The Know Daily - Wednesday 30 August 2023

_{Wednesday 30 August ∙ Read in 5m 50s ∙ Listening to Miley Cyrus}

Cliffs bordering the iconic Tintagel Castle in Cornwall are set to become a haven for wildlife following the National Trust’s acquisition of the land. The Trust intends to turn the 55-acre area into a species-rich wildflower and grassland, where maritime plants such as rock sea lavender and golden samphire can flourish.

💼 Cleverly’s trip to China

The UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has begun a series of high-level talks in Beijing, marking the first such visit by a senior minister since before the pandemic.

What’s on the agenda?
Earlier today, Cleverly met China’s Vice President Han Zheng, where he stressed that face-to-face exchanges would help the countries avoid misunderstandings. During his visit, Cleverly will also hold talks with China's foreign affairs minister Wang Yi.

“[His] visit is being painted as an attempt to restore political dialogue and trade between China and the UK,” reported The Guardian.

What else will they be discussing?
“Cleverly has said he would raise human rights violations with Chinese leaders, and ask them to put more pressure on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine,” said the BBC. Beijing has so far refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Why is this trip so significant?
The high-stakes visit is a sign that relations between the countries are normalising after “years of tensions”, explained Reuters.

“The relationship sunk to its lowest point in decades under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, when London restricted some Chinese investment over national security worries and expressed concern over a crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong,” said the news agency.

What else should I know?
Cleverly’s trip coincides with the publication of a report by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee criticising the government’s approach to China. The report raises concerns over a lack of coherence and secrecy in the approach - and calls on ministers to take a zero-tolerance stance against Beijing’s “transnational repression”.

Ahead of his visit, Cleverly said: “No significant global problem - from climate change to pandemic prevention, from economic instability to nuclear proliferation - can be solved without China.”

💰 Mythbusting the gender pay gap

The belief that women don’t negotiate for higher pay is outdated, according to a new study.

Tell me more.
US researchers have found that professional women negotiate their salaries more frequently than men - and are also more likely to get turned down for pay rises. After analysing a survey of students graduating from a top MBA programme between 2015 to 2019, they found that 54% of women reported negotiating their job offers compared with just 44% of men.

What else did the study find?
The analysis, published in the journal Academy of Management Discoveries, found that not only does the gender pay gap persist, but it actually tends to be larger for women who gain advanced business skills.

And while this recent study looked at the US job market, the same trend can also be observed in the UK. A University of Kent study from earlier this year concluded that the UK gender pay gap for higher-educated parents has actually grown since the 1970s.

So is salary negotiation still worth it?
It most definitely is, according to the study’s authors. They confirmed that despite the persistent gender pay gap, those who request more money are indeed more likely to get it than those who don’t ask - and there’s plenty of advice out there for women looking to negotiate a salary bump.

But the study’s co-author, Prof Laura Kray from the Berkeley Haas School of Business, said the findings demonstrate the need to stop putting the onus on women to negotiate better and instead fix what is a “discriminatory system”.

“Negotiating for pay or promotions is clearly beneficial, and given that negotiation rates are pretty low, there is a lot of room for everyone to do more negotiating,” she said. “But it’s time to end the notion that the pay gap occurs because women don’t ask.”

🍻 “Beer goggles” aren’t real: New research has found that alcohol does not make people seem better looking - but drinking might give you the “courage” to approach attractive people.

🇦🇺 Landmark referendum: Australians will vote on 14 October on whether they want to change the constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in what Reuters called a “defining moment in [Australia’s] struggle for Indigenous rights”.

✈️ Air travel latest: National Air Traffic Services confirmed that Monday’s technical fault - which left thousands of passengers stranded - was caused by incoming flight data. More flights have been cancelled today as airlines attempt to recover from the disruption.

⛪ Clergy survey: Three-quarters of Church of England priests believe that Britain can no longer be described as a Christian country, according to a survey by The Times. It also found that the majority of priests want the church to start conducting same-sex weddings.

🎥 In the limelight: A US district judge dismissed a $5 million lawsuit from two movie fans who accused Universal Studios of “false advertising” by featuring actor Ana de Armas in the trailer of 2019’s Yesterday, even though she had been cut from the film.

Trivia answer: B) The baby giraffe has no spots - and some experts believe she could be the “only solid-coloured reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet”.

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