Apple and Facebook says it'll pick up the tab for freezing the eggs of its women employees in hopes of keeping them on the job longer. Also, the Vatican's made its first public move indicating shifting views on divorce, gays and premarital sex within the Catholic Church. Then, author Elizabeth Royte breaks down the amount of food Americans waste.
Facebook and Apple to offer free egg-freezing to female employees
There are many perks to working for a Silicon Valley tech firm. In this competitive field, retaining skilled workers can be a challenge, leading companies to offer everything from free meals to game rooms and gym memberships. But in recent releases, Apple and Facebook announced they’re offering a new plus to female workers: free egg freezing. In hopes of keeping experienced female employees on the job longer, these two tech giants will be picking up the tab (up to $10,000) for women hoping to maintain a successful career and still have a family. Facebook will even offer an additional $10,000 for workers who plan on using a surrogate.
Could egg freezing become the new norm in fast-paced workplaces? Does this put excess pressure on women to stay competitive? Would you take advantage of this perk if it was offered by your employer?
Guest:
Danielle Friedman, Senior Editor for NBCNews.com who broke the story
Changing attitudes in the Vatican: New views on gays and divorce
In a document released Monday, the Vatican expressed reforming approaches towards divorce, homosexuality, and premarital sex. The release follows a gathering of Church leaders in the Vatican, the third of its kind -- the announcement is the first public move indicating shifting views on sensitive issues within the Catholic Church.
The report signals a light approach to the LGBT community, saying "Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community, are our communities capable of providing [a welcoming home], accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?" The Church prohibits same-sex marriage, but the report indicates the Vatican’s desire to create a more welcoming home is a sign of changing perspective compared to past Church declarations condemning homosexuality. The report also signals new attitudes regarding divorce, saying that "What needs to be respected above all is the suffering of those who have endured separation and divorce unjustly." The report does not initiate a call to change Church doctrine.
How will changing attitudes in the Vatican impact modern Catholicism? What does the new report mean about the Church doctrine?
Guest:
Jason Berry, GlobalPost religion writer who has been following the Synod. He is the author of “Render unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church” (Broadway Books, 2012).
Food Waste deprives the hungry and fuels the air with methane
In a National Geographic feature story, author Elizabeth Royte deplores the amount of food the United States wastes. She says that more than 30 percent of our food, valued at $162 billion annually, isn’t eaten. But, Royte says, recognizing this fact can allow for the opportunity to innovate ways of feeding people in need. In the U.S. alone, 49 million people are officially “food insecure.” That is, they don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
Beyond ameliorating the plight of the hungry, conserving food waste could help the environment as well. Royte says food buried in the airless confines of dumps generates methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. She also says if global food waste were a country, it would be the third largest generator of greenhouse gases in the world behind China and the United States. What are ways we could repurpose extra food? What kind of organizational shift would it take? Is it worth the effort?
Guest:
Elizabeth Royte, author of "The High Cost of Food Waste" on Nationalgeographic.com and an expert on food waste. National Geographic has launched a multi-year initiative focusing on food and how to feed a growing world population. Comprehensive coverage including a free iPad app, video, maps, photos and interactive graphics can be found at natgeofood.com.
Generation Unbound: Drifting into Sex and Parenthood Without Marriage
In her new book Generation Unbound: Drifting into Sex and Parenthood Without Marriage, Isabel Sawhill explores the changing relationship between marriage and parenthood. Things have changed a lot over the decades -- in the past, most single parents were a product of divorce, and stereotypical single mothers were high school dropouts.
Recently, the demographics have flipped: single parents are more frequently never married -- the average woman has her first child before she is married, and a majority of first births out of wedlock are to women with a high school diploma or even some college. Teenage pregnancy rates have plummeted in the past two decades, but 20-somethings have a new host of unwanted pregnancies -- 70 percent are unplanned, and just under half are carried to term.
The reasons behind single parenting may be shifting, but in her book, Sawhill describes similar consequences -- increased poverty. Rather than advocate for more marriages or increased social support, Sawhill argues that more births should be by design, and calls for more and better options for long term birth control.
Should women focus more on birth control methods that prevent pregnancy in order to raise a child in planned circumstances with more financial stability? What is the best form of family or birth planning -- what roles do finances and relationship stability play?
Guest:
Isabel Sawhill, author of “Generation Unbound: Drifting into Sex and Parenthood without Marriage.” (Brookings Institution Press, 2014)