Blog

Women's employment in Turkey is increasing despite the economic crisis

As unemployment in Turkey reaches record levels, women are actually finding more jobs. A new labor report found that, between December 2007 and December 2008, 528,000 men and 500,000 women entered the labor market in the country. During this period 160,000 men lost their jobs, while 249,000 women found jobs. While nonagricultural labor force employment for men decreased by 1 percent, it increased by 9% for women.

Why women's businesses need more than just capital to grow

Microfinance work to date has operated on the premise that giving microcredit to women helps lift both women and their families out of poverty. But recent research is putting this belief into question. A recent field experiment in Sri Lanka found that giving small grants of $100 and $200 to male-owned microenterprises increased monthly profits by 9 percent, but giving the same amounts to female-owned microenterprises resulted in no change at all in profits.

Play about women in the Congo wins Pulitzer Prize

Lynn Nottage's play "Ruined" has won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The play tells the story of African women scarred by Congo's civil war, as they confront the war's brutality and war-time rape. The play’s main character is a businesswoman Mama Nadi who is caught in the conflict she tries so hard to avoid as she struggles to protects the young women in her care.

PwC examines the impact of the recession on women's careers

Earlier this year, one of our forum members, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), surveyed over 1,000 professionals on their views about how the recession is impacting women in the workforce. The findings are a stark warning to companies about the possible loss of talent. Some of the main findings:

Financial planning for generation X and Y women

The Women's Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor recently launched an exciting new initiative, called Wi$eUpWomen.org, a website providing financial information for women of all ages. Wi$eUp promotes financial security through online education and encourages responsible saving habits for future retirement. The website offers a fun online curriculum and teleconferences.

Forum members named among the world's most ethical companies

CISCO, Nike and Standard Chartered are three members of our forum that made it on this year's list of 99 most ethical companies in the world. The list is compiled by the Ethisphere Institute and includes companies from 35 different industries.

China's excess males

A preference for boys has left China with 32 million more boys than girls under the age of 20, according to a recently released study. While the Chinese preference for sons has been well known for a while, this report sheds light on just how stark of a problem this preference has created.

Gender differences in dealing with stress

A new study conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem finds that the way people deal with stress is partly due to genetic differences, which can differ in important ways between women and men.

How the recession is impacting British women workers

As in many other countries around the world, the recession is hitting workers in the United Kingdom (UK) hard. The latest unemployment figures, released on March 18th, show that unemployment climbed to more than 2 million and has reached 6.5% of the labor force. Yet, mirroring trends in the United States, British women are losing jobs at lower rates than men.

Australian women are working more, but earning less

A new report shows that working women in Australia are likely to earn in their lifetime about half the amount men do - A$3.3 million compared to A$1.8 million - despite having the same qualifications as men.