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Here’s what you need to know
The US and NATO said they’ve seen no indication Russia is de-escalating anything. Ukraine is stepping up symbolic displays of unity. More on the crisis below.
Android apps will stop giving each other your data. Google announced privacy measures similar to the ones that Apple put in place last year.
The Fed may raise interest rates faster than expected. Confronted with high inflation, Federal Reserve officials discussed hiking interest rates at successive policy meetings, once every six weeks—which they haven’t done since 2006.
Meta has a new head of global affairs. Former UK deputy prime minister and current Meta VP of global affairs and communications Nick Clegg will help the company handle increasingly thorny regulatory tangles.
Basically everything oil companies say to us about helping the environment is untruthful. If anything, a new study says, fossil fuel providers are getting even less climate friendly.
Canada and the US both saw their hockey teams knocked out of the Olympics. Just the men though—the women compete for gold today. India’s only Winter Games athlete Arif Khan didn’t finish the men’s slalom event, and Norway still leads in the medal count.
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What to watch for
Russia is hosting a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine today as tensions build with the West. The Kremlin has amassed 150,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, but denies any plans to invade its neighbor. The US and its NATO allies disagree. An invasion could have major economic consequences, and the geopolitical conflict has spooked financial markets in recent days.
A brief, recent history of how we got here:
March 2014: Russia annexes Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
April 2014: An armed conflict with Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region begins, continuing to this day.
November 2021: Ukraine confirms nearly 100,000 Russian soldiers near its border.
December 2021: Russia issues a list of demands to ease tensions, including refusing Ukraine membership to NATO, which the US and NATO allies later reject.
February 2022: Russia says it’s pulling back troops from Ukraine’s border, but the US and NATO remain unconvinced.
How companies can promote equality at home…
Companies and managers should step up to help employees navigate a fairer division of labor at home as a way to prevent burnout, according to research from McKinsey. So what can companies do?
- Increased flexibility for all employees. Try not to schedule meetings at typical school drop-off or collection times, and ensure hybrid and flexible work options are open to all. Also, make sure women and men return in equal numbers when offices finally re-open.
- Equalizing benefits. Parental and adoption leave, for example, should be offered to all, and everyone should be encouraged to make use of them.
- Role-modeling. Managers can make teams feel comfortable talking about household responsibilities, and should avoid assuming that any particular team member has (or doesn’t have) certain responsibilities or desires.
…and in the workplace
Salary transparency can help stamp out structural inequity, especially for younger workers, people of color, and women. But not everyone is convinced of its benefits. ✦ Quartz members can explore the pros, cons, and future possibilities of salary transparency. Not yet a member? Try it free for seven days.
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📈 What China means when it says it wants “high quality” GDP growth
🌍 Africans are trying to fix Wikipedia’s language problem
🏖 A Bollywood company paid $5,000 for a plot of virtual land
Surprising discoveries
Disney’s working on a new living community. 🎶Little town, it’s a quiet village… 🎶
Universal donor lungs could become a real option. Canadian researchers say that type A lungs can be converted to lungs that can be used for any blood type on the transplant list.
Bots can now identify themselves on Twitter. Whether evil or benign, any automated account will be marked as such.
The 2007 movie Bucket List invented the term. If you clearly remember it existing prior to that, you’re not alone—but it’s just an example of the Mandela effect.
You can just type seven characters into Chrome’s search bar to start a new Google doc. That’s not all you’ll learn in the latest episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast.
☁️ Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Stitcher
Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, little towns, and little people to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Courtney Vinopal, Cassie Werber, Liz Webber, Susan Howson, and Samanth Subramanian.