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The unspoken pandemic

Bloomberg Equality
Bloomberg

The stigma against mental illness is a persistent problem that the law isn't currently built to solve. Congress has tried, by requiring insurers to cover mental health care and expanding the Americans With Disabilities Act to cover some conditions. But, as Bloomberg Businessweek reports, 80% of sufferers still don't seek help because they're ashamed or embarrassed.

Not only a human tragedy, this unspoken pandemic is a drag on the economy. Depression alone costs America $210 billion a year, half of which is borne by employers as lost productivity.

To illustrate the crisis, we look at the impact mental illness had on three careers, and how culture must change before laws can. —Philip Gray

Did you see this? 

A major union for government employees is accused of shielding its president for years by trying to silence workers who reported abuse

Big Silicon Valley companies have released information about pay gaps between men and women, but Oracle is opting out. The software giant contends it's already committed to equal pay for equal work.

A viral tweet alleged that the Apple Card, issued by Goldman Sachs, gave higher credit limits to men than to women. That prompted a New York regulator to start an investigation.

Facebook says it's getting tough on terrorism, drug sales and child pornography. Using algorithms, the social media platform said it removed 11.6 million pieces of content related to child porn in the latest quarter.

Time to update stereotypes: Millennials aren't young and broke, Noah Smith writes in Bloomberg Opinion. They're middle aged and broke.

Workers in Japan are rallying against a common workplace policy requiring women to use contact lenses instead of eyeglasses.

We love charts

America's 1% are doing just fine, thank you. Since the financial crisis a decade ago, the wealthiest households have enjoyed huge gains from stocks, and now control half of the equity in all public and private companies. Timing is everything, it seems: Baby boomers came along at just the right moment, and now hold 11 times more wealth than millennials.

Unintended consequences

Pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, once limited to weekends, have now expanded into the work week, paralyzing the city. Multinational employers are increasingly worried about worker safety. But for protesters resisting Beijing's influence, the demonstrations may backfire: They might be succeeding in forcing some cancellations, but other firms are simply moving their events into mainland China.

 

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