International | Entertainment

Geena Davis: damaging stereotypes on screen limit women’s aspirations

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The promises of positive change for women on screen that followed her role in the groundbreaking film Thelma and Louise have failed to materialise, leaving girls today with few role models, according to the actor Geena Davis. The media continue to have a huge influence on how the world views women and girls, and how they view themselves, she said. But few current roles show women in powerful positions, and continue to reinforce damaging gender stereotypes. Davis was speaking to the Guardian as research into the film industry showed that of characters in leadership positions, women were
North America | United States | Military

More Women in US Military Academies, But Still a Lot More Men

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The percentage of female students nominated by U.S. lawmakers for admission to U.S. military academies has been rising over the last 25 years. But men are still nearly three times more likely than women to get a nomination, says a study released Tuesday. A member of Congress must nominate most applicants to the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Military Academy at West Point. The schools provide a cost-free education, then require graduates to serve a number of years in the armed forces. Currently, women represent about 27% of Naval Academy students, 22% of Air Force Academy
North America | United States | Career

Kylie Jenner, Beyoncé And The Highest-Paid Women In Entertainment 2019

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For the second time ever, Taylor Swift has sung and danced her way to the top of the annual global Celebrity 100 list of the world’s highest-earning entertainers, making $185 million in the last 12 months. She’s joined on the list by fellow musicians including Beyoncé (No. 20 on the overall list, $81 million), newcomer Ariana Grande (No. 62, $48 million) and divas boosted by lucrative Las Vegas residencies: Jennifer Lopez (No. 76, $43 million), Lady Gaga (No. 90, $39.5 million) and Celine Dion (No. 100, $37.5 million). Though the top of this year’s Celebrity 100 is packed with femal
Uncategorized | Politics

In Condemning Ilhan Omar, Democrats Have Proved Her Right

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At a time of heightened anti-Muslim discrimination and hatred, the Democratic establishment has taken unprecedented steps to single out a Muslim representative for her criticisms of AIPAC and the U.S.’s relationship with Israel. After first publicly rebuking Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Democratic establishment, led by House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, began drafting a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, amounting to an indirect censure. The move has spectacularly backfired, threatening deep fissures in the Democratic Party as accusations of anti-Semitism tear apart the Labour Party in the U.K
North America | United States | Economy

Banks Run by Women Might Be Less Vulnerable in a Crisis

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After the bank failures of 2008, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, quipped: “If Lehman Brothers had been Lehman Sisters, today’s economic crisis clearly would look quite different.” Was there some truth in her statement? Would the global financial crisis have been any less severe had there been more women in top finance jobs? Some recent research suggests it might have been. In a study published in the Journal of Business Ethics in October, a group of researchers from Finland found that U.S. banks with female chief executive officers or cha
North America | United States | Politics

Kind of Funny: Kentucky bill requires spouse consent to husband’s Viagra use

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Angered by a new law requiring women receive medical counseling at least 24 hours before an abortion, a Kentucky lawmaker decided she was going to "strike a nerve" with her political opponents -- in particular, the men. State Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, a Louisville Democrat, has introduced a bill that would require any man seeking a prescription for drugs to treat erectile dysfunction -- such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra -- to "have two office visits on two different calendar days" before receiving the desired medication. Marzian's House Bill 396 would only allow married men access to the
North America | United States | Technology

Female coders are rated more highly than men—except when people know they’re women

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A group of computer scientists, when studying the acceptance of contributions on the software repository GitHub, found open source code written by women is actually more often approved than code written by men. The catch—there’s always a catch—is that this only happens when the woman’s gender is hidden. GitHub, which is used by more than 12 million people, allows developers to write code for the projects of other software developers, who then choose whether to approve the submissions. Among the three million submissions (or “pull requests”) the researchers examined, female-written
North America | United States | Politics

Alaska Senator Says Only Women Showed Up To Run Congress Post-Blizzard

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has been impressed with the cold weather survival skills of her female colleagues in the Senate this week. The men, not so much. Murkowski was one of the few lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, and she noted on the Senate floor that it was pretty much only women joining her. "As we convene this morning, you look around the chamber, the presiding officer is female. All of our parliamentarians are female. Our floor managers are female. All of our pages are female," said Murkowski, who is obviously used to dealing with snow. "Something is genuinely different
International | Culture

Nordic Nations Among the Best Countries for Women, Survey Finds

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They may pay among the world’s highest taxes, endure long winters and watch the sunset before 4 p.m., but Danish women still remain the envy of many in the world. The Kingdom of Denmark is the best country for women, at least according to the more than 7,000 women who filled out surveys for the 2016 Best Countries rankings. The rankings, formed in partnership with brand strategy firm BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, aim to gauge global perceptions of the world’s biggest economies in terms of specific attributes associated with countries. The Be
South Asia | Australia | Media

Australian Women’s Weekly editor-in-chief Helen McCabe resigns after six years

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Helen McCabe has resigned as editor-in-chief of the Australian Women’s Weekly after six years in the high-profile role at the nation’s highest-selling magazine. The former News Corp Australia journalist and Channel Seven reporter joined the magazine world in 2009 after a stint as deputy editor of the Sunday Telegraph and high-level roles on the Australian. McCabe has grabbed some headlines of her own for some of the editorial choices she made at the magazine, once owned by Kerry Packer but now owned by German publishers Bauer Media. The news of her resignation came on the same day
Europe | Germany | Crimes

Uncensored Dana Loesch Blasts German Officials for Putting ‘Political Correctness’ Over Safety of Women

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During an interview on Fox News’ “The Kelly File” Wednesday evening, Dana Loesch condemned a German mayor’s response to a mass sexual assault in her city. Cologne police said that on New Year’s Eve, more than a thousand men “of Arab or North African appearance,” committed a series of crimes including sexual assaults, robberies and at least one rape. Police called the chaos “a completely new dimension of crime.” And reports indicate that at least eight of the suspects who have been identified were in the country as asylum seekers. Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker has bec
North America | United States | Crimes

Georgia Executes Only Female Death Row Inmate for the 1997 Murder of Her Husband

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After several denied appeals, including several from the United States Supreme Court, Georgia executed its only female death row inmate Wednesday morning. Kelly Renee Gissendaner died by lethal injection of pentobarbital Wednesday at 12:21 a.m. at the state prison in Jackson. She was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. She conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death. Gissendaner was the first woman executed in the state in 70 years.
International | Entrepreneurship

Which countries are best – and worst – for female entrepreneurs?

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If you’re a women-led start-up, there’s officially no better place in which to build your business than the United States. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the US has been named the best place for female entrepreneurs, according to a new global survey commissioned by Dell. Close behind it is Canada – with Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom rounding out the top five. Bottom of the list: Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.
South Asia | India | Society

Indian college women push back against curfews

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We could stay out late occasionally, but only with prior permission from the hostel warden and a letter from our parents. Such curfews are common in almost every residential facility for girls and women across India. Boys and men’s accommodations though have later curfew and far fewer restrictions. At the time, my college friends and I never thought to protest against this. As annoying as the rules were, we accepted them because to some extent we must have felt safer locked up indoors than being outdoors after dark. But now, women here in New Delhi are pushing back. They have started a