Gender
India could boost its GDP by $770 billion by just treating women better
India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, could do a lot better if only it treated its women better. The country could add up to $770 billion—more than 18 percent—to its GDP by 2025, simply by giving equal opportunities to women, according to a report by the McKinsey Global Read More...
A German company celebrated International Women’s Day by investing in newborn girls
In support of International Women’s Day, a German food service ran a very special campaign in their home city of Düsseldorf. For every baby girl born in Düsseldorf on March 8, 2018, the company set up a fund in her name of $2,500. It’s a practical step towards solving gender inequality, one Read More...
An Indian village is fighting sex-selective abortion with trees
In 2011, an Indian census revealed something startling: Across the country, there were 7 million more boys than girls under the age of six. The reason? In all likelihood, rampant sex-selective abortion. Many Indian parents prefer to have a boy, thanks in part to the hefty dowries traditionally Read More...
Canadian currency will soon feature its first Canadian woman
Seventy-two years after Viola Desmond went to jail for refusing to leave the whites-only section of a movie theater, her efforts fighting for civil rights are being recognized. Last week, Canada unveiled its new $10 Canadian dollar bill featuring a portrait of Desmond. The Civil rights pioneer was Read More...
A lack of diversity isn't just a social problem—it hurts firms' profits
The gender gap in wages, workforces, seniority, and treatment is well documented. But while governments and companies across a range of industries are trying to narrow the disparity, their attempts can easily be dismissed by critics as a box-ticking Read More...
New research shows there’s one surefire way to change men’s ideas about gender
New research suggests a pretty straightforward way to bust gender stereotypes: Get men and women to work closely alongside each Read More...
McDonald's is flipping its iconic arches upside down in unprecedented statement
People driving by a McDonald's in Lynwood, California, might be baffled by an upside-down sign. The golden arches, typically standing as an M, have been flipped over to become a W. But this isn't a bizarre prank or a careless mistake. The upside-down arches are in "celebration of women Read More...
Melinda Gates: When money flows into the hands of women, everything changes
I have spent many hours talking with colleagues in international development about how to tear down the barriers that block women’s progress around the world. Now, we’re confronting the fact that every sector, including our own, has a serious problem with sexual harassment and violence. The Read More...
The dollar value of unpaid work done by women in America is mind-boggling
Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee has a good idea for demonstrating the monetary value of ‘invisible work’ that women do on a daily basis. She put together a calculator programmed with hourly rates for typical household services, minus the fee charged by the company. If we put in all the Read More...
This Harvard economist revolutionized our understanding of why women earn less than men
Harvard economist Claudia Goldin has dedicated her career to researching women’s changing roles in the US economy. She’s studied everything from how the rise of birth-control pills have altered women’s approaches to marriage and education to why more women are working in full-time jobs past Read More...