©Rune Kongsro
Women in work: The Norwegian experience
High female participation in the workforce has a decisive effect on a country’s performance, as Norway shows.
(966 words)
©OECD
The OECD Gender Initiative: Overview
Regrettably, gender discrimination is still a problem in our societies and our economies. In fact, “problem” is far too weak a word. It is more accurate to speak of an unacceptable injustice. Women have fewer opportunities in terms of education, employment and entrepreneurship and are, on average, less well paid for their work.
(275 words)
©AIWF
Beyond the Arab Spring
Are women in Arab countries on the verge of achieving real, lasting, change and empowerment? The answer depends on whether they can keep up momentum for change and influence government policies.
(1035 words)
©Evaristo SA/AFP
Gender: Still some way to go
Wherever I go, in every country, women are demanding that their voices are heard. From the Arab states, where women continue to stand up for freedom and democracy, to all regions of the globe, the calls for equal rights, opportunity and participation are spreading and have brought significant change over the years.
(1251 words)New times, old perspectives?
The long road towards gender equality has arrived at greater educational attainment, higher female labour force participation, and advances in politics and business, but we haven’t reached the end yet.
(387 words)Protecting women's work
Half the world’s workforce, 1.5 billion working women and men, are in vulnerable employment. The global economic crisis has swelled the ranks of those whose jobs do not provide enough to meet basic needs, the “working poor”, by more than 100 million people, mainly women.
(981 words)
©Luke MacGregor/Reuters
The gender dividend: an urgent economic imperative
The corporate world is far from making the most out of gender diversity in the workplace. But some businesses are finding innovative ways to change this.
(1016 words)
Cherie Blair ©OECD
Women and entrepreneurship
Discrimination against women hurts everyone. As Founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women Cherie Blair explains, women entrepreneurs are an economic resource that economies, rich and poor alike, can ill afford to overlook.
(849 words)Jobs with small children
Most people would probably agree that female employment and maternity leave are related issues. But did you know that female employment rates are not always highest in countries where paid maternity leave is longest?
(211 words)
Gender’s development dimension
Could action on gender help jumpstart efforts to make the Millennium Development Goals deadline by 2015? The third goal already explicitly aims to “promote gender equality and empower women” (MDG3), but gender has a direct and profound impact on several other targets, too.
(234 words)
© ACJA-Fonds Curie & Joliot-Curie
Wanted: Women scientists
It is a century since Marie Curie won two Nobel prizes, one for physics and the other for chemistry. How can more women be encouraged to work in science?
(659 words)
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