About Talia Whyte

Posts by Talia Whyte:

Reproductive and Sexual Health is an Economic Issue

Reproductive Rights are Human Rights - Image credit: Secular Pro-Life PerspectiveI had a discussion with a group of teenage girls I mentor last week about the recent Supreme Court decision on Hobby Lobby, which allows private firms to opt out of paying for contraception for its female employees based on religious grounds.  Most of them were actually surprised that the decision came in favor of the Christian focused company.

These young girls are used to living in a country where their reproductive rights are fully protected.  In the United States females have access to safe abortions, birth control pills and other contraceptives and education for proper family planning and sexual health.

As a business owner myself, I have been torn on this issue since the decision.  While I support the right of privately-held businesses to do what they please, as a woman, I could never see myself denying those rights to my female employees.

As a matter of fact, access to proper reproductive and sexual health rights is an economic issue that affects female workers worldwide.

I have worked in international development for the last 12 years, mainly in media development for journalists in the developing world.  However, one of my first jobs in this field was working in reproductive and sexual rights in Africa and Southeast Asia.  I saw firsthand many of the injustices women and girls faced on a regular basis.
In many countries women and girls simply don’t have any rights when it comes to their bodies, such as when they get pregnant or protecting themselves from sexually transmitted diseases. Obstetric fistula, female genital mutilation and, of course, HIV/AIDS are corrupting the lives of many females in these regions.  Sometimes this is due to cultural or religious traditions, but much of the time it is caused by poverty and lack of education.

I told my mentees that in many poor countries some women and girls usually have to stay home from work or school when they menstruate.  They literally have to sit on a rag at home for the duration of their flow because they can’t afford feminine products.

Women can play a big role in global market over the next decade, especially in the developing world, where GDPs can significantly increase and current rates of female workers are below 30 percent.  Economically empowered women also raise healthier, better educated families.

When women and girls can’t go to work or school, it affects economy in the long run.  Women and girls shouldn’t have to worry about losing their job or not receiving an education because of an unwanted pregnancy, a sexually transmitted disease or even a lack of maxi pads.

My girls were shocked when I told them this because for them their rights is something that is taken for granted.  It is really important to educate others about these issues and make sure women’s reproductive and sexual health worldwide moves forward, not backwards.

Power Africa Initiative: One Year On

NASA satellite photo of Europe and Africa at night.

NASA satellite photo of Europe, Africa and the Middle East at night to contrast electricity access.

Last year President Obama launched the Power Africa Initiative, an ambitious plan to bring electricity to rural areas that lack access.  The initial projection was to provide US$7 billion over five years in on-grid, mini-grid and off-grid solutions to 20 million households and businesses.  Last month the Obama administration increased the financial commitment to US$20 billion to serve 60 million households and businesses.  The power solutions will eventually develop geothermal, hydro, wind and solar energy.

More than two-thirds of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is without electricity access, and more than 85 percent of those living in rural areas lack access.  Most people without power use candles and even cow dung, which can be very dangerous.  Currently, for those who can afford it use diesel generators.  The lack of electricity is quite possible the greatest barrier to development on the continent.  Electricity is something those of us in industrialized countries take for granted.  Better access to it will help the continent move forward both socially and economically.

Food security is impacted because better power access leads to better technological solutions to processing and distributing food.  Electricity access also supports better international security.  Poverty fuels extremist behavior worldwide.  Power access provides more job creation, which in turn creates better economic opportunities for all.  Many of these new jobs will be in the STEM fields, and will help Africa compete better on the global market, as well as improve ICT capacity in general.

I found this interesting VOA program that gets into what Power Africa has accomplished over the last year, and most importantly, what Africans think of the Initiative:

According to USAID, Power Africa has accomplished the following:

  • Transactions brought to financial close will generate 2,792 MW
  • 25% of total goal reached in first year
  • Over 5,000 MW in process
  • Nearly 3:1 leveraging of funds — $7 billion USG investment to more than $18 billion private sector financing
  • First year results represent projects with a potential to power more than 5 million connections to African homes, businesses, schools, and clinics

Read the Power Africa annual report.

Mobile STEM Truck Closes Education Gap

Projected STEM Job Growth

As you already know, America’s standing as a leader in the global economy is endangered by the lack of American students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

STEM fields are seeing the highest rates in job growth, yet not many students are going in this direction. According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 16 percent of American high school students are proficient in math and have interest in pursuing a STEM career. “The United States is falling behind internationally, ranking 25th in mathematics and 17th in science among industrialized nations.”  AP computer science is only taught in five percent of American high schools.

One of the main problems here is the lack of resources in public schools, such as trained STEM teachers and equipment like computers to instruct students.  Also, 63 percent of K-12 schools still lack adequate Internet connectivity and infrastructure.

I happened upon this story about this innovative idea that might be a partial solution to the STEM education gap.  Aditya Kumarakrishnan, a physics and math major at Queens College, was awarded $10,000 from an incubator contest to assist him with launching his idea for Tesla Truck, a hands-on, mobile STEM lab and mobile maker space that will bring courses like robot-building, flight design, 3D printing and vocational training to schools and local communities.

He came up with the idea for his business last year while he was mentoring a group of students from the Bronx on robotics when he realized they didn’t have any resources.  Kumarakrishnan had to buy his own tools to use for his instruction.  He believes the Truck will be useful and cost efficient for schools that lack the resources to teach such classes.  Kumarakrishnan plans to use the money to purchase his first truck.

This is a great idea, and I would love to see where Kumarakrishnan goes with his truck both in physical distance and in creativity in the near future!

Here’s a short commercial for Tesla Truck:

Design Highlight: Global Exchange Reality Tours

Reality Tours

I had the opportunity to be the web and graphic designer on an educational project with a team to build an e-commerce website from scratch. We decided to redesign the Reality Tours part of the Global Exchange website because we really liked the mission of the organization and thought they were deserving of an updated website that showcased their values.

Global Exchange is an international human rights organization based in San Francisco. One of their initiatives is called Reality Tours, a educational travel program that supports progressive values and people to people connections.  I traveled to Jamaica and South Africa with them years ago, and learned a lot about myself and the people I met in those countries.  The Jamaica trip focused on how free trade has negatively impacted the island’s economy, while the South Africa trip addressed race relations, HIV/AIDS and human rights in general in the post apartheid era.

I was given the task of redesigning the website with a more up-to-date, polished look. The current website uses many dark colors with tribal motifs. In the redesigned prototype, I chose to use a minimalist theme with black text on white background and simple, clean code so there would be more emphasis on the images representing the many tours offered worldwide. The website uses responsive design.  Due to the controversial nature of some of the tours and the goal of Reality Tours to give an alternative view of these countries, I made sure to pick images that reflected the different perspectives. I chose the brand identity “Where do you want to learn today” to help users think about what it would mean to travel on these tours.

The design for the logo was also clean and straightforward, as we wanted to emphasize the global reach of Reality Tours with simple black and white. Social media and email sign up share the top space with the logo to make it easier for users to share content online. The responsive navigation is the color red because we wanted users to be able to “travel” through the website with ease. Redesigning the website was a wonderful experience of bringing communication and social justice together.

Check out the website prototype here:

taliawhyte.com/realitytours/website