The (very) unofficial recipe of International Women’s Day

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a recipe of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here. Women deserve more. TikTok needs a probation. Fligh [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a recipe of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Women [deserve more](. - TikTok needs [a probation](. - Flights [cost a fortune](. In the Kitchen, Where I Belong? Have you heard? Today is a very special day: March 8, 2023 marks the two-year anniversary of this ([now-deleted]() tweet from Burger King: It’s also International Women’s Day, which I am sure you are aware of because your inbox is currently flooded with [a sea of corporate emails]( about women kicking ass, taking names, yada, yada, yada. In honor of all this, I — a woman! — would like to gift you with a recipe. No, it’s not [cinnamon rolls](. But it is a good one, trust me. A Feminine Twist on Thomas Keller’s Famous Zucchini All good recipes start with an [unnecessarily long preamble](, but because [women]( already spend [47 minutes more]( on housework on average than men each day, I’ll skip that. Without further ado … here’s my take on [THE Thomas Keller zucchini](: You’ll need: A bunch of zucchinis (or [courgettes](, if you’re in the UK). A sharp knife. Salt. Paper towels. $250 — the average [weekly cost of child care]( in the US (in the UK, [you’ll need more](). Enough canola oil to sink a ship. Jamie Lee Curtis or an appropriate substitute. - Preheat oven to whatever you think is best. (This recipe [isn’t really backed by any research](, so just wing it, [girlboss](.) - Take one-fifth of your zucchinis and throw them in the garbage. (Women earn about [82 cents for every dollar]( earned by men, so we want our dish to reflect that. Symbolism, baby!) - Slice your remaining zucchini longways, and season liberally with [salt](. - Let the zucchini rest for [40 minutes](. While you wait, contemplate [letting your hair go gray](. - Pat dry with a [paper towel]( (preferably [Brawny](). - Add canola oil to a skillet and heat until [nearly smoking](. Place zucchinis in the pan, scored side down. - Transfer the skillet to your preheated oven. Cook for about 25 minutes — one for every two years it will take for the UK to [close its gender pay gap](. - Remove zucchini from oven and blot the excess oil like you would during a [makeup]( [routine](. - Sprinkle the top with 2 strands of [Jamie Lee Curtis’s hair](. (Christine Lagarde, Maye Musk or Janet Yellen’s locks can be substituted in a pinch — or even your own!) Enjoy!* Notes for serving: *If you’re a college-educated woman in your 20s dining with a group of male peers, serve yourself 90% of what everyone else gets. If you’re a college-educated woman in your 40s dining with a group of male peers, serve yourself 55% of what everyone else gets. Use a kitchen scale to get [the most accurate results](. I hope you like the recipe. It was inspired by the wonderful work of my colleagues, [Sarah Green Carmichael](, [Andreea Papuc](, [Claudia Sahm]( and [Therese Raphael](. Bonus International Women’s Day Reading: - The Taliban has [erased Afghan women and girls]( from public life — again. — Bloomberg’s editorial board - Mortgage rates are [preventing families from moving]( in order to access better schools. — Conor Sen TikTok on the Clock Weirdly enough, that zucchini recipe actually segues nicely into our next topic: TikTok (the place where Thomas Keller’s “[life changing](” method [went viral](). Yesterday, [US senators introduced a bill]( that would allow President Joe Biden to ban ByteDance’s app. Proponents of the bill argue that the app’s widespread reach could expose national security vulnerabilities and exploit teens who turn to TikTok not just for zucchini recipes, but for actual news and information. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have this problem. In 2020, the US had plenty of chances to scoop up TikTok’s US arm, but those options have run dry. Although the Biden administration is attempting to work with TikTok to reel in its power and safeguard Americans, the Pentagon, CIA and FBI have many concerns (a lot of them unaddressed) about the risks of allowing the app to stay operational. Minxin Pei argues that these concerns, while valid, don’t take into account the not-so-insignificant [consequences of a preemptive ban](. Venture capitalists have [plowed tons of money]( into ByteDance. Hundreds of thousands of Americans make a living [on the platform](. And 138 million Americans are on the app. An outright ban “would not just damage the global credibility of the US as a country where speech is protected and free enterprise thrives. It could open the door to eroding Americans’ own First Amendment rights,” he argues. Instead of a full-on ban, maybe [a dedicated US Cyber Force]( would help mitigate the risks, as James Stavridis suggests. Read the [whole thing](. Bonus China Reading: - China’s government has wasted two decades trying to catch up to the US semiconductor industry. Will [Xi’s latest push]( be any different? — Tim Culpan - Chinese companies must learn [how to put their capital to work]( — without Beijing’s hand-holding. — Anjani Trivedi Telltale Travel Charts Can we just talk about how the airline industry has absolutely no shame??? It’s honestly impressive how they can turn our despair over airfare prices into pure, unadulterated joy: “Capacities will remain limited for many years ahead while at the same time demand continues to increase… This is something we and the industry have been waiting for.” — Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa Cue the cackling! The rubbing of hands! This is [evil villian]( type stuff, and it’s working incredibly well for Mr. Spohr, who says high ticket prices “are just too much fun” to resist. Chris Bryant says “[the balance of supply and demand has swung in favor of the airlines](, who are able to pass on higher fuel costs and other expenses to passengers.” Hence the astounding 78% gain of Bloomberg’s EMEA airline index: Although I’m flattered that the CEO of Lufthansa has been waiting for the day I press “buy” on a $1,485 ticket [to Paris](, I’d rather not do that! But alas, my desires have no influence in the sky. The powers that be have decided they’re not going to add any new flights to meet this demand. Instead, they’ll just [jack up the prices]( on the existing ones. Heaven forbid these airlines forgo what United Airlines Holdings boss Scott Kirby says is a “once-in-a-history-of-the-industry opportunity.” The audacity is beyond me. The pandemic was bad for airlines. There were staffing issues. Empty planes. Equipment shortages. But instead of hurting the industry, those bottlenecks have been “an elixir for corporate profits and a driver of consumer price inflation,” according to Chris. There’s no amount of free in-flight snacks that will make passengers happy about airline CEOs having “fun” at their expense. Read [the whole thing](. Further Reading Grocery stores know customers going to hit a spending cliff. [They just don’t know when](. — Leticia Miranda Vladimir Putin and Saddam Hussein’s [commonalities are hard to ignore](. — Leonid Bershidsky Here’s why you’re [missing more rallies]( than crashes . — Aaron Brown Transparency was supposed to help the Fed smooth things over with markets. Instead, [we’re seeing more volatility](. — Mohamed A. El-Erian [The ocean is hurting]( and it’s all our fault. Let’s fix that. — Lara Williams Asian noodle chain Wagamama needs [to face the music](. — Matthew Brooker Yes, Trump could [lose the primaries]( but still win the nomination. — Jonathan Bernstein ICYMI [The texts]( Fox News didn’t want you to see. [Bakhmut]( may fall after Russia’s advance. Bolsonaro is haunted by [$3 million jewelry](. Oh, so money can [buy happiness](. A Kenyan senator [fights taboos]( with stained pants. Kickers Working on [a CEO’s pet project]( isn’t so fun. (h/t Beth Kowitt) Area man lives in [two passenger planes](. Poolside cabanas are [absurdly expensive](. Reese’s peanut butter cups are [going vegan](. Toblerone isn’t [Swiss enough](. Notes:  Please send non-vegan peanut butter cups and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like getting this newsletter? 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