South Asia | India | Business

Meet Captain Monica Khanna, who safely landed SpiceJet flight after engine fire

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Captain Monica Khanna’s quick-thinking saved the lives of around 185 passengers on board the SpiceJet flight that caught fire shortly after takeoff on Sunday. The Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight safely returned to Patna after cabin crew noticed sparks flying out of the left engine of the aircraft and alerted the pilots. Captain Monica Khanna – the pilot in-charge – acted calmly and took control of the situation. After consulting with First Officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia, she switched off the affected engine and landed the ‘overweight’ aircraft skillfully in Patna.
North America | United States | Career

‘It’s been everything I’ve ever imagined,’ Jackson’s first female firefighter says

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Annie Wallen has had one dream since the second grade: to be a full-time firefighter. In January she achieved that dream, becoming the first female fighter for the city of Jackson. But a round of layoffs ended her dream Thursday. “My dream was short lived, but I lived it,” Wallen said. “It’s been everything I’ve ever imagined.” Wallen and five other firefighters were laid off following the expiration of a federal grant Sept. 26, Jackson Police and Fire Director Elmer Hitt said.
Europe | U.K. | Activism

HearHer Is The UK’s First All-Female Festival Giving Women In Music The Space They Deserve

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In 2018, UK festival line-up statistics were still rather disappointing. 70 percent of festivals featured all-male bands, leaving many to wonder why female artists were still being dismissed. These figures come from the founding members of the UK's first all-female festival, HearHer: three days of musical bliss performed exclusively by female artists. Set to take over Dorset's Sandford Holiday Park from Oct. 11 to 13, HearHer has enlisted over 20 incredible performers to share their talents with the nation. The festival has been curated by singer-songwriter KT Tunstall and actress-slash-mu
Europe | U.K. | Activism

Women in science: Smashing glass ceilings and glass walls

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A woman engineer who worked on the moon landing spoke this week of how she was once told the control room was no place for women. Things have changed a lot in 50 years, but not as fast as some had hoped. BBC News spoke to five scientists from different generations who are breaking barriers in their field. Famous for discovering the first pulsar more than 50 years ago, Prof Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell has also been a lifelong advocate of women in science. As a school pupil in Northern Ireland in the 1950s, like other girls she was not permitted to study science until her parents (and others
North America | United States | Adventure

The women of NASA are looking to the lunar horizon

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Growing up, Holly Ridings, Anne McClain and Nujoud Merancy dreamed of space. But they didn't let those dreams rest to become flights of childhood fancy. Now, all three women work at NASA. McClain is an astronaut who just returned from a six-month stint on the International Space Station. Merancy is the Exploration Mission Planning and Analysis lead for the Orion spacecraft that will be part of the Artemis mission in 2024. And Ridings is the first female chief flight director. And they're all working toward the goal of landing the first woman on the moon by 2024.
South Asia | India | Career

Women are bringing solar energy to thousands of Indian villages

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India is trying to bring electricity to hundreds of millions of its citizens who live off the grid. And it's trying to ensure that the power comes from clean and renewable sources. Frontier Markets is helping to achieve both those goals in the Western desert state of Rajasthan, selling solar-powered products to hundreds of villages. The company is thriving by turning its customers into salespeople. The company employs women to sell products like lamps, stoves, and even TVs that run on solar power through a program called Solar Sahelis (Solar Friends). Each woman is in charge of sell
Europe | U.K. | Career

Lagarde and Von der Leyen: Europe taps first women for powerful roles

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Ursula von der Leyen has been nominated for president of the European Commission, which proposes and enforces policy for the 28-member political and economic union and is one of the two most powerful E.U. institutions. France's Christine Lagarde, who currently heads the International Monetary Fund, has been nominated as president of the European Central Bank, which sets monetary policy for the 19 nations that share the euro currency. Von der Leyen, 60, is a close friend of Angela Merkel, speaks multiple languages and was a doctor before she entered politics. However, the Brussels-born mother
North America | United States | Career

There will be more women on the debate stage this week than ever in US history

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This week’s Democratic debates are set to be historic: It’s the first time ever that more than one woman candidate will be onstage at a US presidential debate. On Wednesday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) will be standing alongside Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) in the first night of the debates. On Thursday, Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and author Marianne Williamson will be among the Democratic contenders duking it out onstage. Throughout America’s nearly 243-year history, there have only been five women candidates who’ve
North America | United States | Career

New Report Says Women Will Soon Be Majority Of College-Educated U.S. Worker

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Women are on track to make up a majority of the college-educated labor force this year, marking a historic turning point in gender parity. While women have made up a majority of college-educated adults for roughly four decades, that strength has not always been reflected in the work force, where men have traditionally dominated. Men still outnumber women as a percentage of U.S. workers, but the gap has narrowed significantly in recent years. This year's first-quarter findings reported 29.5 million women in the labor force had at minimum a bachelor's degree, compared to 29.3 million me
Asia | Kyrgyzstan | Career

Kyrgyzstan’s space women blast off from male dominance

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Having grown up in one of the poorest and most conservative regions in Kyrgyzstan, 17-year-old Begaiym Isaakova never imagined she would work in tech, let alone be part of a team of young women building the country's first spacecraft. By age 15, Isaakova was shocked to see her peers in Jalal-Abad being married off, but not too surprised. The message that girls should prioritise knowing how to serve men started early and was everywhere, including in schools and homes. Instead of being sent down the aisle in a country where early and forced marriage - including by bride kidnap - is common
North America | United States | Career

Melania Trump’s chief of communications Stephanie Grisham picked as next White House press secretary and communications director

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First lady Melania Trump’s chief spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, has been tapped to replace Sarah Huckabee Sanders as the next White House press secretary, the first lady announced Tuesday. Grisham, who had served as the East Wing press secretary since March 2017, will also become the White House communications director, according to the first lady’s tweet. The first lady said in a tweet that she and President Donald Trump “can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country.”
Europe | Germany | Career

Exchange’s first female long distance driver in Europe wants more women drivers

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Heike Molter has been driving long distance for 18 years and it showed when she took her road test to drive for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service. She aced the test on the first try and was hired in April. “Some of the other applicants took several attempts while she only took one. We could tell she was very skilled,” said Ronald Willis, regional supervisor for the Exchange’s Europe fleet. “We knew we had to have her on the Gruenstadt team.” Molter is the first woman hired to drive long distance with the Exchange’s Europe fleet. In fact, her application was the fir
North America | United States | Career

Warner Bros. Taps BBC Studios Americas Chief Ann Sarnoff as CEO

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Warner Bros. has tapped BBC Studios Americas president Ann Sarnoff as its new CEO, a surprise pick that is sure to shake up the venerable studio. Sarnoff becomes the first woman to head Warner Bros. in its nearly 100-year history. She was under the radar during WarnerMedia’s search for a successor to lead the studio following the forced resignation of chairman-CEO Kevin Tsujihara in March.
Europe | Netherlands | Business

Top engineering university to open jobs exclusively to women

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Job vacancies at one of Europe’s leading engineering universities will be open exclusively to female candidates for at least the next 18 months in order to overcome the institution’s “implicit gender bias”. The rector of the Eindhoven University of Technology, Frank Baaijens, said progress towards a better balance of men and women in academic roles had been stubbornly slow. The proportion of vacancies that will be open only to women will be adapted after 18 months of a five-year programme to reflect the success or otherwise of the scheme. About 150 jobs are expected to become