huffington voted against new border guards, Dianne Feinstein led the fight to stop illegal immigration. I'm Dianne Feinstein and I've just begun to fight for California.” (“Feinstein’s TV Attack On Immigration,” Los Angeles Times, 7/10/94)

“The American people are fundamentally pro-legal immigration and anti-illegal immigration. We will only pass comprehensive reform when we recognize this fundamental concept.” (Senator Chuck Schumer, Speech At The Immigration Law & Policy Conference At Georgetown Law, Washington, D.C., 06/24/09)

“The bipartisan taskforce of seven has been hard at work on legislation that echoes the spirit of the Senate bill and upholds our basic principles: to secure our borders, protect our workers, unite families, and offer an earned pathway to citizenship.” (Press Release, “Pelosi: Senate Action Moves Us One Step Closer To Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, 6/27/13)

Quotes are courtesy of https://gop.com/flashback-democrats-talked-tough-on-immigration-rsr/

#adollarformythoughts #illegalimmigration #immigration

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samueldays · 2 years ago

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I should perhaps make a positive suggestion. Here is a proposed professional ethical principle for computer scientists and programmers, mostly courtesy of glyf (2005) (archive) via Loper-OS:

A computer shall serve its user before anyone else.

(Likewise an individual program, app, etc. on that computer.)

This is a nontrivial, nonfashionable principle describing a concern specific to computers, which have a nasty habit of obstructing and tattling on users at times. It may be wrong and I am open to counterargument, but even so I think it is better than a lot of the not-even-wrong blather. I will now try to set out in my own words what I think this principle entails in more detail, and why I think it is a right and correct principle.

Concretely, when I go to burn a CD, my computer ought to burn that CD for me, never stop me with "you don't have the copyrights for doing that" or similar notice. It may give warnings that something looks like a bad idea; I may dismiss those warnings.

On pragmatic reasons, it can be argued that the computer doesn't track local copyright law, doesn't track reassignments, doesn't understand fair use and backup exemptions, doesn't implement various other checks on whether I do have the rights, and in general makes for a shitty cop. It is not qualified to perform this function; you will cause collateral damage and errors if you try to draft it to this function; you create an abusable backdoor.

On principled reasons, it's my computer. I should be deciding what it burns. It's absurd to imagine shoes with GPS-tracking anti-trespassing measures built in to stop people walking the 'wrong' places; computers shouldn't have anti-copying measures built in to stop people burning the 'wrong' songs. The computer belongs to me, not to EA and not the RIAA. Separately from being bad at the job of playing cop, my computer has no business playing cop. Hijacking my computer to enforce other people's will is wrong and should be outlawed - and I believe there is an obscure technical name for just this sort of crime: conversion.

To be clear: With this principle I reject the 'balancing of interests'. I can humorously accept the British Computer Society's "due regard for" others, it's just that the due regard here is zero. My computer shall do as I wish, to the limits of its physical capability, even when I try to use it for something illegal.

I choose the word "before" because I might allow my computer to also report, for example, usage data and crash logs to someone else for developmental benefits. But any such data tracking must be done with my agreement, where I can see it, and the computer must offer me an option to stop it. My interests first; anyone and everyone else's second. If Bob really wants my computer data and I say no, Bob should get nothing. Regardless of whether Bob is powerful, wealthy, popular, famous, well-intentioned, or backed by law -- no. If Bob thinks he'd get lots of benefit and it would cost me almost nothing -- I still get to refuse. My computer's commitment to serving me should trump any other interests or stakeholders who want to adjust the computer. If you have a claim on me, press it in court, not in software.

"Mandatory updates" in particular can go to hell.

Glyf makes analogies to doctor-patient confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and the seal of the confessional.

The professional judgement of a lawyer should be exercised, within the bounds of the law, solely for the benefit of his client and free of compromising influences and loyalties. Neither his personal interests, nor the interests of other clients, nor the desires of third persons should be permitted to dilute his loyalty to his client.

Demanding a computer 'balance' the interests of its owner with some copyright-holding rando is like demanding a defense lawyer 'balance' his duties with a little bit of tattling on the client's crimes. Fuck that.

At a very abstract level, there is great value in having social 'component' people/roles that do one thing and focus on doing that thing well. A hammer is for concentrating massive force at a point when driving in a nail or a wedge, or pulping. The shock and force involved in doing so renders a hammer unsuitable for many other purposes, such as those involving delicate machinery that might get damaged or knocked out of alignment. A hammer which tries to balance doing those things will be a worse hammer, and there are other tools for doing those things.

Closely related is the second-order effect of having social 'components' who can be trusted to focus on that one thing, rather than blowing with the winds of fashion and popularity. Any protections for the poor, the vulnerable, the oppressed minorities, whoever is disliked and hated outgroup, should include a provision like this, that the [profession] will treat you too, and will not use the interaction for other purposes. Not even if the doctor really dislikes you or your group - be professional.

I observed a spattering of betrayals of such trust recently, when Russia invaded Ukraine and a lot of shortsighted people pressed anything they could into service signaling hatred for Russia, such as a German hospital announcing it would refuse to treat Russian citizens. This did nothing to slow the Russian invasion, since the Russian soldiers weren't seeking treatment in German hospitals anyway, but it was a loss of professional medical credibility, and the only people it could have hurt were Russian civilians living in Germany. For example, asylum-seekers trying to leave Russia.

Not your call to make. Not what your job is for. Shoemaker, not beyond the sole. Programmer, focus on the user.

In most medical, biology and bioengineering programs (undergrad and graduate) you are required to take a bioethics class, which covers stuff including how science affects society and a sampling of the biomedical field’s various atrocities. The idea is to keep you from going on to do harm, because even when you have good intentions ignorance or carelessness are still dangerous.

I think it’s past time computer science had something similar.

#all #ethics #programming

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coopdigitalnewsletter · 3 years ago

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19 Aug 2021: Code red for humanity. Personalised funerals. Remote work.

Hello, this is the Co-op Digital newsletter.

[Image: IPCC]

Code red for humanity

“Unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest report on climate change. The press release is here. The full report is here - very detailed, very doubled-checked. A good, quick version is the summary for policy makers - a punchy read. And a good third-party summary is here: The era of rapid climate change has begun.

Here is Co-operatives UK on the IPCC report:

“It’s clear ‘business as usual’ is not a viable response to the climate emergency. Global government action is needed, but we don’t have to wait. Businesses – and indeed every single one of us – can take action today to reduce our carbon footprint. Many of our co-operative members are already making changes – from The Co-op Group developing the first compostable plastic bag to Greencity Wholefoods trialling deliveries by electric trike to reduce diesel emissions. We want to see all businesses, from PLCs to community businesses, following suit to take action for climate change.”

Co-op Group and climate change:

5 steps we’ve taken towards our sustainability ambitions in 2021.

And our wider climate plan. (Though after reading the IPCC report, you may think: every organisation’s plan needs to be more ambitious.)

Co-op Power is the biggest energy buying co-operative in the UK - it helps businesses save money and source energy in an ethical, sustainable way.

We know that our world has been borrowing from future generations, leaving them what we might euphemistically call a “carbon debt” that’s constantly growing and already hard to pay back. Delay kills and speed is everything. It’s warming rapidly, and almost everywhere. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Net zero carbon globally is needed as soon as possible. Carbon offsets aren’t going to be enough (some of those carbon-capturing forests are burning right now). Fossil fuels need to stay in the ground. Fixing it means more than just fixing energy (ecosystem degradation, water shortages, food security, biodiversity loss and more are also critical), though fixing energy is a good place to start.

You should improve the insulation of your home, yes, but the speed of response required means that the meaningful change will have to come from institutions. If you thought digital transformation was spiky and disruptive, wait til you see carbon transformation. It is going to feel like the sudden reinvention of many things we take as given today - jobs, education, housing, industry, families, society, the world. And it has to be done fairly, and we have to work so hard and so fast at it. Because home is always worth it. We have no choice.

Previously: climate change right in front of you, the climate/carbon plans of the larger supermarket businesses in the UK.

Retail news

Lidl is launching a “scan as you shop” pilot in south west London - first scan-with-app move by a discounter?

Warhammer maker Games Workshop hands staff £5,000 bonus after lockdown sales surge - UK firm praises workers for “exceptional performance” during pandemic.

Woman sues McDonald's after Big Mac advert 'forced' her to break Lent - as she’s suing for the equivalent of £10, this seems like a PR opportunity for McDonald’s in Russia.

Interesting comment on supermarket executives joining NHS Test and Trace, ending with:

“Because surely maturing a new public health service needs a different kind of leadership to establishing new infrastructure and logistics at speed? It’s a bit like [Test and Trace] is perceived to be a massive pop-up shop, not a semi-permanent public service.”

Remote work works, if workers have power

Two views of remote work. If workers have some power, remote work unleashes productivity and places additional value on results, rather than managerial politics. A couple of quotes from it:

Remote work makes who does and doesn’t actually do work way more obvious. [...] Remote work empowers those who produce and disempowers those who have succeeded by being excellent diplomats and poor workers, along with those who have succeeded by always finding someone to blame for their failures. It removes the ability to seem productive (by sitting at your desk looking stressed or always being on the phone), and also, crucially, may reveal how many bosses and managers simply don’t contribute to the bottom line.

But if workers have no power, it probably looks different, maybe like this:

“For workers with little power – who lack either a union or a high-demand skill/experience mix – "work from home" is a thin euphemism for "live at work." Not only do you provide your boss with rent-free space in your home, he gets to colonize your whole house and family.”

That second quote is from a good and entertaining rant about power and warehouse, white collar and gig workers living in a work panopticon. Of course, employers with office workers are still working things out. Ocado will allow staff to work remotely from abroad for one month a year. Google is cutting pay for those who don’t go to the office on the grounds that “we always pay at the top of the local market based on where an employee works from” - raising the question of whether you could get a pay rise at Google by moving to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.

Personalised funerals

Trend: personalising your funeral. First, the ceremony: "My wishes, my way" - how the rise of funeral personalisation is helping to celebrate the lives we live. Co-op research finds that 35m want their own farewell to be a celebration of the life they have lived. 75% of the nation who would like to have a funeral now feel comfortable talking about their wishes. 20% of Britons would like their coffin personalised.

Second, the memorial: cremations are increasingly popular, so it follows that it’s becoming more popular to turn someone’s ashes into a different and personal kind of memorial - stones, diamonds, vinyl records, soil… there’s a startup for every idea.

Previously: startups in life and end-of life planning.

Federated co-operation

Co-op Foundation and Luminate are partnering with Noisy Cricket and Paper Frogs to deliver the next phase of the Federation programme. Co-op alum Linda Humphries says:

“We’ll be challenging the ways tech and data reinforce inequalities and encouraging co-operation. We want digitally-enabled products and services that are inclusive, respect people’s rights and safeguard their privacy.”

Various things

Hundreds of AI tools have been built to catch covid. None of them helped. - Some have been used in hospitals, despite not being properly tested. But perhaps the pandemic could help make medical AI better.

NHS Data Injection: Will It Hurt? - Should British patients be worried about their medical data being placed in a central database?

The slow collapse of Amazon’s drone delivery dream - mass redundancies and job transfers as it winds down a huge part of its UK drone delivery business.

Some English schools are using AI to help students catch up after Covid-19 - the AI personalises learning.

Why apps get worse: “No Product Manager in history has ever said “This seems to be working pretty well, let’s leave it the way it is.” Because that’s not bold.” - the downside of bias to action? (and not all product managers, surely).

Co-op and Co-op Digital news

Reflections on the first year of our degree apprenticeships.

Thank you for reading

Thank you friends, readers and contributors. Please continue to send ideas, questions, corrections, improvements, etc by replying or to @rod on Twitter. If you have enjoyed reading, please tell a friend! If you want to find out more about Co-op Digital, follow us @CoopDigital on Twitter and read the Co-op Digital Blog. Previous newsletters.

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architectnews · 4 years ago

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RIBA News & Events 2021, London

RIBA Events 2021, Architecture Gallery London, UK Buildings, British Architects News

RIBA News & Events 2021

Royal Institute of British Architects Exhibition + Talks + Events in London, England, UK

15 July 2021

RIBA UK News

RIBA launches Fire Safety Compliance Tracker

Thursday 15th of July 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a new tool for its members to record and share fire safety information.

The RIBA Fire Safety Compliance Tracker records how a project has been designed and developed in accordance with Part B (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulations.

It can be used to provide compliance information to the design team or kept internally within your practice to help your team track compliance and to confirm the architectural design aligns with the fire strategy

The Tracker is based on the International Fire Safety Standard: Common Principles (IFSS-CP) and its associated Framework.

Find out more about RIBA’s work to drive building safety regulatory reform here.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“This is a valuable new tool that will help architects to demonstrate the detailed steps they have taken to protect buildings and people from the risk of fire. We remain seriously concerned about the rising costs of Professional Indemnity Insurance and the increasing prevalence of fire safety exclusions, and hope this new Tracker will provide additional reassurance for brokers and clients. I strongly encourage all practices to start working with it on their projects.”

RIBA Fire Safety Expert Advisory Group Chair, Jane Duncan, said:

“2021 marks the beginning of long-overdue regulatory reform prompted by the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, subsequent Hackitt Review and vociferous calls from the RIBA and others for clearer, stronger and enforceable regulations. It’s clear the whole industry requires a culture change, and I’m proud of RIBA’s efforts to place architects at the forefront. That includes the introduction of fire safety mandatory competences and this new tool, which will guide critical decision making and assist members to demonstrate regulatory compliance.”

17 Jun 2021 RIBA invites students, practices and schools of architecture to trial The RIBA Compact ethical framework

Thursday 17th of June – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is encouraging architecture students, schools of architecture and Chartered Practices to trial The RIBA Compact – a framework designed to enhance student experience in the workplace.

The RIBA Compact sets out a series of commitments for Chartered Practices, architecture students, schools of architecture and the RIBA, including a requirement for clear contracts of employment for students, with no unpaid overtime and effective support in achieving PEDR requirements. Feedback from this pilot phase will help refine The RIBA Compact ready for its proposed roll-out from September 2021, when obligations for schools of architecture will form part of the new RIBA validation procedures.

The framework may potentially become a mandatory requirement of the RIBA Chartered Practice criteria from January 2022, subject to further consultation and formal approval.

RIBA President Alan Jones said: “The launch of The RIBA Compact is an important further step in our commitment to good employment practice and our help to manage expectations and commitments of employers, employees and our validated schools of architecture. We recognise the pressing need to support our members, practices and their employees in realising sustainable businesses, positive mental health and wellbeing, to help remove barriers to progression and provide equal opportunities for all those aiming to enter the profession. I encourage everyone eligible to take part in the pilot and help shape a framework that will help deliver the results we all need.”

RIBA Council Student Representative Maryam Al-Irhayim added:

“Architecture students and young professionals have the right to be treated fairly and safely in the workplace, and The RIBA Compact will help ensure they are supported in their journey to becoming qualified architects. I’m excited to see The Compact come to fruition and as an elected representative for students, I urge student members to help trial this framework. I guarantee you won’t regret it.”

Architecture students/graduates, Chartered Practices and schools of architecture can sign up for the trial before 12 July 2021. To find out more visit: https://ift.tt/3i9ZnSJ

16 Jun 2021 Committee on Climate Change warns UK homes at risk of overheating and flooding – RIBA responds

Wednesday 16th June 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the Committee on Climate Change’s latest assessment indicating that the UK is struggling to keep pace with climate change impacts. The report highlights the urgent need to mitigate risks to human health, wellbeing and productivity from increased exposure to heat in homes and other buildings.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“This is a damning assessment of the UK’s climate action progress. Architects have key skills and experience needed to mitigate some of the disastrous effects of climate change – and we are committed to supporting them through initiatives including the 2030 Climate Challenge.

But the Government must also step up and set adequate regulatory standards. The proposed means to address overheating within the Future Buildings Standard remains far too basic; the Heat and Buildings Strategy is long overdue; and we still lack a clear plan to retrofit existing homes – not only to reach net zero, but to improve the quality of life for those who live there.

I hope this assessment prompts the Government to go further and faster, and recognise the importance of architects and good design.”

10 Jun 2021 Record high for private housing sector – RIBA Future Trends May 2021

Thursday 10 June 2021 – In May 2021 the overall RIBA Future Trends Workload Index increased by 6 points to a balance figure of +30. This indicates a level of optimism about future workloads among architects not seen since 2016. 40% of practices expect workloads to grow in the coming three months, half (50%) expect them to remain the same, and 10% expect it to decrease. These results indicate that recovery continues.

May’s standout trend was in the private housing sector, which at +42, is the highest Workload Index for this sector since the Future Trends survey began (2009). Almost half (48%) of practices expect workloads to grow in this sector.

The commercial and public sectors are also increasingly positive with the commercial balance figure up 2 points to +9 and the public sector gathering a little momentum, with a rise of 2 points to +5. The community sector remains in negative territory, posting a balance figure of -3, down from -2 the previous month.

In terms of practice size, confidence among small practices (1 – 10 staff) rose with a future workload balance figure of +27, an increase of 7 points. Confidence among large and medium sized practices (11 – 50 and 51+ staff) fell back somewhat, with a balance of +45. Nevertheless, a majority (55%) anticipate increasing workloads.

All regions anticipate increasing workloads over the next three months, with some reporting extremely strong levels of optimism. Practices in Wales & the West posted May’s highest balance figure, an extremely positive +55, with no practices expecting workloads to decrease.

Optimism in London continues to grow, with a balance figure of +22, up from +12 in April. The South of England’s balance figure also improved further, with a balance figure of +25, up from +19 the previous month.

Anticipation of future workloads has dropped back in the Midlands & East Anglia, though it remains firmly positive; here the balance figure in May is +14, compared to +26 in April. Similarly, the North of England has returned a strong but somewhat reduced workload balance figure; +37 in May, compared to +44 in April.

In terms of staffing:

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index kept its steady climb and increased by 3 points to +14

19% (up by 4%) of practices expect to employ more permanent staff over the coming three months, whilst 5% expect to employ fewer. Three-quarters (76%) expect staffing levels to stay the same over the coming 3 months.

Personal underemployment fell again and now stands at a to 16%, a level last seen in 2019.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“This month report indicates a strong and sustained recovery of the architect’s market from the lows of 2020. The Private Housing sector posted a record high for future work, and work from the Commercial and Public sectors are also set to continue to grow. Practices in all regions are positive about the coming months, with notable hotspots in Wales & the West and the North.

The RIBA Future Trends survey indicates that the architects profession has so far successfully navigated the unprecedented Covid-19 storm and is in a better position now than many may have anticipated a year ago.

The additional comments received from architects aligns with the positive figures. Practices have reported strong levels of enquires, with many of these converting into appointments. Now is a generally busy period, with some new jobs queued until later in the year.

Whilst there are high levels of private housing work – from one-off extensions through to larger-scale work for developers – there are also reports of workloads growing in non-residential work.

28 May 2021 “A fraction of the investment required” – RIBA response to Government cash boost to cut carbon emissions

Friday 28th of May 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the Business and Energy Secretary’s announcements: £44million funding package and the Together for our Plan ‘Business Climate Leaders’ campaign.

RIBA CEO, Alan Vallance said:

“The funding announced today to improve the energy efficiency of our building stock is a step in the right direction. However, it’s just a fraction of the investment required to address the scale of the issue at hand.

The Government must urgently set out a comprehensive framework and publish its long-overdue Heat and Buildings Strategy. As outlined in our Greener Homes’ campaign, it must include a long-term policy and investment programme for upgrading the energy efficiency of our housing stock, and a National Retrofit Strategy, which incentivises homeowners to make the necessary changes.

I welcome the Government’s recognition of the important role small businesses will play in reaching net-zero. RIBA Chartered Practices, many of whom fit into this category, are already taking steps to reduce their carbon impact by signing-up to the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge – which calls on architects to meet net-zero (or better) whole life carbon for new and retrofitted buildings by 2030.

We will continue to support our sector to drive forward change. We must all play our part in tackling the climate emergency.”

24 May 2021 RIBA and Google Arts & Culture launch new digital partnership RIBA and Google Arts & Culture partnership

RIBA calls on Government to go further and faster to decarbonise housing stock

Friday 14th of May 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today commented on the Government’s response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s Fourth Report – Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes.

RIBA President, Alan Jones said:

“The Government’s response to the EAC’s report does not demonstrate the urgency that is vital if we are to improve the energy efficiency of our existing housing stock and reach net-zero by 2050.

As our ‘Greener Homes’ campaign outlines, to drive real change the Government must implement a National Retrofit Strategy – a long-term policy and investment programme for upgrading the energy efficiency of our housing stock. We need substantial and sustained government funding, green finance options and incentives for homeowners.

Retrofitting and decarbonising our existing housing stock must be at the heart of the Government’s response to the climate emergency. We now eagerly await the publication of the long-overdue Heat and Buildings Strategy, and hope it provides the framework so urgently required.”

12 May 2021 Architects’ confidence remains strong – RIBA Future Trends April 2021

Thursday 11th of May 2021 – In April 2021 the overall RIBA Future Trends Workload Index fell by 5 points to a balance figure of +24, after an increase in March. Whilst the previous month’s optimism has moderated, expectations about future workload remain strongly positive.

Thirty-four per cent of practices expect workloads to grow in the coming three months, whilst most (56%) expect them to remain the same. The percentage expecting workloads to decrease has fallen to 10%. Practices of all sizes are expecting workloads to increase, with larger practices remaining the most optimistic.

All regions reported an expectation of increasing workloads over the next three months. London practices maintained a positive outlook with a balance figure of +12. The South of England remained confident with a balance figure of +19, although this is a drop of 13 points from last month’s high of +32. The Midlands & East Anglia went further into positive territory, up six points from last month, with a balance figure in April of +26. Wales & the West continued to report a firmly positive outlook, posting a balance figure of +31. The North of England remained the most optimistic region, with a balance figure of +44.

Among the work sectors, private housing remains by far the strongest, posting a balance figures of +35 in April (compared with +36 in March). All sectors are broadly steady in their outlook, although the community sector has dipped to a negative balance figure.

Like the previous month, the commercial sector posted a balance score of +7, maintaining a positive view of the workload to come. However, the accelerated trend to online shopping may continue to suppress the retail sub-sector, and future requirements for office space remain unclear.

Optimism about the public sector grew slightly this month, to +2, up from zero last month. The community sector dipped back into negative territory this month, posting a balance figure -2, down from zero last month.

In terms of staffing:

• The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index increased by 4 points to +11 this month. • 5% of practices expect to employ fewer permanent staff in the coming three months, while 15% expect to employ more. A clear majority (80%) of practices expect staffing levels to be constant over the coming three months. • Medium and large-sized practices (11+ staff) continue to be most likely to recruit permanent staff in the coming three months, with both groups posting strongly positive figures of +43. Over 40% anticipate some increase in permanent staffing levels over the next three months. • With a balance figure of +6, small practices (1 – 10 staff) also expect staffing levels to grow, although fewer smaller practices anticipate recruitment. • The Temporary Staffing Index returned a balance figure of +5 in April • For the first time since 2019, London has posted a positive permanent staff balance figure. Up from zero in March, April’s figure is +9, with 13% of practices anticipating recruitment. • The South of England (+6, up by two points) and the Midlands & East Anglia (+8, up by 6 points) are moderately optimistic about future staffing levels. • The North of England (+15, up two points) and Wales & The West (+13, down 5 points from March) remain comparative employment hot-spots. In Wales & The West, more than a fifth (22%) of practices expect permanent staff numbers to increase. • Personal underemployment fell to 18% (by 2 points) in April. Overall, since the onset of the pandemic, redundancies are at 3% of staff. Seven per cent of staff remain on furlough. Staffing levels are at 99% of a year ago. • The savage reduction in staffing levels that many feared at the start of the pandemic has not materialised.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said: “Whilst the overall Workload Index has fallen slightly and confidence has moderated in some areas, April’s Future Trends marks a consolidation of March’s surge in practice optimism. Practices are increasingly confident about longer-term profitability, with 16% expecting profits to rise over the next year and 39% expecting them to be steady.

Challenges remain for a significant number of practices, however, with 4% suggesting they are unlikely to remain viable over the next 12 months, and a third expect profitability to fall (although both these numbers continue to come down).

The commentary received in April describes a growing market for architects’ services – high levels of work and enquiries, with staff increasingly being brought off furlough to meet demand.

Work in sectors such as education is increasing but the fastest growth is in the residential sector, with projects such as energy retrofits, extensions and refurbishments needed to support home working. There are regional hot spots as people relocate, often from London. However, whilst there is more work, in many cases it is lower value than pre-pandemic. Practices have also reported that a slow pace of planning administration continues to put a brake on some projects.

RIBA continues to be on hand, providing support and resources to our members as they navigate these challenging times.”

11 May 2021

RIBA responds to the Queen’s Speech

Tuesday 11th of May 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the 2021 Queen’s Speech.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“Poorly resourced and mismanaged planning imposes permanent damage on our communities, environment and economy; I therefore welcome today’s promise to progress reforms to the planning system. But reforms cannot be used as an impulsive means to boost housing numbers at the expense of quality.

We urgently need well-designed, safe and sustainable homes and spaces that support and strengthen communities. This relies on utilising the expertise of architects from the outset, and taking tougher action against developers who fail to raise their game.

In addition to the Planning Reform Bill, I welcome the progression of the long-awaited Building Safety Bill and introduction of the Professional Qualifications Bill, which paves the way for post-Brexit agreements that are critical to the strength and success of the UK architects’ profession. We will continue to engage with the Government on these critical issues on behalf of architects and the society we serve.”

29 Apr 2021

RIBA pilots Health and Life Safety test

Thursday 29 April 2021 – Following the publication of proposed mandatory competence requirements, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today launched a pilot test to assess understanding of Health and Life Safety.

As outlined within The Way Ahead, Health and Life Safety is the first area in which UK Chartered Members would be required to demonstrate their competence, from 2023. Followed by Climate Literacy and Ethical Practice.

Hosted online at RIBA Academy, the test asks a set of multiple-choice questions within seven areas of assessment, to correspond with the RIBA Health and Safety guide:

Preparing to visit site

Undertaking site visits

Site hazards

Design risk management

Statute, Guidance and Codes of Conduct

CDM Regulations

Principles of Fire Safety Design

The RIBA currently seeks feedback on these assessment areas alongside those for other proposed mandatory competences. RIBA Members are encouraged to complete the survey by 17 June 2021.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“We must ensure our members have the knowledge, skills and experience needed to tackle the UK’s evolving building safety crisis.

The tragedy at Grenfell Tower, subsequent Hackitt Review, and more recent fire safety catastrophes have not only highlighted the urgent need to reform regulations, but to raise standards of professional competence across the construction industry.

I urge members to take this pilot test and offer feedback on the proposed areas of assessment to ensure we create a robust system that works for our profession and the society we serve.”

29 Apr 2021

RIBA signs Halo Code to protect against racial discrimination

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has signed the Halo Code – the UK’s first Black hair code – to protect the rights of staff who come to work with natural hair and protective hairstyles associated with their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities.

The Halo Code was developed by the Halo Collective and brings together organisations and schools who have made a commitment to work towards creating a future without hair discrimination.

Signing the Halo Code and embedding it into policies, is part of the RIBA’s work to make its workplace and the wider architecture profession more inclusive.

RIBA Director of Inclusion and Diversity, Marsha Ramroop said: “We are committed to nurturing a culture where our staff feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work. Despite being a protected racial characteristic, hair discrimination remains a source of injustice and by signing the Halo Code, the RIBA is taking a stand for racial equity. I encourage our members and practices to join us in driving out all forms of discrimination, by adopting the Code too.”

15 April 2021

RIBA opens £30K funding scheme for architecture students

The Hidden Seasons of Barbados, Shawn Adams, 2019 Wren Insurance Association Scholarship recipient:

Monday 26th of April 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (Monday 26 April) opened applications for five RIBA Wren Insurance Association Scholarships, worth a total of £30,000.

The annual scholarships are open to students who are currently enrolled in the first year of their RIBA Part 2 course. Each recipient will receive £6,000 and the opportunity to be mentored throughout the second year of their Part 2 course by an architect from a Wren-insured practice.

The scheme, which was set up in 2013, has supported 40 recipients to date.

RIBA President Alan Jones said:

“Thank you to the Wren Insurance Association for their continued generosity to support architecture students, during a particularly challenging period. Scholarships and bursaries are an important part of our ongoing commitment to support students, and reward and retain talent in the profession, and we look forward to seeing the applications received.”

The deadline to apply is Friday 18 June 2021 and further information is available here.

Previously on e-architect:

15 April 2021 London architects confident again after 14 months – RIBA Future Trends March 2021

Thursday 15 April 2021 – In March the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index rose by 12 points to a balance figure of +29. This is the highest Workload Index balance figure since May 2016. In the last 12 months, the index has risen by an unprecedented 111 points.

All regions are becoming more positive about future work. London is the largest architecture market in the UK and, for the first time since February 2020, practices there are anticipating increasing workloads in the coming months, with a balance figure of +18 an increase of 21 balance points from -3 in February.

Forty per cent of practices expect workloads to grow in the coming three months, whilst just under half (49%) expect them to remain the same. The percentage expecting workloads to decrease has fallen again and now stands at 11% (compared to 84% a year ago). Optimism about future workloads continues to be driven by the private housing sector, although the outlook for all sectors is improved from last month.

Practices of all sizes are expecting workloads to increase, with larger practices the most optimistic. March feels like a significant turning point. The outlook of Small practices (1 – 10 staff) again rose strongly. In March small practices posted a future workload balance figure of +27 up fourteen points from February’s figure of +13. Confidence among Large and Medium sized practices (11 – 50 and 51+ staff) remains strong, with an overall balance score of +42, up 13 points on last month’s figure of +29.

March sees the South of England grow in confidence, with a balance figure of +32 this month, up from zero last. The Midlands & East Anglia has risen further into positive territory up fourteen points from last month to +20. Wales & the West posted a balance figure of +33 in March, the tenth consecutive month of a positive outlook. The most positive region this month is the North of England, with a balance figure of +47. Here only two per cent of practices expect workloads to fall, and almost a half (49%) expect them to grow.

Among the four different work sectors, private housing remains by far the strongest. However, all sectors are again up on last month, and no sector is negative. The private housing sector rose by a further 7 points to +36, a balance score that is higher than at any point since June 2015. The commercial sector returned to positive territory for the first time since the pandemic onset with a balance score of +7. Both the public sector and community sectors eased out of negative territory this month, but only just with both posting a zero balance figures.

In terms of staffing: • The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index increased by 3 points to +7 this month. • 7% of practices expect to employ fewer permanent staff in the coming three months, while 14% expect to employ more. A clear majority (79%) of practices expect staffing levels to be constant over the coming three months. • Medium and large-sized practices (11+ staff) continue to be most likely to recruit permanent staff in the coming three months, with both groups posting strongly positive figures. • On balance, small practices (1 – 10 staff) expect staffing levels to grow somewhat, with a balance figure of +6 (up from +1), though 80% of small practices anticipate staffing levels to stay the same. • The Temporary Staffing Index returned a balance figure of +5 (up from +1 in February). • London remains least optimistic with a zero balance figure in March (though this is up from -8 in February). Eleven per cent of London practices expect to employ more permanent staff over the coming months with the same proportion expecting to employ fewer. • The South of England (+4) and the Midlands & East Anglia (+2) are cautiously optimistic about upcoming recruitment. • In line with workload expectations, the North of England (+13) and Wales & The West (+18) are the areas in which practices are most likely to expect growing numbers of permanent staff. • Personal underemployment remained at 20% in March, and staffing levels remain at 96% of a year ago. • Overall, since the onset of the pandemic, redundancies remain at 3% of staff. Seven per cent of staff remain on furlough. Eighteen per cent of staff are working fewer hours.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“With the vaccine programme underway, and workload prospects improving across sectors, regions and practice sizes, March’s Future Trends data shows a profession firmly optimistic about future work.

Personal underemployment has dropped from a high of 42% to 20%. Practices are more confident about their longer-term prospects, with 13% expecting increased profitability over the next year, and 29% expecting it to hold steady. However, the extremely positive rise in confidence does not mean that the challenges practices face have evaporated. Four per cent of practices think they are unlikely to remain viable over the next 12 months. Forty-three per cent, after an already extremely difficult period, expect profitability to decrease over the coming year.

The commentary received in March continues to describe a housing sector performing strongly, particularly smaller-scale domestic work. Some practices report that there is more work available than they can take on.

However, practices also mention that such work may be of comparatively low-value, and subject to intense fee competition. Longer-term, the recovery in private housing needs to be matched by growth in the public, commercial and community sectors.

Nevertheless, March’s data confirms a remarkable restoration of confidence among practices during an unprecedented 12 months.

We continue to be on hand, providing support and resources to our members as they navigate these challenging times.”

1 April 2021 RIBA responds to Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report

Thursday 1 April 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today responded to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report.

RIBA Chief Executive, Alan Vallance said:

“Systemic racism and discrimination clearly exist in the UK. We must fully acknowledge and understand this, so we can tear down the barriers and drive out injustice.

Some of the biggest built environment challenges of our times – from the climate emergency to substandard housing and fire safety – particularly impact underrepresented racialised groups and these are very high on the agenda for the RIBA and our members.

The RIBA does not absolve itself of responsibility in tackling racism and in recognising our own history. We know that people who face racism are less likely to progress in our industry, and we are working to ensure that architecture is open to all, regardless of background or circumstances. We will continue to listen to underrepresented racialised groups and work to address their concerns within our organisation and sector.

We acknowledge the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report which includes some insights, for example around the term BAME and unconscious bias training. We are already taking steps to tackle these, amongst other measures.

We will take time to review the report in depth, and continue to use our influence, networks and platforms, as we work towards a better, more inclusive, built environment.”

22 Mar 2021

RIBA endorses House of Commons report on energy efficiency of existing homes

Monday 22 March 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee’s (EAC) report, ‘Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes’.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“This is a timely and well-reasoned report that outlines clear measures to make our homes more energy efficient.

I particularly endorse recommendations to implement a national retrofit strategy and pilot stamp duty rebates for homeowners that improve the efficiency of their homes within the first year – measures we’ve been calling for through our Greener Homes campaign.

Proposals to reform EPC methodology to focus on the actual performance of buildings are also encouraging, and critical to reaching the Government’s net zero target.

We need urgent action to address our shamefully inefficient housing stock – and this report shows how that can be achieved.”

11 March 2021

RIBA Future Trends in February

Thursday 11 March 2021 – Residential sector propels architects’ confidence – RIBA Future Trends February 2021

In February 2021 the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index increased by 14 points to +17, a level of confidence not seen from architects since early 2020.

Nearly a third (32%) of practices expect workloads to grow in the next three months, up from 28% (in January), whilst just over half (52%) expect them to remain the same. The number of practices expecting workloads to decrease has also fallen from 25% to 16%.

Optimism has been driven by the housing sector, which surged by 20 points this month to a balance figure of +29. Whilst it remains the only sector in positive territory, all other sectors saw a rise. The commercial sector saw the highest, up 16 points to a balance figure of -2; the public sector rose 2 points to -1; and even though the community sector posted the lowest at -6, this marks an improvement on the previous month’s figure of -15.

In February, the outlook of small practices (1 – 10 staff) rose significantly, posting a balance figure of +13, up fifteen points from January’s figure of -2. Confidence among large and medium sized practices (11 – 50 and 51+ staff) also remains strong, with an overall balance score of +29. Among these groups, 35% expect workloads to increase, and just 6% foresee a decrease.

All regions, except London, expect an increase in workloads in the near-term. Having briefly entered positive territory the previous month, London posted a negative figure of -3.

This month’s survey also asked respondents how they felt about the future of the workplace. Overall, results indicate that once a return to the office is possible, there is currently no appetite to resume pre-pandemic work patterns. Only 13% of practices expect to recall everyone to the office; almost a quarter (26%) see the future being a blend of office and home-based work; 20% look to leave the decision to staff; and 41% said they will continue to work as they are now (though how people work now is varied, with some practices already including an element of office-based working, when government restrictions allow, whilst others are fully remote).

In terms of staffing:

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index remained at +4 this month. It has been consistently, though only slightly, positive since October.

6% of practices expect to employ fewer permanent staff in the coming three months, while 11% expect to employ more. A clear majority (83%) of practices expect staffing levels to be constant over the coming three months.

Medium and large-sized practices (11+ staff) continue to be most likely to recruit permanent staff in the coming three months, with both groups posting strongly positive figures.

On balance, small practices (1 – 10 staff) expect staffing levels to be steady, with a balance figure of +1.

The Temporary Staffing Index returned a balance figure of +1, suggesting the market for temporary staff is positive, but only by a small margin.

London remains most likely to anticipate decreased numbers of permanent staff in the next three months, with a staffing balance figure of -8; down four points on last month. The South of England also remains cautious about upcoming recruitment, with a balance figure of zero.

Future recruitment is more likely outside of London and the South: the Midlands & East Anglia returned a figure of +6, the North of England +10, and Wales & The West at +21.

Personal underemployment fell slightly at 20%, down from 22% in January.

Staffing levels remain at 96% of what they were twelve months ago. Overall, redundancies stand at 3% of staff; 7% remain on furlough and 16% are working fewer hours.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“As the route out of the pandemic becomes clearer, not least due to the roll-out of the vaccination programme, February’s figures demonstrate a turning point – practices are starting to feel more optimistic about the future.

It’s clear however, that this increased confidence is partly dependent on the residential sector, fuelled by homeowners relocating or adjusting their homes to accommodate remote working, and question marks remain over the sustainability of this trend. Furthermore, practices who are reliant on work outside of this sector are yet to see their workloads increase.

Whilst the data suggests there is not currently a significant appetite to return to pre-pandemic work patterns, we also know that homeworking continues to create productivity challenges, not least because childcare and home-schooling have been impacting the working day. Commentary received from our respondents indicates that this is disproportionately impacting women.

5 + 3 March 2021 RIBA reacts to 2021 Budget

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published an initial response to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s 2021 Budget. RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“Whilst the Chancellor’s focus is understandably on mitigating the impact of the pandemic, the measures announced today do little to reassure me of the Government’s commitment to reach net zero or drive a green economic recovery.

Some of today’s announcements – such as the UK Infrastructure Bank and green gilts – could help our economy grow back more sustainably, but that depends entirely on future investment decisions. The money pledged must be used to create green jobs and fund energy efficiency programmes such as a National Retrofit Strategy.

Taken alongside the personal allowance freeze, the corporation tax rise will have a significant impact on RIBA members and hints at wider tax changes to come. It’s therefore vital that the Government looks at how the tax system could also help tackle the climate emergency. By reviewing reforming mechanisms to incentivise sustainability the Government could successfully drive the green economic recovery that is desperately needed.”

12 Feb 2021 Architects’ confidence remains fragile – RIBA Future Trends January 2021

In January 2021 the RIBA Future Trends Workload Indexremained positive (at +3) despite the turbulence of Brexit and a third national lockdown. Whilst 25% of practices expected workloads to decrease in the coming three months, 28% forecasted an increase. Just over half (51%) expected workloads to hold steady.

The South of England was the only region to post a negative workload balance figure this month, a fall of 10 points (to -2), although optimism also decreased sharply in the North of England (falling from +29 in December to 0). London posted a positive workload balance (+1) for the first time since February 2020. Other regions – the Midlands, East Anglia, Wales and the West remain in positive territory.

Among the four work sectors, the private housing sector was the only one to remain positive, at + 9. Having posted positive figures in December, the public and commercial sectors fell back to negative territory in January, posting -4 and -18 respectively, suggesting an expectation of falling workloads. The community sector continues to stall, falling to a balance figure of -15 in January, down from -8 in December.

Large and medium sized practices (11 – 50 and 51+ staff) remain confident; 53% expect workloads to increase, and 13% foresee a decrease (overall balance score of +39). Small practices (1 – 10 staff) however fell back into negative territory in January, posting a workload balance figure of -2, down from +4 in December.

With the UK and EU’s new trading agreement in place, the survey for the first time monitored the impact of Brexit on the attitudes of architects. Overall, the new agreement is perceived to have a negative impact on the profession; 15% more architects expect it to lead to a decrease in workload than an increase. Architects indicated they expect key areas to be detrimentally affected by the new agreement: 41% stated this to be the case regarding availability of skilled on-site staff, 54% regarding recruiting/retaining architects from outside the UK and 63% regarding the availability of building materials.

In terms of staffing: • The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index rose again in January (+4, from +2 in December). • In the next three months 83% of practices expect staffing levels to remain the same, 7% expected to employ fewer permanent staff, and 10% expect to employ more. • Medium and large-sized practices (11+ staff) continue to be those most likely to recruit permanent staff in the coming three months, with both posting strongly positive index figures. Smaller practices are more likely to expect staffing levels to hold steady, having posted a January Staffing Index figure of zero. • The Temporary Staffing Index returned a balance figure of zero in January, suggesting the market for temporary staff will remain as is. • London remains the region least likely to anticipate increased staffing levels in the next three months – returning a negative balance figure of –4. The South of England is also cautious – returning a balance figure of -6. Recruitment is more likely in the North of England (+14) and the Midlands & East Anglia (+8). • Personal underemployment stands at 22%, a slight increase on last month’s figure, but within historical norms, and significantly below the high of 42% in the first lock-down. • Staffing levels are 96% of a year ago. Overall, redundancies stand at 3% of staff. Seven per cent of staff remain on furlough.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“It’s promising that the profession has overall maintained a positive outlook. However, with a decrease from +10 in December to +3 in January, it’s clear that the ongoing uncertainties presented by both Brexit and the third national lockdown are having an impact on confidence.

Disparities persist across regions, practice sizes and notably sectors. That only the housing sector returned positive figures, clearly indicates the limited commitment of resources to construction, from both businesses and government.

Whilst there are some promising signs, for example London reporting its first positive workload balance for 10 months, this increase is marginal (+1), and must be tempered by the fact that the commercial sector, so important to the profession in this region, remains fragile.

Sustained growth of the profession, particularly in the centres of large cities, will rely on a broad-based recovery that encompasses not only the housing sector, but also the public, commercial and community sectors. This recovery is unlikely to happen whilst we remain in lock-down but can be spurred and accelerated by timely government stimulus and investment.

photograph © Adrian Welch

6 Feb 2021 RIBA responds to launch of Government’s school rebuilding programme

5th of February 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (5 February) responded to the Government’s launch of the first phase of the School Rebuilding Programme.

RIBA President Alan Jones said:

“Well-designed schools have the power to shape society – improving the attainment, behaviour, health and wellbeing of every child.

As the government’s ten-year rebuilding programme gets underway, it is crucial to focus on the delivery of good quality design, sustainability and safety. To ensure the best outcomes for students, teachers and the taxpayer, the government must commit to monitoring the performance of the new buildings once they are in use through Post Occupancy Evaluation – and use these findings to ensure each project is better than the last.

Furthermore, vital safety measures including the installation of sprinklers must also be prioritised in the design of new and maintenance of existing school buildings. Alongside the CIOB, RICS and NFCC, the RIBA is continuing to call for this to be mandated.

This is a critical opportunity to have a transformative impact on the lives of future generations – the government must get it right.”

Background:

In May 2016 the RIBA published the Better Spaces for Learning report – outlining how good design can help ensure that capital funding for schools stretches as far as possible, and supports good outcomes for both teachers and pupils.

In May 2019, the RIBA responded to the Department for Education’s review of Building Bulletin 100 – design for fire safety in schools. The Department for Education asked experts to help review the Building Bulletin 100, which is a design guide for fire safety in schools. Our response highlighted the importance of the inclusion of prescriptive baseline requirements on life safety measures, for example, maximum travel distances, ventilation, protected lobbies and refuges. Read all RIBA responses to government consultations on fire safety.

In October 2020, the RIBA issued a joint statement with CIOB, NFCC and RICS, calling on the government to require the installation of sprinklers in schools, including the retrofitting of sprinklers in existing school buildings when relevant refurbishment takes place.

19 Jan 2021 RIBA publishes findings of Architects Act amendments survey

Monday 25 January 2021 – 8 out of 10 think mandatory competence requirements are important – RIBA publishes findings of Architects Act amendments survey.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (Monday 25 January) published the findings of its survey of the architects’ profession on proposed changes to the Architects Act.

The 502 responses have informed the RIBA’s official submission to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) consultation on proposed changes to the Architects Act, which has also been published today.

From ensuring building safety to tackling the climate emergency, the areas prioritised by respondents reflect the challenges facing our industry and society, and the role architects must have in addressing them.

Findings of the RIBA survey reveal:

85% of respondents acknowledge the importance of mandatory competence requirements in promoting standards and confidence within the profession;

75% believe that an architect’s competency should be monitored at regular intervals throughout their career;

70% think fire safety is the most important mandatory competence topic;

68% want to prioritise health, safety and wellbeing; 67% legal, regulatory and statutory compliance; and 50% sustainable architecture as mandatory competence topics;

More than half of respondents (59%) want either planning or building control or both to be regulated functions.

In response to the survey findings, RIBA President, Alan Jones, said:

“This consultation is a defining moment – a real opportunity to ensure all current and future architects in the UK have the education, knowledge, skills and behaviours to make a positive impact on the built environment.

The fact that the majority of the profession wish to retain the regulation of title and expand into regulation of function, demonstrates the vital and holistic role that architects know they must have to effectively deliver their expertise.

We will soon be launching our mandatory Health and Life Safety requirements for RIBA members and will work with the MHCLG and ARB to coordinate practical competency measures for the whole profession to adopt.

We also continue to call for urgent reforms of building safety regulations and procurement systems, and for an appropriately funded education system for future architects. These will help to ensure that the profession can deliver buildings that meet the quality, safety, and sustainability expectations of society.

In light of post-Brexit agreements on professional qualifications, we will support the allocation of new ARB powers to negotiate international agreements that will assist UK architects in designing, delivering, and globally upholding the highest professional standards.”

Read the executive summary of the survey findings

Read the RIBA’s response to the consultation on proposed amendments to the Architects Act

19 Jan 2021 Winners of 2020 RIBA President’s Medal for Research and Research Awards

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the recipient of the RIBA President’s Medal for Research and the winners of the President’s Awards for Research, which celebrate the best research in the fields of architecture and the built environment.

The winner of the 2020 RIBA President’s Medal for Research is Richard Beckett from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, for ‘Probiotic Design.’ Through exploring the integral role of bacteria in human health, Richard proposes a design approach that reintroduces beneficial bacteria to create healthy buildings.

2020 RIBA President’s Awards for Research

18 Jan 2021 RIBA comments on proposed ‘Right to Regenerate’ policy

Monday 18th January 2020 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has commented on government’s proposed ‘Right to Regenerate’ policy, announced today.

RIBA President, Alan Jones, said: “While giving a ‘new lease of life’ to unloved buildings might seem like an easy win that could speed up the development of new housing or community spaces, the process of procuring these empty properties – and criteria for acquiring – must be carefully considered. This policy has the potential to help regenerate local areas, but this must be done with the highest regard to quality, safety and sustainability – it’s essential the government moves forward in the right way.”

14 Jan 2021 RIBA Future Trends – 2020 ended with fragile growth in confidence

Thursday 14th January 2021 – In the latest set of results (December 2020), the RIBA Future Workload Index returned the highest balance score (+10) since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst 20% of practices expected a decreasing workload in the coming three months, 29% expected workloads to increase. Just over half expected workloads to hold steady.

Confidence was beginning to return beyond the Private Housing Sector (+14, up two points from November). Both the Commercial and Public Sectors returned to positive territory for the first time since February 2020 – the Commercial Sector at +1, up from -19 in November and the Public Sector at +2, up from -7. The Community Sector recorded an improvement although remained negative, returning a balance figure of -8 this month, up from -13 in November.

Confidence among large and medium and sized practices also continues to strengthen. Smaller practices have returned to positive territory after a dip in November.

Reports of personal underemployment are lower than they were a year ago. Workloads are reported to have rallied too; during the first lockdown they stood at 67% compared to twelve months ago; December results (taken prior to the third lockdown) were 95%.

London based practices remain negative about future workload with a -6 balance score in December, up slightly from -7 last month.

All other regions are positive about future workload: the Midlands & East Anglia returned to positive territory with +7 in December; the South of England at +8; Wales & the West at +22, up from +15 in November and the North of England was the most positive in December at +29 – the most positive outlook for the region since 2019.

Concerns about future practice viability remain, though have lessened. Overall, 3% of practice expect falling profits to threaten practice viability. 46% expect profits to fall over the next twelve months, 34% expect profits to stay the same, and 9% expect them to grow (8% don’t know).

In terms of staffing:

• With a slight increase on the previous month, the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index returned a figure of +2 in December. • 84% of practices overall expect permanent staffing levels to remain consistent (up from 81% in November). • 7% expect to see a decrease in the number of permanent staff over the next three months (the same figure as November). • 9% expect permanent staffing levels to increase (up from 8% in November) • The anticipated demand for temporary staff has stayed the same as in November, with the Temporary Staffing Index falling at -1 in November • London is the only region to return a negative permanent staffing index figure (-9) – down from -7 in November • In London, the balance figure for permanent staff is -7 (up from -8 in October) • The Midlands & East Anglia are anticipating a falling number of permanent staff. In contrast, other regions are positive, notably Wales & the West (+9) and the North of England (+8). • Personal underemployment is back down to 20%. That’s lower than both last month’s figure and that of December 2019. At both times the figure was then 22%. • Staffing levels are currently 96% of their level a year ago. Overall, redundancies stand at 2% of staff. 6% of staff now remain on furlough.

RIBA Head of Economic Research and Analysis, Adrian Malleson, said:

“The growing optimism seen in our December results is heartening, with workloads being just 4% lower than they were a year ago and an increase in confidence in the commercial and public sector areas. However, additional commentary stresses the twin uncertainties of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. Understandably, these make 2021 a highly uncertain year and the construction market may get worse before it gets better

The disparity in confidence between regions continues. In December London results continued to highlight a concerning set of indices: future work predictions, future staffing levels, assessment of future practice viability and personal underemployment, which are all lower than elsewhere.

Some practices report projects being held up by delays in the processing of planning applications but there are also reports of Public Sector workload beginning to increase.

It is a mixed and changing picture but with an overall growth in confidence. Whilst this confidence is likely to falter in the current lockdown, there is hope that it will return, once restrictions are eased.

RIBA comments on new UK-EU relationship

Monday 4th of January 2021 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today commented on the new relationship between the UK and EU.

RIBA CEO, Alan Vallance, said:

“Since our initial response to the post-Brexit trade deal struck on 24 December, the RIBA has taken time to consider the terms negotiated and the implications for our profession.

Since the referendum, the RIBA has strongly called for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and it’s therefore disappointing to see this has not been agreed. Going forward, the ARB has an opportunity to negotiate a new recognition route with the EU, and we will be working closely with ARB colleagues and members to help shape such an agreement.

In terms of trading goods, while tariff-free importing and exporting should benefit UK construction long-term, we know that certain processes including the certification and declaration of products have – or will very soon – change, and all businesses will need to adjust to new measures.

As we all familiarise ourselves with this new UK-EU relationship, the RIBA is on hand to support members and practices adapt accordingly.”

Visit www.architecture.com/Brexit.

RIBA News 2020

RIBA News & Events 2020 – recent updates below:

24 Dec 2020

RIBA reacts to news of post-Brexit trade deal

Thursday 24 December 2020 – The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today responded to the post-Brexit trade deal struck between the UK Government and EU Commission. RIBA CEO, Alan Vallance, said:

“Today’s news of a post-Brexit trade deal is no doubt a relief for many. But while this deal provides us with some certainty around the future relationship between the UK and EU, hesitation and vagueness around trade in services remains a serious concern for our profession. Architects in both the UK and EU were clear about the need for a continued agreement on recognition of professional qualifications, and it is deeply worrying that this does not seem to be part of the deal as it stands.

It’s also disappointing to see that UK students are no longer eligible for the Erasmus scheme, given the clear benefits for young people. We therefore look forward to understanding more about the new Turing scheme referenced by the Prime Minister.

It’s our hope however that this deal will keep the costs of importing construction materials down and – current border issues aside – at least provide some confidence over trading in goods.

As ever, we will continue to support our members with guidance and lobby the government to invest in the skills and talent that fuels the success of UK architecture worldwide.” Visit https://ift.tt/38d1nWz.

17 Dec 2020

RIBA Future Trends – COVID-19 restrictions impact practice confidence and workload

Thursday 17 December 2020 – In November 2020, the RIBA Future Workload Index returned a balance figure of 0, meaning as many practices expect workload to increase as those who expect it to decrease. It’s the lowest figure since June and a fall from last months’ +9.

Confidence about future work strengthened among large and medium-sized practices (to +25), whilst smaller practices have returned negative predictions for the first time since June at -5.

2 Dec 2020

RIBA announces winners of 2020 President’s Medals

RIBA President’s Medals Student Awards 2020

RIBA News 2019

RIBA News & Events 2019

RIBA Summer Installation 2019

RIBA London Events information from RIBA

Location: 66 Portland Place, London, UK

RIBA Events Archive

RIBA Events, Awards & News Archive Links

RIBA Annie Spink Award 2020

RIBA News in London

RIBA London Events – Archive

RIBA HQ at 66 Portland Place

RIBA Gold Medal for Architecture

Chartered Institute of Building

RIBA Awards

RIBA Stirling Prize

RIBA Honorary Fellowships

London Architecture Events

AA School Events

Bartlett School of Architecture Event

Comments / photos for the RIBA News & Events for 2021 page welcome

Website: London

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HOW IDEOLOGY MASQUERADES AS IMPARTIAL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Editor’s note: Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Samuelson has been hugely influential in promoting his views from the day he published his economics textbook in 1948. He also penned a regular column in Newsweek magazine for fifteen years during the 1960’s. Little wonder then, that Samuelson has been referred to by one economic historian as the “Father of Modern Economics.” Samuelson’s book is now in its 19th printing and has sold nearly four million copies in over forty languages. Generations of students, economic scholars, business men, and government officials have grown up with few counterpoint views of what makes the economy tick. Yet, Samuelson’s belief that it is best for government to social engineer our society is still a prevalent view. He has, in fact, stated that “America spends too little rather than too much on government.” Samuelson’s ideological lens was simply too clouded to consider alternate views. Economist, Robert Nelson, after a thorough study of Samuelson’s work has concluded that “If economists have in the end been priests of a secular religion, the ‘theology’ of economics was particularly well expressed in [Samuelson’s textbook] Economics.”

It is a rare economist who doesn’t wear a mask of ideology. And, it is ideology that drives what the American lay public (and many who are otherwise sophisticated about business and finance) presumes is apolitical, clinical, and neutral economic analysis rendered for the betterment of our society. Alas, such is not the case as ideology is the predicate for much of what we understand to be dispassionate economic analysis. Ideology comes in many forms: as academic arrogance, institutional bias, or political partisanship. Maybe all of this makes sense if we view economics as more of a political ideology than an objective science. Still, Americans must be aware of the masquerade. As the noted Economics journalist Henry Hazlitt stated in his book, Economics in One Lesson, “Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man. This is no accident. The inherent difficulties of the subject would be great enough…but they are multiplied a thousandfold by … the selfish pleading of selfish interests.”

The “can’t fail” models of Myron Scholes and Robert Merton, Nobel Prize winning economists both, were the centerpiece of the hedge fund they, with others, founded as Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) in 1994. The founders’ notoriety was based on the mathematical work they did, along with Fisher Black, to value the theoretical price of derivatives (the so-called Black-Scholes model). Big investment banks among them Merrill Lynch and UBS went for the bait with minimum $10 million investments. At the end of August 1997, the firm sported a capital base of $6.7 billion and the firm was rocking. Scarcely a year later, however, following the collapse of the Russian economy, LTCM was left with an almost worthless portfolio of assets. The firm, whose self-assessed risk of failure, had been calculated to be near zero had to be bailed out by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in league with fifteen banks as a way to avoid a contagion of the financial markets.

Some economic models are so narrowly framed (never mind that they lack empirical verifiability) that their applicability has little or no value in a real-world context. The founders’ own post-mortem after the LTCM collapse was that their data base had not gone back far enough to pick up all historical market perturbations. So, their mathematical pyrotechnics were one-of-a-kind but their common sense was nil. Still, there is a bumper crop of economists, notwithstanding the debacle that was LTCM, whose elegant equations are believed by many to speak to science and truth in explaining some real-world phenomenon. Worse, once a certain celebrity is achieved by the PhD economist doing the theorizing or the modeling, especially when abetted by a compliant academic or popular press, if not a Nobel committee, then the individual is venerated for his sagacity in areas far afield from his narrow-gauge expertise. This makes a burlesque of the field of economics and it should be seen as such by all Americans.

“THE CENTRAL PROBLEM OF DEPRESSION PREVENTION HAS BEEN SOLVED…”

The caption heading above was a prognostication voiced by the 1995 Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Lucas. In 2003, in his presidential address to the American Economic Association, Lucas further added that the problem, “…has in fact been solved for many decades.” Then, as if to double down on his incantation, in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse, Lucas stated he was skeptical that the economy would slip into recession or that the subprime mortgage crisis was of any more general consequence. “If we have learned anything from the past 20 years,” said Lucas, “it is that there is a lot of stability built into the real economy.”

Eugene Fama, the Nobel Laureate in Economics in 2013 is the father of the efficient-market hypothesis. The hypothesis essentially argues that it is impossible to beat the market as all of the information that is available about a stock is already baked into the price. In essence, Fama was saying that stock picking was a dart throw. So far so good except that if you take Fama’s hypothesis to heart there is no place for regulations of any kind. How could there be when everything you need to know about a stock is already known? Fama’s influence was profound. It was no coincidence that in late 2000 Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act which, for all practical purposes, deregulated derivatives and credit default swaps. Brooksley Born, a non-economist and Chairwoman of the Commodity Trading Futures Commission at the time warned of the dangers posed by the unregulated market. She was summarily slapped down, however, by Larry Summers, Secretary of the Treasury and by his mentor, the almost universally deified, Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan. Neither one of these men saw fit to rein in the gunslingers on Wall Street. Predictably, when credit markets froze in 2008 forcing the collapse of firms such as Bear Stearns, American International Group, and Lehman Brothers it was a direct result of a failure to regulate the derivatives market. At that point, the notional or face value of derivatives swirling around in the market was $683 trillion.

When asked if his efficient market hypothesis applied to housing, Fama went on to explain that: “Housing markets are less liquid, but people are very careful when they buy houses. It’s typically the biggest investment they’re going to make, so they look around very carefully and they compare prices. The bidding process is very detailed.” Fama, the brilliant economist, obviously failed to incorporate the human factor into his equations. As we have noted in a separate essay, The Service Ethic: The Ultimate Guarantor Against Moral Hazards, everyone from home buyers, to mortgage brokers, to mortgage underwriters, to regulators, to credit-rating agencies, to the Federal Reserve all had a hand in the subprime mortgage meltdown of 2007. So much, for Fama’s efficient-market hypothesis.

David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, in 2005 published the awkwardly titled, Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom? The Boom Will Not Bust and Why Property Values Will Continue to Climb through the End of the Decade – And How to Profit from Them. Lereah, as others before him, was lionized by the media and his message became both ubiquitous and indisputable.

To be fair, not every economist failed to read the housing market tea leaves. Two are noteworthy:

Robert Shiller. An economist who didn’t drink the Kool-Aid was a Nobel Laureate with Eugene Fama and Lars Peter Hansen in 2013. Shiller argued of irrational markets – not of efficient ones as his co-Nobel Prize winner Eugene Fama argued – and warned of a housing crash in 2006. Amazingly, Shiller also warned of a tech bubble just before the dot com fiasco.

Raghuram Rajan. A professor at the University of Chicago and a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India as well as Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund is credited for his prescience, when in 2005 he warned about the growing risks in financial markets. For his insight, Rajan was called a Luddite and his warnings “misguided” by Larry Summers.

“TEN THOUSAND WILL DIE PER YEAR DUE TO TAX REFORM”

British economist Lionel Robbins famously stated that the job of the economist is to report what is and not what ought to be.

It is fair to say, however, that economists then and now have failed to heed that lesson (or have chosen to ignore it) and thus theorize, not necessarily in accordance with the facts, but in accordance with their own political worldview and predispositions.

Larry Summers did more than denigrate Raghuram Rajan as a modern-day Luddite. While in a position of great influence and power during the 2008 meltdown Summers argued against a cram down that would have allowed the courts to force banks to reduce mortgage balances, cut interest rates or lengthen loan amortizations that would have helped millions of homeowners. Sadly, Summers’ signal policy achievement while in Washington was the aforementioned disaster known as the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. Long after the damage was done, President Clinton lamented that he had received the wrong advice from Summers in not regulating derivatives.

Summers is now on his high horse as an “intellectual” anti-Trump activist. When Summers proffered that ten thousand people would die as a result of the President’s tax reform package his rationale was couched in so many “what-ifs” as to be meaningless. And, when he told CNN that the tax plan will make “middle class Americans poorer” he demonstrated that he is pseudoscientific as well as incapable of rising above petty political jealousies. Summers is not alone, however, as a contemporary big mouth and wrong-headed economist.

“WE ARE LOOKING AT A GLOBAL RECESSION…”

Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman is not to be outdone for his caustic partisanship. In the aftermath of President Trump’s election Krugman assured his readers at the New York Times that the world’s stock markets would never recover. The election of such an “irresponsible, ignorant man,” said Krugman, would bring about the “the mother of all adverse effects” on the economy. “So, we are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight.” That is hardly an intelligent economic observation so much as it is unbridled animus toward the President.

The numbers, ruefully for Krugman and his acolytes, tell a different story from his apocalyptic view. During President Trump’s Administration Gross Domestic Product exceeded 3% and the unemployment rate dropped to levels not seen in decades. Consumer confidence, too, rose to historically high levels. The stock market added over $5 trillion in wealth. And, the number of Americans receiving employee bonuses, pay hikes, and increases in benefits was in excess of 2,000,000. Bumps in capital spending, and charitable contributions were also announced by companies in reaction to President Trump’s December, 2017 tax reform: AT&T, for one, announced plans to spend an additional $1 billion in capital spending in 2018; Comcast, also indicated it would spend $5 billion over the next five years; and Wells Fargo announced that it would pump $400 million into community chests in 2018.

It is clear that Krugman’s bias is such that he would rather engineer the economy according to his predilections than simply study it and objectively report on it. His mantra has been for years that America’s apparent economic success is due to the fact that “…our rich are much richer.” So much for the analytical prowess of a Nobel Laureate: a man whose ideology prompts an answer before a question has even been asked.

The Nobel committee’s vetting of Krugman’s work in economic geography was sloppy if not politically motivated. The field, including the mathematical elegance that is ascribed to Krugman, goes back for decades. What is worse, Krugman gives scant credit to those who preceded him. That is shameful.

Mathematical economist J. Barkley Rosser Jr., Professor of Economics at James Madison University, who has reviewed Krugman’s work has cited all of the previous relevant work which Krugman purposely ignored. Rosser concludes his review by stating that “if [Krugman] is indeed the emperor of the new economic geography, then he is an emperor who has no clothes.”

Other economists are more forthright about their social engineering biases. Economist Robert J. Gordon, notable among them, lays the nation’s lack of productivity growth at the feet of social factors such as the inequality between the haves and the have nots which he proposes to correct. Among the nostrums he points out in his book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, are the following: drug legalization, incarceration reform to include shorter sentencing guidelines and aggressive pardoning of people behind bars, raising the minimum wage, increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit, introducing “super bracket” tax rates for high income earners, relaxing patent and copyright laws, spending more for education, and reducing occupational licensing requirements.

That the nation’s prosperity might have been eroded through decades of government overreach, imprudent fiscal policies, sleight-of-hand monetary policies, high taxes on corporations and individuals, a vast tangle of regulations, the decay of law and order, and an assault on individual liberties seems not to have occurred to these social engineers who masquerade as objective economists.

AN INFLUENTIAL PROFESSION WITHOUT AN ETHICAL COMPASS

Do economists have a code of ethics that ensures they won’t dissemble, parse the facts, or reveal their personal biases when conducting their analyses? No, says Martha Starr, Professor of Economics at American University. As editor of the book Consequences of Economic Downturn: Beyond the Usual Economics, Professor Starr states that “Unlike almost any academic profession – statisticians, physicists, sociologists, you name it – economists have always opposed adopting an ethical code outlining how they should act.”

Professor Starr goes on to say that “A well written code of conduct could make people think hard before, for instance, accepting $135,000 in speaker’s fees from an investment bank, then giving that investment bank privileged access to the White House.” This, an obvious reference to the payment made by investment bank Goldman Sachs to White House economic adviser Larry Summers in 2008.

As I suggested at the outset, it is possible that economists can’t help but show their prejudices because economics is not a science after all. When the public interest is at stake – as it often is in the hands of macroeconomists especially – then empirical evidence and not ideology should guide the work of economists. Regardless, economists will never win the public trust unless and until they abide a professional code of ethics.

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irispublishersfashion · 4 years ago

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Iris Publishers_Journal of Textile Science & Fashion Technology (JTSFT)

Facing Textile Industry: Why Circular Design Has to Become a BA Fashion Programme and Creativity Alone is not Enough

Authored by Sabine Lettmann

Abstract

It is obvious how far fashion industry still is from being sustainable. Not only as the meaning behind the term sustainability is still discussed rather than systems are radically changed through actions. Furthermore, there still seems a ‘need’ for major incidents costing health and life to awaken the ones who seem to have little or no idea how big fashion industry’s negative impact on our planet and people is. Who only call out for change after this sort of momentum? Now, who is to blame? Companies ask consumers to take over responsibility with their buying decisions, consumers request a change in production and urge companies to amend their workways first. They act like stubborn children, arguing who has to apologize first. Both want to keep up having a right being the last in changing behaviour for the better. An encounter of resistance with no real outcome. Governments juggle in between with an unpromising try to please economy and consumers at the same time. Their actions end up with minor consequences for industry, being closer to window dressing than to influencing urgent matter. And consumers are again left with making choices, mainly driven by costs or brand image. To speed up a global shift in fashion industry and to reduce never ending discussions about accountabilities without little progression, everyone involved in decision making processes has to act now and get into Thunberg mode. As knowledge is key, only by additionally looking into higher education systems can holistically be improved and evoke a major change in mindsets and habits.

Keywords: Fashion education; Circular economy; Joint activism; Academic challenge

Introduction

Being a huge labor market with more than 60 million employees worldwide [1] fashion industry with its current linear system faces the task to not only protect human interests, for example through enforcement of international applicable human rights. Furthermore, the aim has to be a drastic change of production and retail methods and with its implementation the immediate prevention of natural resource’s exploitation. From an ecologic and social perspective, standards have to be redefined in a way that allows space for mindful economy as well. They have to be consequently aspired at interdisciplinary scale and effectuated in all individual parts with the aim of an optimum approach towards a circular fashion system.

Stop Calling It Sustainable

Too many certificates focusing on too many different issues spam the textiles market and irritate consumers. Finding a definition for the term “sustainability” dominates the constant debate in and around fashion industry arguing which amount of sustainability is “acceptable”. Even Oxford Dictionary leaves it open by defining sustainability as “the property of being environmentally sustainable; the degree to which a process or enterprise is able to be maintained or continued while avoiding the long-term depletion of national resources” [2]. In most discussions the differentiation between either a focus on environment or people included in the production cycle becomes the main point. This makes it easy to lose other aspects out of sight, especially as the structure behind fashion is complex on multiple layers and split into tiniest sections. As past behaviour shows, the impact of changing only individual parameters of the production cycle is not big enough. Rather than healing through this strategy, industry still seems to turn into a massive construct growing exponentially through exploitation, pollution and social imbalance into an uncontrollable monster. But there is hope.

Healthcare App

Sustainable fashion slowly loses its 80s image of eco fashion (“Oekomode”) and receives acceptance as part of the broader luxury fashion scene, as press coverage and special issues of high fashion magazines have shown, like Elle UK in September 2018. Green is the new black and awareness for grievances on consumer side raises. Customers demand changes and use their voice to draw brands into being transparent with their actions, not only through initiatives like Fashion Revolution. Violence of worker’s rights, humiliating its labor force, is known as a result of common fashion practices. Indeed, a deeper reflection of production conditions can lead to rejective buying behaviour when consumers favor other brands with fair attitudes. Individual brands and start-ups question the existing with their approach to design as well as the use of alternative sales strategies through crowdfunding campaigns hoping to finance manufacturing in advance. Design with purpose shines a light on thinking outside the box and places the designer into the centre of being a problem solver rather than simply being a product creator. On top of that, American Vogue dedicated an extensive article to the future of US fashion design graduates within sustainable design [3]. There is a lot of buzz going on.

Fashion research is initiated to build scientific foundation finding potential solutions on a larger scale, as happened earlier this year. Following Fixing Fashion [4] report, British Environmental Audit Committee proposed a 1p charge per garment to secure better clothing collection and sorting. A disappointing antagonistic result, when UK government did not follow their advice and lobby won again. Not realizing there will not be much economy left once all resources have been used and the planet has nothing more to offer. In August 2019, at recent G7 summit, a number of 32 leaders of fashion houses like Burberry, Prada or Inditex came together to unveil their so-called Fashion Pact to attendant heads of state. The Fashion Pact’s objectives are to

• Stop global warming

• Restore biodiversity

• Protect the oceans

Its targets are based on scientific research, which means there is less room for individual interpretation and companies are less likely finding excuses to wriggle themselves out of set aims. The Fashion Pact aspires to be adopted by 20% of the global fashion industry. One might ask what happens with the remaining part of industry? As participant Kering states on their website: “These commitments are designed to be embraced by every company involved and backed by cross-sector initiatives, along with the deployment of innovation accelerators. (…) A collective endeavor by its nature, the Fashion Pact is open to any company that wants to help to fundamentally transform the practices of the fashion and textile industry, and to meet the environmental challenges of our century” [5]. Being a warm welcome to those who are already interested in changing business structures or feel society’s pressure, it is not more than a loose invitation lacking real obligation. Furthermore, some of the objectives reach out an implementation only by 2050, achievement of net-zero carbon emissions for example. Current research on the contrary states there are only a couple of years left to turn climate change around, whether it will be 10, 15 or 20 years. How serious can Fashion Pact be about changing the system in such a toxic slowness?

All these activities are facing the right direction, but it is still not enough as we are running out of time to reduce irreversible damages on various levels. Decision maker’s mindsets have not significantly changed yet, there could be tens of thousands and more following the Fashion Pact commitment. Unless legislation fully embraces their own part in forcing companies to deliver a different outcome, people and environment rely on voluntary, individual activism. If people involved in fashion industry put their animosities aside, collaboration is seen as a benefit of actively finding solutions and humanity becomes the centre of all, mindful design can be created. When good design is automatically defined through its healthy and environmentally friendly background, there is no need to call it sustainable, but norm.

Alternative Approaches as Driver for Change

More and more internationally active brands integrate sustainability on a long-term basis into their brand DNA. In doing so, not only the aim of ethical goals and transparency are taken into account, furthermore a sustainable oriented production can be driven by economic reasons as luxury-goods company Kering exemplarily shows. In 2010 the company created Environmental Profit & Loss (EP&L) [6], a system to envision the ecological impact of their production chain. Transformed into a monetary equivalent these are evaluable within Kering Group. Decisions for the entire production chain based on economic knowledge can be optimized and used to improve production from a more holistic point of view.

Business profiles like Estonian brand Reet Aus put emphasis on industrial upcycling and draw on existing pre-consumer waste from conventional productions. Costs for material invest stay minimal. At the same time Reet Aus keeps the company’s ecological footprint in relation to usage of energy and water small and reduces with this business model the waste problem within their manufacturing facilities [7]. Their success in using waste as a source indicates how the idea of tackling one problem in fashion industry can bring benefit on an economical level as well.

Another innovative outcome from Dutch biotech company Inspidere BV is the economically viable method to extract raw material from cow manure, which is turned into new biodegradable products on a basis of regenerated cellulose processing. By using dung, methane gas emission is reduced and contamination of water and soil through intensive farming is prevented. Raw material can be used to create fibers or bioplastic for example. These can be woven into fabrics and depict a circular version with same or similar qualities of other cellulose based materials like cotton [8].

Symbiosis of Radical Thinking and Fashion as Manifestation of a New Avant-Garde

Fashion design always had a broader context and has not only been about creating some beautiful shells for a long time. It has history, political and social impact and the potential to tell all kinds of stories linked to its aesthetics. To become a designer in the 21st century means being progressive and visionary, to think critically and holistically as well as to bring in empathy and team spirit to continue good storytelling. The young generation has to take over responsibility not only for their own wellbeing or their direct environment, but also has to cover it initiatively for all people involved in the entire development process. It requires to risk progress in relation to low and high-tech, preservation of textile heritage and building upon both an economic foundation for fashion avant-garde with a new future-oriented meaning, raising niche design to the new status quo. Innovative ideas empower change. Letting these become norm and grow into business is a challenge that requires knowledge and awareness.

The constantly growing market of innovations, wearables and circular systems asks for designers with expert knowhow not limited to aesthetic aspects. They have to understand the symbiosis between all fashion disciplines, their cross over and links to economy. Advancing with their own ideas and preparing them efficiently for a bigger market can only happen where knowledge exists. Cooperation with biologists and chemists have successfully powered sustainable developments like Spider Silk or dyeing processes without polluting water. These alternatives picture only a small section but show the scope for textile innovation and progressive opportunities.

There might never be the 100% perfection of what industry should deliver to people and planet, but the end result should always get as close as possible. Looking into design systems circular economy offers the best possible approach to smart product creation. Its three core columns to

• Design out waste and pollution

• Keep products and materials in use

• Regenerate natural systems

transit a linear economy into structures which build economic, natural, and social capital [9] as Ellen MacArthur Foundation explains. Embedded into the concept of Cradle to Cradle, developed by Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart and William McDonough in the 1990s, it can and should be the starting point of every design work. Each product would then either follow a biological cycle (consumption goods) providing nourishment for nature after use or a technical cycle (services) where components circulate through industrial systems to be recovered, remanufactured or recycled [10].

In terms of fashion this development process can be implemented in various ways. Not only through the use of better materials which have been made with an underlying principle of Cradle to Cradle, but further require the shift from linear retail structures to closed loop offers. Other options are for example zero waste pattern cutting approaches. With this method material waste is designed out in first place, whereas the designer’s affection to a specific aesthetic has to melt with the possibilities in managing pattern cutting. A second option is design for extended usage. Designers are challenged to think beyond point of sales, when consumers enter the stage and garments have to perform. Being able to create an emotional bond between consumer and product, for example through good design and adjustment options of a garment to evolving needs, can help to keep garments in longer use. Above all, the main focus of creating circular structures lies in its holistic approach requesting the designer to think about their garment’s journey and asking what is going to happen with products after consumers decide not to use them anymore. A thought process which is usually taught less at fashion schools.

Fashion Graduates: Only Creative or Already Competitively Viable?

For sure awareness for problems in the textile sector raises with employment. But lack of time, external pressure or disinterest stand against a systematic improvement and solution development. In addition, most companies still do not actively examine the production cycle from a holistic point of view and draw their consequences from their findings. Extensive perspectives and various approaches to sustainable practices lack completely or are for a number of reasons not desirable.

Even though there is an international industry demand within large and smaller companies for a new generation of designers, familiar with sustainable and innovative production, there are still not enough fashion schools existing with an intense focus on these subjects. Only a few of the enormous numbers of institutions worldwide offer a specific education with an eye towards circular economy requirements. Single modules cover material innovation or systems thinking, often only included in general fashion design programmes. Some programmes reach out to MA students or are set up as short courses, both following an already existing interest in sustainable specialization. They rarely come as a full circular design BA course, dedicated to the future of fashion. This represents a gross disbalance between graduate numbers and the demand for progressive change, as education should always be ahead of time instead of shuffling behind. Fashion schools face industry development, they will have to adapt their education content to the requirements of the 21st century as Li Edelkoort already stated in her talk “Anti-Fashion: A Manifesto for the Next Decade” in 2016 [11].

Right from the beginning of their education students should learn how to create biodiverse systems in a way to preserve resources and further limit harming influences on environment and people. Knowledge is key and commonly known as the power for change. If knowledge is not provided – how shall students be able to make healthier choices? Challenging implementation of sustainable, circular practices pushes none more so than student’s creativity and their individual expression. At the same time, students should draw inspiration from restrictions, celebrate innovative solutions and add value to the diverse parts of the production chain rather than diminishing it. How shall educational institutions ever see what these designers are capable of if they do not set the frame for circularity? Students bring in the will and ability to learn. Embracing responsibility and finding the willpower to change the industry, from sourcing raw materials to defining end of life solutions through innovative thinking and collaborative activism helps them to become strong and resilient individuals. Not stagnant in glorious 90s attitudes but fit for a labor market in motion.

Furthermore, international education standards should not only be defined by what industry already has or customers buy. They should be developed from a more cohesive approach tackling urgent ecological matters like climate change or social challenges as roots for future migration movements. Already education has to ignite a consequent durable and progressive approach to design. Only in following the richness of future facing strategies a young generation of designers will satisfy the increasing demands of fashion industry and respect the world we live in. When entering life after university, they will bring enough knowledge to radically rethink the system and raise their chances for employment. The better they are educated and the higher their qualification in interdisciplinary knowledge is, the earlier they find answers to pressing questions on a global scale and influence their environment for good. A win-win situation for students, the wider industry and at last fashion schools, having satisfied alumni.

For More Open Access Journals in Iris Publishers Please click on: https://irispublishers.com/ For More Articles in Journal of Textile Science & Fashion Technology https://irispublishers.com/jtsft/

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deniscollins · 4 years ago

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The Short Tenure and Abrupt Ouster of Banking’s Sole Black C.E.O.

Credit Suisse bank in Switzerland had no black employees when it hired Tidjane Thiam as its CEO in 2014. He would make the firm profitable while enduring racist comments and activities at work. Originally from the Ivory Coast, at a shareholders meeting, his background was denigrated as “third world. If you were an upper level manager what actions, if any, would you take to create a more welcoming environment? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decisions?

Last November, Urs Rohner, the chairman of the board of Credit Suisse, had a party at a Zurich restaurant to celebrate his 60th birthday. Among the scores of friends, family and business associates who gathered, attendees say, there was a single Black guest: Tidjane Thiam, the bank’s chief executive.

The festivities had a Studio 54 theme, with 1970s costumes and hired entertainers. Mr. Thiam watched as a Black performer came onstage dressed as a janitor, and began to dance to music while sweeping the floor. Mr. Thiam excused himself and left the room. His partner and another couple at his table, including the chief executive of the British drug company GSK, followed.

Eventually they returned to the party, only to be astonished again. A group of Mr. Rohner’s friends took the stage to perform their own musical number, all wearing Afro wigs. (Mr. Rohner declined to comment on the events, which were described by three guests.)

For Mr. Thiam, now 58, the party was just one in a series of painful incidents that shaped his five years atop Credit Suisse, when he was the only Black chief executive in the top tier of banking. Some moments were shocking, others disturbing; most had to do with tensions around being Black in a predominantly white industry and an overwhelmingly white city.

A tall, reserved, bespectacled polyglot, Mr. Thiam did the job he was hired to do: He made Credit Suisse profitable again after a long decline. But he never had to stop fighting for acceptance and respect, both within the bank and in Switzerland generally. At a shareholders meeting, his background was denigrated as “third world.” A subordinate purchased the home next to his, which was taller and looked directly into Mr. Thiam’s windows. The Zurich press rode him for not appearing sufficiently Swiss.

Now the number of Black chief executives at the highest level of banking is back to zero. In February, Credit Suisse’s board forced Mr. Thiam’s resignation, after a deeply embarrassing surveillance scandal erupted on his watch. When Mr. Thiam’s No. 2 admitted he had ordered investigators to spy on employees, the chief executive found himself with few allies and no leverage to survive.

His ouster attracted remarkably little notice outside Zurich, coming as it did months before a global reckoning with systemic bias, and occurring 4,000 miles from Wall Street. But interviews with 11 people who worked closely with Mr. Thiam at Credit Suisse, and five other close contacts — including clients, friends, family and investors — suggest that race was an ever-present factor throughout his tenure, and that it helped create the conditions for his startlingly swift departure.

Whether it’s labeled racism, xenophobia or some other form of intolerance, what’s clear is that Mr. Thiam never stopped being seen in Switzerland as someone who didn’t belong.

After Mr. Thiam’s resignation, he gave a news conference at the bank’s headquarters. “Every second, I’ve done the best I could,” he said. “I am who I am. I cannot change who I am.” He added: “It’s the essence of injustice to hold against somebody what they are.”

‘The most important thing in life is not to die’

Tidjane Thiam (pronounced tee-JOHN tee-YAHM) was born in Ivory Coast to an elite family active in politics. One relative led the country’s successful bid for independence from France in 1960 and became its first president. Another became the prime minister of Senegal.

The youngest of seven, Mr. Thiam was raised Muslim. His mother, Marietou, could not write but parented with perfectionist standards. “Be gallant, respect the staff that worked for us — on this, she was ruthless — do not lie, be punctual, do not say bad words, show solidarity,” said Yamousso Thiam, Mr. Thiam’s youngest sister, in an interview.

Their father, Amadou, was a journalist, a cabinet minister and an ambassador to Morocco. When Mr. Thiam was an infant, Amadou was incarcerated for three years on charges of plotting against the Ivorian government. The allegations were later invalidated, and the Thiam children would long remember the injustice — as they did the lesson their father took from narrowly surviving a coup attempt in 1971, with a gunshot wound to the hand. “The most important thing in life,” Amadou would joke, “is not to die.”

When Mr. Thiam was 6, and conspicuously uninterested in school, one of his brothers asked the Ivorian president to intervene. He summoned Mr. Thiam and his parents and reamed them out. “I remember it as if it were yesterday,” Mr. Thiam recalled in a 2015 interview. “There was a kind of family court, where there was an indictment: ‘He must go to school. The era of illiterate African princes and lazy kings, it is over.’”

Mr. Thiam quickly excelled, and in 1984 he became the first Ivorian to graduate from Paris’s prestigious École Polytechnique. After earning a degree in engineering and a master’s in business, Mr. Thiam worked at the World Bank, then in the Paris office of McKinsey.

In 1994, Mr. Thiam returned to Ivory Coast to work in public service. A few years later, he was promoted to minister of planning and development — but when a military coup deposed the president, he refused a role in the new government, and, fearing for his life, he returned to Europe and the private sector.

He ran the European operations of Aviva, a British insurer, and in 2009 was named chief executive of the British financial services firm Prudential — the first Black person to run one of the London Stock Exchange’s hundred largest companies. During his tenure, Prudential’s profits doubled and its stock price tripled, and a BBC host described Mr. Thiam as having “soared through top-flight institutions with a heady cocktail of crystal-clear intellect, fizzing ambition, and a healthy dash of charm.”

Mr. Rohner, the chairman of Credit Suisse, approached Mr. Thiam about the possibility of running the bank in 2014. Mr. Thiam was skeptical, he later told Euromoney magazine: It was a daunting role, and he wasn’t sure the bank was serious about hiring him. (Earlier in his career, he’d told a headhunter that he wouldn’t travel for a job interview unless the prospective employer knew he was “Black, African, Francophone and 6 foot 4.”) He insisted on lengthy discussions with Mr. Rohner before agreeing to take the job.

“The chairman tells me we had 19 meetings,” Mr. Thiam said in the Euromoney interview, adding: “I actually said no twice.”

‘Sink down to the third world’

At the time, Credit Suisse was in a deep funk. Years after the financial crisis, it was still heavily dependent on costly trading strategies, and its wealth management unit trailed UBS, the bank’s archrival in Zurich. Investors were impatient with its languishing stock price. On the March 2015 day when Mr. Thiam’s hiring was announced, Credit Suisse shares rose 7 percent.

His restructuring plan involved thousand of layoffs and paring back sales and trading, making many employees nervous for their jobs. It was an executive he promoted, however, who gave Mr. Thiam one of his first unsettling experiences in Switzerland.

To bolster Credit Suisse’s private wealth management business, he had tapped Iqbal Khan, 39, who had been born in Pakistan but moved to Switzerland as a child. The two were discussing strategy one day late in 2015, according to people familiar with the incident, when Mr. Khan announced that he’d bought the house next door to Mr. Thiam’s in Herrliberg, a suburb with lofty prices and views of Lake Zurich. Mr. Thiam asked Mr. Khan if he was serious. Mr. Khan said yes.

Later, Mr. Thiam told friends and colleagues that the news disturbed him. Fiercely private, he was going through a divorce, and he was leery of a subordinate having a view of his low-slung property. As a C.E.O., he didn’t relish the idea of being literally looked down upon.

Mr. Thiam made an effort to embrace Zurich society. He visited Swiss business leaders, spoke on panels convened by Swiss media and attended an annual spring festival in traditional Swiss garb: a Napoleon-style hat and matching navy cloak. But before long, aspects of his lifestyle began to irritate the locals. With Credit Suisse making a show of cutting costs, the Swiss press began to catalog Mr. Thiam’s first-class air travel and stays in presidential suites. One column accused him of taking helicopters to events and traveling with an entourage, calling him “King Thiam.”

In a country nearly synonymous with wealth — the home of the Swiss bank account and six-figure wristwatches — such anti-elitism is a little difficult to parse. Expatriates who have long worked in Switzerland say the Swiss have a fine-grained aversion to public displays of wealth, and regard those who flaunt it as outsiders. One foreign billionaire in the country, who did not want to be named discussing the issue, said he had banned luxury cars from his company garage.

Others were more direct about labeling Mr. Thiam an outsider. At Credit Suisse’s annual investor meeting in 2016, a shareholder named Ingeborg Ginsberg, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, questioned Mr. Thiam’s background.

“The bank is called Suisse — Credit Suisse,” Ms. Ginsberg said in German. Referencing Brady Dougan, Mr. Thiam’s American predecessor, she added: “I asked him last year if he doesn’t have a conflict of interest. I ask the same question of Mr. Thiam, if he can understand me: Does he not have a conflict of interest? I heard him mention the third world — is that really what we want? That a good, solid, Swiss bank sinks to the level of the third world?”

On the dais, where Mr. Thiam sat next to Mr. Rohner, their shock was evident.

Mr. Rohner interrupted. “You should not make such accusations, without declaration, into the room,” he said, adding: “We do not always take foreigners, we always choose the best man for the job, and we have found that man.”

A feeling of: You cleaned up the mess; now leave

By 2018, Credit Suisse’s business had improved substantially. The bank was again solidly profitable, and the wealth division had overtaken UBS in some areas. Mr. Thiam had resolved legal issues that preceded his tenure, settling a major U.S. case for an amount less than Credit Suisse had expected. Euromoney named him banker of the year.

Mr. Thiam was by now well-known in Zurich, where pedestrians on the Bahnhofstrasse would sometimes shake his hand or ask for selfies. Much of the attention was innocuous, but people who worked with him at the time say the constant exposure wore him down.

In predominantly white Zurich, a city of just 400,000, his powerful role and his skin color made him stand out. Mr. Thiam stopped driving his Porsche Cayenne to work, fearing that any run-in with another motorist, even over a parking spot, would turn into a media incident. On the tram, his adult sons were often the only Black riders — and the first to be asked for their tickets. Merely by appearing at a local nightclub, they could trigger gossip. Mr. Thiam felt that he was under a microscope; when his sister planned a surprise visit, an overeager Zurich hotel worker noticed her booking and shared the details with Mr. Thiam’s office, ruining the occasion.

At another point, during a business trip from Zurich to Geneva, he was held up by a customs worker who demanded to see his passport, even after Mr. Thiam protested that he was traveling within Switzerland. He produced the document and was permitted to leave the airport, but instructed a staffer to lodge a formal complaint about the experience. (Each of these incidents was described by multiple people.)

Things were beginning to sour inside Credit Suisse, too. Despite an improved balance sheet, Credit Suisse’s shares were down, hurt by stock offerings Mr. Thiam had deemed necessary to strengthen capital reserves. He told associates he felt underappreciated by board members, some of whom faulted him for Credit Suisse’s lack of growth in China.

In August 2018, a local financial publication wrote that Mr. Thiam was “feted abroad, unloved in Switzerland,” adding: “Prone to imperious behavior and prickly to criticism, Thiam has lost grasp of the Swiss sense of proportionality.” News articles often drew belittling comments. One reader of an especially critical Zurich blog called him a “fruit salesman” and added, “Go home, fool!” Another wrote: “I hope he sends his money home. Then we can classify it as development aid.”

Mr. Thiam would often say that given his family’s brushes with military insurrections, he wasn’t bothered by bad press and corporate drama. But as the year wore on, Mr. Thiam confided to associates his fear that the board wanted him out. Their unspoken message, he said, was: You cleaned up the mess. Now leave. It’s a pattern known as the “glass cliff” — the tendency of institutions to install women and minorities as leaders only when there’s big trouble, and then shunt them aside.

Mr. Thiam was closer to the precipice than he knew. In early 2019, he hosted a holiday party at his home. Mr. Khan had by then moved in next door, and Mr. Thiam had planted trees to obstruct the view. At the party, Mr. Khan got into a heated discussion with Mr. Thiam’s partner about the landscaping, upsetting her, and the two men stepped downstairs for a private word. Mr. Khan quickly left the scene.

Neither executive will say exactly what transpired. But later that year, Mr. Khan shocked Zurich by decamping to UBS. Wealth management had been the most successful aspect of Mr. Thiam’s tenure, and now his star executive would be working for the bank’s biggest competitor.

Spy games

That September, Mr. Khan and his wife were driving to lunch at a Zurich restaurant when they noticed they were being followed. Mr. Khan parked and confronted the man, who turned out to be a detective from a Swiss firm called Investigo. An argument ensued, during which each party has since accused the other of becoming physically aggressive. Mr. Khan filed a police report, and both Credit Suisse and the canton opened investigations.

“Spygate,” as the Swiss media called it, was a sensation. At Credit Suisse, the chief operating officer, Pierre-Olivier Bouée, admitted to ordering the surveillance, saying he had suspected Mr. Khan of trying to poach employees. He resigned. Mr. Thiam, who denied any knowledge of the spy games, was cleared. But Mr. Bouée was not just his No. 2; he had followed Mr. Thiam to the bank from Prudential, and the chief executive’s name was deeply tarnished by association.

The incident was a debacle for all of Credit Suisse, an institution that was a source of great national pride. A contract worker who had been involved in hiring Investigo died by suicide. Mr. Rohner felt obliged to publicly apologize to the Khans and the Swiss public.

Soon, more accusations surfaced, including that Credit Suisse’s H.R. chief had also been surveilled. Late in December, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority — known as Finma — started an inquiry into Credit Suisse’s use of investigators to monitor employees.

The repercussions of the scandal progressed with remarkable speed. On Jan. 31, 2020, Bloomberg reported that Mr. Rohner was looking for a new chief executive.

Three large shareholders — two American, one British — publicly came to Mr. Thiam’s defense. David Herro, a top executive at Harris Associates, a Chicago fund, suggested that the opposition to Mr. Thiam was racially motivated. Appearing on Bloomberg Television, Mr. Herro attributed the strife to “envy from competitors — or perhaps something else, given that Mr. Thiam looks a little bit different than the typical Swiss banker. Either one of these two rationales behind these attacks against him, to me, are extremely distasteful.”

But Mr. Thiam had too little support in his corner. On Feb. 7, he resigned. A Swiss member of his executive team was named his successor.

As chief executive, Mr. Thiam was responsible for everything at Credit Suisse, and the surveillance activity was widely viewed as despicable. But it’s an open question whether a C.E.O. from a different background might have survived. Other bank leaders have dodged far greater scandals.

In 2012, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, failed to rein in a trader, nicknamed the London Whale, who lost the bank more than $6 billion and triggered more than $1 billion in fines. Last week, in a different matter, the bank agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in fines for illegally manipulating the markets for precious metals and Treasury products. Mr. Dimon remains Wall Street’s longest-serving C.E.O.

In 2016, in a case with striking similarities to what transpired at Credit Suisse, the chief executive of Barclays tried to unmask a whistle-blower, at one point asking an internal security team to intervene. British regulators fined the C.E.O., James E. Staley, with little fanfare. Separately, in 2019, Mr. Staley was revealed to have had ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier accused of sex trafficking young girls, including a visit to Mr. Epstein while he was incarcerated. Mr. Staley is still at the top of Barclays.

Before he departed Credit Suisse, Mr. Thiam had a chance to present his final set of earnings results to the press. Toward the end of the question-and-answer session, a local reporter spoke up.

“The strategy was good,” the reporter said, but the style “did not speak to Swiss mentality. This is my question: Would it be different in England or another —”

“I am who I am,” Mr. Thiam interrupted. “The same way I was born with a right hand, I cannot change being right-handed.” He added, “If people don’t like right-handed people, then I’m in trouble. That’s all I can say, because I can’t become left-handed.”

Colleagues sitting near him swore they saw Mr. Thiam’s eyes glistening.

The investigation continues

Mr. Thiam remained in Zurich, awaiting a formal interview with Finma. It was a time of anguish, say close associates, because he urgently wanted to visit his son, Bilal, who was suffering from cancer in a Los Angeles hospital. Late in April, he flew to Bilal’s bedside. He died in early May, at 24.

Since then, Mr. Thiam has been consulting on virus relief efforts in Africa, where he serves as special envoy of the African Union on Covid-19. He has also re-engaged with politics in Ivory Coast. In August, Mr. Thiam stoked rumors that he was considering a presidential bid with a video message commemorating the country’s 60th year of independence, in which he urged Ivorians to embrace a “reconciled and fraternal” spirit.

On Sept. 2, having concluded that Credit Suisse’s surveillance activities may have violated Swiss “supervisory law,” Finma announced that its inquiry had been escalated from an investigation to an enforcement matter. An agency spokesman said that the focus was on the bank itself, not individuals.

For his sister Yamousso, one question about the Swiss still lingers. “I would be curious to know,” she said, “if today they’d finally have the honesty to recognize that seeing a Black man at the top of one of their most prestigious companies was unbearable.”

#Racism #credit suisse

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