👩IWD round up👩

Women’s leadership progress stalls as hiring cools

Women haven’t pulled back from ambition. Employers have pulled back from equity.

New LinkedIn data released ahead of International Women’s Day shows women’s progress into leadership has slowed sharply across 16 countries — with the deceleration worsening over the past year.📉

Key numbers:

• UK: Women made up 37% of new leadership hires in 2025 — up just 0.1 percentage points. Effectively flat.

• Global: Women accounted for 33% of new leadership hires, down nearly a full percentage point year-on-year.

• Ireland: Steepest decline worldwide (-4.1pp to 38%).

• Germany: Down -0.8pp to 24%.

• France: Down -0.5pp to 33%.

• Italy: Down -0.1pp to 32%.

• Spain: The only country to post a meaningful rise (+0.3pp).

The broader leadership picture is equally sluggish.
Women now hold 31% of senior leadership roles globally — up just 0.1pp since 2022, far below the pre-pandemic pace of ~0.4pp annual growth.

In the UK, women are 43% of the workforce but just 31% of top leaders. Progress hasn’t reversed. It’s just… idling.📊

The downturn effect

LinkedIn’s data points to a familiar pattern:
When hiring slows, women’s share of leadership hires tends to fall.

Not because women apply less — they apply at equal or higher rates than men.

But during tighter labour markets, employers revert to “safe” choices, quietly slowing equity gains and undoing years of progress.

Q1 2026 vacancy rates continued to decline across most advanced economies, signalling a prolonged hiring cooldown — and leadership diversity appears to be one of the casualties.😔

The gap widens with age

Career breaks, slower promotions and structural barriers compound over time.

In the UK, the leadership gap between women’s workforce participation and top roles:

• Gen Z women: 21% gap

• Baby Boomers: 32% gap

The ladder doesn’t just narrow. It tilts.

Opting out of the queue

At the same time, more women are choosing entrepreneurship.

• Global surge in new founders (+60% YoY)

• UK: Women now make up 31% of founders (+4pp since 2015)

• Italy: 32%

• Spain & Ireland: 30%

• France: 29%

• Germany: 23% (but fastest long-term growth)

Sectors with stronger gender balance in leadership — retail, education, healthcare, public services — are also where women founders cluster.

Fairer systems → more women lead.
Coincidence unlikely.😖

AI: Equal adoption, unequal upside

Women report using AI at similar rates to men and see equal career relevance.

But exposure differs:

• Women’s roles are more vulnerable to automation

• Men are more likely to move into AI-augmented positions

Same tools. Different outcomes.

So what, well we're working with the team at Canva and Flourish to visualise some of the latest stats on gender equity in a exclusive webinar on 25 March. Its free, it's over lunch so join us and sign up here

The final thing we will say is, hopefully we remember that the team at Colorintech champion's women ALL year around and not just when some men remember for IWD

🥳Congrats to our co-founder🥳

Congrats to our co-founder Ashleigh who has been appointed as a member of the Government Digital Service l Responsible AI Advisory Panel, sitting under the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

He said
As AI continues to reshape our world, it is vital that "responsibility" isn't just a buzzword, but a framework built on diverse perspectives. I’m looking forward to bringing the voices of our wonderfully diverse Colorintech community to the table, ensuring that the future of public sector AI is inclusive, equitable, and effective for everyone.

Lets see if he can push government to be more equitable, but we think it is good to have a seat at the table

You can read more about the panel here

Link: https://lnkd.in/ePcctFhn

And see his post on it on his Linkedin

🔋BYD's fast charging🔋

Chinese EV giant BYD says it’s cracked one of electric vehicles’ last pain points: charging time.

Its new Blade Battery 2.0 system can reportedly:

• 🔋 Charge 10% → 70% in 5 minutes

• 🔋 Reach ~100% in ~9 minutes total

• ❄️ Even at –20°C, go 20% → 97% in under 12 minutes

If that holds up in real-world use, it’s a serious blow to the “EVs take forever to charge” argument.

The battery will debut in the luxury Yangwang U7 sedan.

⚠️ The catch (there’s always a catch)

You only get those eye-watering speeds if you plug into BYD’s own Flash Charging system.

And those chargers deliver 1.5 megawatts of power.

For context:

• Fastest common chargers in the UK/EU/US: ~350 kW

• Newer high-end installs: ~500 kW

• BYD Flash: 1,500 kW

Different league. Different infrastructure bill.

So yes — 5-minute charging exists.
No — you won’t find it at your local service station anytime soon.

🏎️ Range: impressive*, with a realism asterisk

BYD says the U7 can do:

• 1,000 km (621 miles) on China’s CLTC test cycle

But CLTC is famously optimistic (~35% generous vs EPA).

Real-world estimate:
➡️ Just over 400 miles per charge

That’s still strong — though behind the Lucid Air Grand Touring, which manages 512 miles EPA.

BYD’s counter-argument:
If you can add ~240 miles in 5 minutes, who cares?

Fair point.

🔋 How they’re doing it

Blade Battery 2.0 uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry.

Why that matters:

Pros

• 💰 Cheaper: ~$81/kWh vs $128/kWh

• 🧪 No cobalt or nickel → lower cost & supply risk

• 🔥 Safer, longer lifespan

Cons

• 📦 Less energy dense → typically shorter range

Western automakers usually reserve LFP for budget EVs.

BYD’s bet:
Super-fast charging makes slightly lower range irrelevant — even in premium cars.

🧱 Infrastructure play

BYD isn’t just shipping batteries. It’s building the ecosystem:

• ⚡ 4,200 Flash Charging stations already live in China

• ➕ Target: +16,000 more by year end

• 🔌 Overhead cable gantries (because those cables are heavy)

• 🔋 Grid-scale batteries onsite to ease grid strain

This is vertical integration with a plug.

📉 Business context

BYD is the world’s largest EV maker, but momentum is wobbling:

• Jan–Feb 2026 sales down ~36% YoY

• Intense price war with rivals:

  • Li Auto

  • Xpeng

  • Xiaomi

  • Zeekr

Flash charging is a flex — and a sales strategy.

Worth noting:
Berkshire Hathaway backed BYD early, turning a $230m stake into a 20× return before exiting in 2025.

🎯 The So What

EV adoption has always hinged on three things:
price, range, charging friction

BYD is attacking the third so aggressively that the other two matter less.

But this isn’t just a battery story.
It’s an infrastructure power play.

Ultra-fast charging:

• Works best in dense urban networks

• Rewards vertically integrated players

• Raises the bar for national grid readiness

If 5-minute charging scales, EVs stop competing with petrol.
They outpace it.

The question isn’t “is the tech real?”
It’s “who can afford to build the world it needs?”

So what? 

For a decade, tech companies told us their biggest constraint was talent shortages.

Now the same companies are discovering AI… and suddenly talent is optional. Expect wage suppression next as the race to the commoditised bottom starts 

Read more here 

😪🍏 Apple drops a “budget” Mac. Samsung makes privacy premium.😪

This week in consumer tech: two very different plays on the future of everyday devices.

Apple has launched the MacBook Neo, its cheapest new laptop in years.
Samsung has launched the Galaxy S26 Ultra, a flagship phone whose killer feature is… stopping strangers reading your screen on the train.

One is about access.
The other is about insulation.

🍎 Apple’s MacBook Neo: entry-level, carefully

The new MacBook Neo starts at $599 / £599 and is Apple’s clearest move yet into proper budget territory.

What you get

• 13-inch display

• A18 Pro chip (the same family used in recent iPhones)

• 8GB RAM

• 256GB or 512GB storage

• 1080p camera

• Two USB-C ports + headphone jack

• Four colours: silver, indigo, blush, citrus

Positioning-wise, it’s doing an important job.
The cheapest M5 MacBook Air now starts at $1,099, so the Neo fills the gap between “premium laptop” and “maybe I’ll just get a Chromebook.”

This isn’t generosity. It’s ecosystem defence.

✂️ The trade-offs are doing heavy lifting

To hit that price, Apple trimmed hard:

• RAM is fixed at 8GB (no upgrades)

• Base model doesn’t include Touch ID

• No Thunderbolt

• No MagSafe

• No fast charging

• One USB-C port runs at USB 2 speeds (yes, really)

Translation:
Cheap to enter. Expensive to grow into.

🔌 UK & EU twist: bring your own charger

In the UK and EU, Apple is not including a charger in the box with the new MacBook Neo (or new Air/Pro models).

Cable? Yes.
Power brick? Extra.

Environmentally aligned.
Commercially convenient.

📱 Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: privacy, but make it luxury

At the other end of the pricing spectrum, Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at £1,279 and leans into premium utility.

The standout feature: Privacy Display

It makes your screen unreadable from side angles — ideal for:

• Checking banking apps on public transport

• Reading sensitive messages

• Avoiding shoulder-surfers in co-working spaces

And crucially:

• It can be toggled instantly

• Set per app

• Even applied to just parts of the screen (like notifications)

Until now, this meant awkward screen protectors.
Samsung turned it into software + hardware polish.

Privacy as product design.

⚙️ The rest of the flagship package

• 6.9-inch AMOLED display

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (for Galaxy)

• 200MP main camera

• Improved cooling for gaming/performance

• Thinner, lighter design

• New colourways

Strong spec sheet.
But the privacy feature is the headline — because it solves a daily annoyance elegantly.

🎯 The So What

Apple and Samsung are solving opposite market tensions.

Apple:
“How do we stop budget buyers leaving our ecosystem?”
→ Make a cheaper Mac. Limit it carefully.

Samsung:
“How do we keep premium phones feeling worth it?”
→ Turn everyday friction into premium features.

This is modern consumer tech strategy:

• Not always breakthrough innovation

• Often precision segmentation

Access vs aspiration.
Entry vs exclusivity.
Both wrapped in aluminium.

🔗 Read more

Apple MacBook Neo announcement (Apple Newsroom)
https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2026/03/say-hello-to-macbook-neo/

MacBook Neo launch coverage (The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/tech/886496/apple-march-2026-event-macbook-neo-announcement

Apple not including chargers in UK & EU (MacRumors)
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/04/macbook-neo-no-charger-in-uk-or-eu/

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review (The Independent)
https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/gadgets-tech/phones-accessories/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-review-b2933457.html

🎬 Netflix buys Ben Affleck’s AI film tech startup. Hollywood’s AI pivot gets real.

The streaming wars just added a new subplot: generative AI, but make it filmmaker-friendly.

Netflix has acquired InterPositive, the AI filmmaking tools company founded by Oscar-winner Ben Affleck.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Strategic intent? Very clear.

This is Netflix’s first acquisition since stepping back from the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets — and instead of buying more content libraries, it’s buying production infrastructure.

AI as studio plumbing.

🛠️ What InterPositive actually does

Founded in 2022, InterPositive builds AI tools designed for real-world film production, not prompt-engineering party tricks.

Their systems help creative teams:

• Fix continuity issues

• Clean up technical errors

• Adjust lighting

• Enhance environments

• Handle missing shots

• Maintain visual and editorial consistency

The core pitch:
AI that understands cinematic rules and production realities — not just pixels.

Affleck says the models were built with “restraints to protect creative intent”, keeping final decisions with artists, not algorithms.

🧑🏽‍🎨 Why this matters (especially now)

Hollywood’s relationship with AI has shifted fast:

Then:
Job fears. IP panic. Strike flashpoints.

Now:
Studios quietly integrating AI into production workflows.

The timing isn’t accidental.
Studios and streamers are entering a fresh round of union negotiations — and AI in film and TV is a central issue.

Owning filmmaker-aligned tools gives Netflix leverage:

• Operationally (faster, cheaper production)

• Politically (positioning AI as assistive, not extractive)

🎥 Affleck’s positioning: pro-AI, anti-replacement

Affleck isn’t pitching automation. He’s pitching augmentation.

His argument:

• Early AI tools didn’t understand filmmaking nuance

• Great storytelling depends on human judgment

• Tech should support craft, not override it

So InterPositive was built to reflect:

Real production chaos
Cinematic language
Creative decision-making

In short: AI that respects the set.

Affleck will join Netflix as a senior advisor, and InterPositive’s small team (reportedly <20 people) will fold into Netflix.

🧠 Industry context: the AI détente

This deal lands amid a broader softening:

• Disney recently allowed OpenAI to use characters from franchises like

  • Star Wars

  • Pixar

  • Marvel Cinematic Universe
    in its Sora video generator experiments

Studios are no longer asking if AI belongs in production.
They’re negotiating how and who controls it.

🎯 The So What

This isn’t Netflix chasing hype.
It’s Netflix owning the tools layer of storytelling.

If streaming was Phase 1
and original content was Phase 2

AI-assisted production is Phase 3.

The strategic shift:

• From content buyer

• To content infrastructure builder

And crucially:
Framing AI as a creative co-pilot, not a cost-cutting weapon.

Whether unions buy that framing?
That’s the sequel.

🔗 Read more

Reuters coverage
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/netflix-acquires-ben-afflecks-ai-film-tech-firm-2026-03-05/

Screen Daily coverage
https://www.screendaily.com/news/netflix-buys-ben-afflecks-ai-film-tech-company-interpositive/5214563.article

📈 The tools behind the tech📉

📦Product📦

• A CPU that runs entirely on GPU
• Go is the Best Language for AI Agents

📏Design📏 

• A guide to SDF fonts
  
• The Windows® 95 User Interface: A Case Study in Usability Engineering

👩🏿‍💻Code👩🏿‍💻

• Keep track of you codex sessions per commit  

🏢The business behind the tech🏢

•   The evolution of OpenAI’s mission statement

🙌Colorintech // Canva🙌

Join us on Wednesday, 25th March, at 12:30pm GMT for our IWD event, a virtual event tailored to everyone interested in gender equity, data visualisation and cutting cutting-edge technology.

Hosted in collaboration with Colorintech and Flourish, this one-hour session will provide you with:

• An exclusive look into the groundbreaking stats on Gender equity
• Insights into the tools flourish use to bring data to life.
• An interactive q&A discussion featuring distinguished Tech professionals

Register here

😃What we are consuming😃

🧑🏾‍🔬Translate scientific papers into interactive webpages

🎨AI-generated art can’t be copyrighted after Supreme Court declines to review the rule