Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
The power of cartography for advocacy in Panama's indigenous communities
26-year-old Carlos Doviaza is a self-taught cartographer, but his maps are making a real impact among indigenous communities in Panama. An indigenous person himself, Doviaza feared that these communities, which make up 12 percent of Panama’s population, would be disproportionately affected by the Read More...
What is the "motherhood penalty" and how can we get rid of it?
When discussing the gender pay gap, the idea that women take more time off after the birth of the child tends to come up. But what’s left out of the conversation is the way that women who become mothers, regardless of whether they take time off or not, are paid differently than men who become Read More...
Volvo announces 6-month parental leave for all employees
Professional policy changes like recognizing care work and supporting equal pay are critical steps for promoting gender equality in the workplace. Another influential policy is generous parental leave for all parents. Volvo recognizes the value of parental leave and has announced that it will offer Read More...
Spain set to pilot four-day work week program
Back in December, we shared how Spain was considering a plan for a nationwide four-day workweek. Now, led by the country’s Más País party, officials have laid out a plan for a pilot program in which companies can partake in a four-day workweek with minimal risk. The €50m project provides Read More...
Australians can now trade extra solar power for cold beer
In what they believe to be the world’s first, Asahi Group’s Carlton and United Breweries, an Australian beer maker, is now offering Victorian Bitter to households with rooftop solar energy to spare. The brewery has already installed solar panels on its Melbourne brewery and is purchasing Read More...
Meet Samantha Flores: The activist fighting loneliness among LGBTQ seniors
Many elderly people face loneliness and isolation, an issue that people of all ages will understand better having now experienced the social restrictions of the pandemic. For the elderly who identify with the LGBTQ community and came of age in a different era, the isolation can be even worse. Many Read More...
New York’s cannabis legalization puts social justice front and center
The latest state to join the growing list of states that have legalized recreational cannabis use is New York. Signed into law this week, the bill makes recreational cannabis available for purchase and legal possession in 18 months when the state draws up regulations surrounding its Read More...
These organizations are empowering communities with bike education
Many cities have embraced expanded bike infrastructure as a green transportation solution which also allows people to safely get outside during the pandemic. Bike popularity has skyrocketed over the last year and for many communities, bicycles are also a vehicle for empowerment and Read More...
UCLA Archive of Healing promotes and protects indigenous folk medicine
As western medicine expands, we've lost sight of some of the natural healing methods that indigenous communities have used for thousands of years. This ancient medicinal wisdom which humanity relied on for thousands of years before the institutionalization of medicine is often overlooked, Read More...
This app helps young professionals maintain their hair and their health
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Thanks to Michael DeVore, financially strapped college kids won’t have to go to a job interview with their hair in disarray. Back in 2017, DeVore, an alum of the historically Black Claflin University in South Carolina, was struck with the ingenious idea of Read More...