Tech:NYC Digest: May 4

Tech:NYC Digest: May 4

May 04, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Wednesday, May 4, 2022 

In today’s digest, NYC’s plan to become a safe haven for women’s health, new Omicron subvariant continues to dominate in New York, and how to reverse the “Great Resignation” of working women as companies return to the office. 

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 9,139    

    • New positive cases, NYC: 3,159

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 4.4 percent (+0.2 percent)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 90.2 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 76.9 percent

In today’s latest:

  • NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said yesterday that the SCOTUS draft opinion threatening abortion access will likely influence the city’s budget negotiations. (Gothamist)

    • State lawmakers are considering several bills to further enshrine New York as a haven for abortion rights, including measures to establish an access fund and further protect in-state service providers. (New York Times)

  • The newest COVID-19 subvariant, estimated by state health officials to be even more contagious than the original Omicron subvariant, now accounts for almost 70 percent of all virus circulating in New York state. (NBC New York)

    • Additionally, New York COVID-19 hospitalizations topped 2,000 for the first time since late February this week.

  • New York City wants its tourists back. The city is expected to see 56.4 million visitors this year, a 70 percent increase compared to 2021, per a recent forecast by the city’s tourism agency NYC & Company. (Insider)

    • That's still lower than the 66.6 million visitors the tourism agency estimated in 2019, but more than double the 22.3 million tourists who visited the city in 2020.

  • The latest projections from FDA officials estimate the US may need to update its COVID-19 vaccines each year, possibly necessitating an annual COVID-19 vaccine alongside a seasonal flu shot. (CNN)

In other reading:

  • I’m overseas and I’ve tested positive. What now? (New York Times)

  • How To Stop Speeding Drivers in NYC? Scare Them. (New York Times)

  • Everywhere to Eat on Canal Street (Eater NY)

The disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on women has been widely reported, but according to new research from Deloitte, any progress to correct that has been slow. The company’s Women @ Work 2022 report surveyed 5,000 women and warned that hybrid work could exacerbate sexism and gender inequity in the workplace.

  • 58 percent of women surveyed reported being excluded from meetings, decisions or informal interactions.

  • 45 percent report not having enough exposure to leaders in a hybrid setting.

  • Only 6 percent of women surveyed believe that requesting or taking advantage of flexible working opportunities will not affect their likelihood of promotion.

As companies call workers back to the office, the reduction in flexible work options threatens to extend the “Great Resignation.” More than half of women surveyed are still planning to leave their employer within the next two years.

  • Ongoing burnout, limited advancement opportunities, and lack of wellness resources are other highly-cited concerns among respondents.

But it’s not all doom and gloom: Deloitte identified a group of “gender equality leaders,” employers that are getting it right with revamped inclusion strategies.

  • Among the women surveyed who work for those companies, 87 percent say they receive adequate mental health support from their employers and feel comfortable discussing their mental health in the workplace.

  • The benefits to these employers are equally clear: none of the same women are currently looking for a new job, and only 9 percent plan to leave in the next two years.

Our takeaway: With new actions at the federal level threatening to limit women’s rights, there’s an even brighter spotlight on the steps companies are taking to support their health and well-being. Now is the time to switch those strategies into high-gear — and employers will find that doing so will benefit them, too.

In other reading:

  • How Women Can Identify Male Allies in the Workplace (Harvard Business Review)

  • The Great Resignation is becoming a “great midlife crisis” (Vox)

  • 42 companies changing workplaces for the better (Fast Company)

  • Dianthus Therapeutics, a NYC and Waltham-based biotech company developing antibody complement therapeutics, raised $100 million in Series A funding. 5AM Ventures, Avidity Partners, and Fidelity Management & Research Company co-led the round and were joined by Wedbush Healthcare Partners, Fairmount, Tellus BioVentures, and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. (Newswire)

  • Fohlio, a NYC-based provider of workflow software for architects and interior designers, raised $3.2 million in seed funding. Brick & Mortar Ventures led the round and was joined by Ocean Azul, Dreamit Ventures, and GZ Real Estate. (Commercial Observer)

  • Valence, a NYC-based teamwork platform, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Insight Partners led the round and was joined by existing investors. (TechCrunch)

  • May 5: Virtual: Tech regulation beyond big tech, with Consumer Technology Association SVP Michael Petricone, Small Business Majority director Awesta Sarkash, and others. Hosted by Protocol. Register here.

  • May 10: Virtual: #newtovc: Deal Sourcing, BBG managing partner Nisha Dua, FirstMark Capital managing partner Matt Turck, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures partner Charlie O’Donnell. Hosted by Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. Register here. 

  • May 11: In-person & virtual: Investing to Combat Climate Change, with Union Square Ventures investor Mona Alsubaei, Softbank Energy investor William Layden, Breakthrough Energy Ventures investor Stefan Zlatev, and others. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. Register here.

  • May 19: In-person: State of NYC Business Summit, with Tech:NYC executive director Jason Myles Clark, Partnership for New York City Kathryn Wylde, NYC Hospitality Alliance executive director Andrew Rigie, and others. Hosted by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. Register here.

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