The Cost Of The Iran War And Why Single Mothers May Feel Inflation First. Plus: Inside The Secret Language Of Work |
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Thursday marked Equal Pay Day—the point in the “new” year to which all women must work in order to earn what white men earned in the prior calendar year. That “all women” caveat is important: When you break down the data by groups, you can see that the pay gap is even larger for mothers and women of color. To wit: Mothers’ Equal Pay day is August 6 this year, while Black Women’s Equal Pay day is July 21, Latina Equal Pay day is October 8, and Native Women’s Equal Pay day is November 19.
As Forbes senior contributor Kim Elsesser notes in this piece, researchers have been trying to determine the cause of the pay gap for years. And while some answers have been found (caregiving, occupational choices and outright discrimination are among the reasons the pay gap exists), Elsesser points to a collection of new studies that can deepen our understanding of pay disparities between men and women.
I won’t reveal every last datapoint—you’ll have to read her story for that!—but I will highlight one of the findings that particularly caught my eye. According to new research published in the Human Resource Management journal, women are often penalized, financially, when they team up with other women. The same is not true for men (men actually benefit financially from working in all-male groups), but the researchers found that women working in all-women groups earn less than men working in all-male groups AND less than women working solo.
“When women work together, people often assume they are teaming up to challenge men or change the rules, which can make others feel threatened—even if that’s not true,” says Mallory Decker, lead author of the study. “That perceived threat of collective action can lead decision-makers to value and pay all-women’s groups less, while all-men’s groups are seen as normal and beneficial, resulting in higher pay.”
If this infuriates you… good. It’s easy to become numb to the pay gap (and the wealth gap, and the funding gap), because we talk about it so damn much. But maybe the first steps towards lasting change is getting a little angry, shaking off the numbness, and asking real questions of your own organization and its pay practices.
Exclusive Forbes Analysis: The Hidden Cost Of The Iran War And Why Single Mothers May Feel Inflation First
The conflict between the U.S. and Iran has disrupted oil supplies moving through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical shipping routes for energy. As the conflict has escalated, oil prices surged above $100 per barrel, sending gasoline prices sharply higher and reviving fears of inflation. Disruptions to global shipping routes have also raised the cost of fertilizer which is an essential agricultural input. These kinds of disruptions can increase the likelihood that food prices could climb as well. For households already navigating tight budgets, even modest price increases can compound quickly—and they are especially hard on single mothers, who are already among the most financially vulnerable groups in the United States. Nearly one in four single-mother families lives in poverty, a rate more than four times higher than married-couple households.
ICYMI: News Of The Week
In an era where "chaos is inevitable," how do the world’s biggest brands maintain trust with consumers? PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada joined the Forbes C-Suite Unscripted podcast to discuss the critical intersection of AI and enterprise resilience. She also revealed why she thinks it’s important to not just get 8 hours of sleep, but talk about it publicly, and dished on how M&Ms (yes, the candy) once helped her make an important life decision.
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have been a fixture of corporate America since the 1970s. Yet in recent months, companies have faced legal pressure and sweeping DEI rollbacks that have put ERGs and the people who depend on them directly in the crosshairs.
In late 2025 and early 2026, the FDA removed the “black box” warning label found on certain menopausal hormone therapy products, including estrogen patches. The removal of this warning paired with a surge in demand for medications for perimenopause and menopause has resulted in a shortage of estrogen patches, leaving many patients scrambling. Dr. Nesreen Hermes, a family medicine doctor in Illinois who regularly sees patients for perimenopause and menopausal symptoms, joined ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath to discuss.
Also in late 2025 and beginning of 2026, the Department of Justice released millions of materials related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has been a topic of national conversation for years now, but Tarana Burke, the founder of the #MeToo movement, thinks something is missing from the dialogue. Burke recently joined "Forbes Newsroom" to explain what America gets wrong about Jeffrey Epstein.
1. Restructure your workplace culture. Toxic masculine workplace norms—stoicism, suppressed emotion, linking long hours with commitment—drive employee turnover in roughly 3 out of every 10 toxic workplace situations. Follow these steps to evolve from old norms and create a new culture.
2. Learn the secret language of work. “The ‘secret language’ is a very subtle, razor-thin line that highly powerful communicators walk beautifully,” says Erin McGoff, author of The Secret Language of Work. “It’s where they’re confident without being cocky, assertive without being arrogant and direct without being rude.”
3. Handle the impact of tax-season stress on your relationship. When it comes to couples and finances, tax season stress often triggers financial conflict, money arguments and money stress. Money anxiety is especially high when these times of economic uncertainty coincide with ongoing geopolitical instability, including the Iran conflict causing sharp increases in energy prices, impacting the cost of gas, food and transportation. The good news is that there are strategies to employ to resolve money conflicts during tax season.
OpenAI made a splash last September with its standalone Sora app for AI video creation, which users initially swarmed to create silly memes, but the AI company announced this week that Sora was shutting down. Roughly how much did Forbes estimate OpenAI was losing on Sora daily?
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