The Know Daily - Wednesday 22nd March 2023

_{Read in 5m 50s ∙ Listening to Lewis Capaldi}

The winning images from the 2023 Mobile Photography Awards have been revealed - and they’re certainly worth checking out. There were a record number of entries from 80 countries around the world, across 12 categories ranging from AI to landscapes. While Australian Glenn Homann was crowned the overall winner, the judges said that this year’s photos were among the best they had ever seen. “It is exciting to see the quality of the images that can be created with just a smartphone,” said Daniel Berman, founder of the awards.

📊 Breaking down a new breast cancer study

For the first time, a study has comprehensively established a link between taking any form of hormonal contraception and an increased risk of breast cancer - but researchers say they aren’t unduly alarmed by their findings.

Tell me more.
The study found that all forms of hormonal contraception - including the combined pill, the progestogen-only pill and an IUD (also known as a coil) - were found to increase the risk of breast cancer by 23-31%, according to the study published in the journal Plos Medicine.

Research showed that the progestogen-only pill - commonly known as the “mini-pill” - carries the same risk of breast cancer as the combined pill. While the link between the combined pill and breast cancer was first identified in 1996, until now it had been unclear whether the same risk applies to progestogen-only contraception.

How increased is the risk?
The study estimated that for every 100,000 women who take hormonal contraceptives for five years, an extra eight would get breast cancer if they take it in their late teens. And for every 100,000 women aged 35 and above, an extra 265 would get breast cancer compared with if they did not use contraception.

Can you put this risk further into context?
Sure! Experts say it’s similar to the extra risks of having two alcohol drinks a day. And while older age remains the main risk factor for breast cancer, an estimated eight out of every 100 breast cancer cases are linked to obesity, according to Cancer Research UK.

What else have the researchers said?
Gillian Reeves, lead author of the study, said that the main purpose of carrying out the research was “to fill a gap in our knowledge”. She also stressed that the increased risk for breast cancer has to be viewed in the context of the many benefits of hormonal contraception, which include substantial protection from ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer.

“I don’t really see that there’s any indication here to say that women need to necessarily change what they’re doing,” she said.

 👩‍💻 Job title inflation

From supermarket basics to plane tickets, products and services have soared in price over the past year. But experts say there’s a new kind of inflation to be concerned about - and it’s happening to our job titles.

How widespread is it?
Job title inflation refers to the booming number of impressive job titles in organisations (such as “senior executive vice president”) which often come without added responsibilities, promotions or pay raises.

According to an analysis of 2.4 million job postings, employers have tripled their use of the word “lead” in early-career tech jobs since 2019 - cutting the word “junior” by half in the same timeframe.

Why is this problematic?
Being referred to as “director of first impressions” instead of “receptionist” may sound appealing at first - but experts say this new practice is often designed to save companies’ money at the employees’ expense.

Laws exist which exempt companies from paying workers overtime if they are classified as managers, and a recent study estimated that inflated job titles are being used to cheat US employees out of $4bn a year in overtime pay.

Why else are companies doing this?
Job title inflation is also used to make junior staff seem more important to external clients. Last year, the FT reported that accountancy firm EY had promoted thousands of employees to “partner” hoping it would incentivise them to stay and help them win business - but the new title didn’t come with a share in the firm’s profits.

Research shows that attaching the word “senior” to junior job listings can actually attract 39% fewer qualified applications, as junior-level candidates see the title and think they’re unqualified, while senior-level candidates read the description and think they’re overqualified.

Is there anything else going on?
The boom in fancier job titles may in part be connected to satisfying the expectations of Gen Z workers - without having to pay them more. A 2022 survey revealed that 58% of Gen Z workers expect to be promoted every 18 months, compared with 20% of baby boomers.

Do you feel like your job title reflects your day-to-day duties - and does it matter if it doesn’t? Hit reply to let us know.

⏰ Johnson hearing: At 2pm today, a House of Commons committee will question Boris Johnson live on TV, possibly for several hours, over whether he deliberately misled parliament over Covid rule-breaking parties at No. 10.

🎿 Paltrow trial: Gwyneth Paltrow is standing trial in the US in a case in which she is accused of colliding with a skier and leaving him unresponsive with brain damage and broken ribs. The man’s lawyer says the 2016 collision was caused by the actor’s “reckless” actions.

🇺🇬 Anti-gay bill: Uganda lawmakers have passed a controversial bill which would make homosexual acts punishable by death and impose up to 20 years in prison for people identifying as LGBTQ+. The bill has attracted strong condemnation from human rights campaigners.

🎓 Tall tales: A 29-year-old woman who pretended to be a teenager at a Massachusetts boarding school pleaded not guilty during her second court appearance this week. Her lawyers argue that she had no intention of causing harm to students, faculty or staff.

📺 Succession S4: The first reviews of Succession’s fourth and final series are out - here’s what The Guardian had to say ahead of its release on Monday.

Trivia answer: B) - the UK dropped two places to 19th, while the US came 15th and Denmark, Iceland and Israel came second, third and fourth respectively.

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