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.
17-year-old develops app to bring the magic of movies to young deaf viewers
For deaf viewers, open captioning makes movies and television more accessible, but for younger viewers who cannot read very quickly, subtitles aren’t very helpful. Fortunately, a new app, developed by 17-year-old student Mariella Satow, is making children’s movies more accessible with sign Read More...
Travel company discontinues bookings with captive whale or dolphin shows
Marine biologists and activists are increasingly calling for the end to dolphins and whales held in captivity, especially for entertainment purposes, as these environments do not give them the space, social connection, and mental stimulation their complex brains need to thrive. Captive sea Read More...
New Navy ship named after gay rights leader Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay candidates elected to public office, but before he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978, he was forced out of the Navy for his sexual orientation. Milk served in the Navy for four years, but was forced to resign because he was gay. Read More...
Ireland to become 15th European country to ban fur farming
Minks, foxes, weasels, and other furry friends can breathe a collective sigh of relief—Ireland is to go ahead with its fur farming ban, which will be enforced in 2022. This makes Ireland the 15th European country to do so. Ruth Coppinger, a politician from the People Before Profit/Solidarity Read More...
The Botanical Bus bridges a medical gap for California farmworkers
According to the 2020 COVID-19 Farmworker Study, 59 percent of all farmworkers in California have no health insurance and cite cost and distrust in the authorities, government, and the medical system as a deterrent. This issue has only become more urgent and been exacerbated by the pandemic, but Read More...
Philadelphia will no longer pull drivers over for low-level infractions
Last week, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed the Driving Equity Act, making it the first major city in the US to ban low-level traffic stops. The law, which will go into effect in early 2022, will also require city police to collect and publicly release data on traffic stops. Multiple studies Read More...
Book Excerpt: 'Aspire Higher' - Becoming a solutionary and upholding your truest values
“Being a solutionary will make you feel even better than being an astute constructive decision-maker, because you’re taking others’ feelings, concerns, and ideas into account when crafting your solutions and actions.” - Ken Lindner As we head into the holiday season, the themes of love, Read More...
Study: Collaborative rewards make women more competitive at work
According to new research from the University of Arizona, the key to closing the wage gap between men and women might be changing how we incentivize workers. The new study finds that women are more likely to take competitive risks at work when they are offered the opportunity to share their Read More...
Easy-to-repair Fairphone raises the bar for sustainable smartphone design
Current smartphone manufacturing methods have a hefty carbon footprint. These poor environmental credentials are only worsened by yearly device releases and hard-to-repair phones, contributing to an already overwhelming amount of e-waste. Some of the carbon-intensive components inside the device, Read More...
This is the most detailed map ever of US cancer-linked industrial pollution
Air pollution has been linked to numerous diseases including asthma, cancer, and heart disease, but while air pollution can negatively affect all of us, its damage is disproportionately felt by certain populations. Breaking down where air pollution is most potent and why is the first step to Read More...