In-depth coverage of women’s economic advancement, featuring reporting, analysis, expert interviews and commentary. https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/rss en Solutions Tue, 29 Jan 2019 09:30:00 +0000 Kathryn Karol https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2019/01/29/bearing-the-burden-why-clean-water-is-vital-to-elevating-women-and-girls-out-of-poverty https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2019/01/29/bearing-the-burden-why-clean-water-is-vital-to-elevating-women-and-girls-out-of-poverty Access to clean water is more than just a health issue – it’s the key to gender equality and female empowerment in the world’s least developed countries, says Kathryn Karol of the Caterpillar Foundation Board. Fri, 16 Nov 2018 09:00:00 +0000 Marni Sommer https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/11/16/why-female-friendly-toilets-need-to-become-a-hot-news-topic https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/11/16/why-female-friendly-toilets-need-to-become-a-hot-news-topic November 19 is World Toilet Day – and a chance to highlight the role of toilets in gender inequality. Global health expert Marni Sommer says a lack of female-friendly toilets holds women and girls back, and calls on engineers to design spaces more suited to their needs. Thu, 15 Nov 2018 11:00:00 +0000 Bhavya Dore https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/11/15/tackling-menstrual-hygiene-among-adolescents-in-india https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/11/15/tackling-menstrual-hygiene-among-adolescents-in-india Educating India’s girls about menstruation and ending the existing culture of shame requires a multifaceted approach: The Indian government’s flagship toilet-building initiative is one step; another is getting people talking and tackling period-based taboos. Mon, 12 Nov 2018 08:00:00 +0000 Kate Thomas https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/11/12/for-first-time-in-decades-liberias-taps-are-no-longer-running-dry https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/11/12/for-first-time-in-decades-liberias-taps-are-no-longer-running-dry In Liberia, the Ebola outbreak drove steps to restore water pipes devastated during 14 years of civil war. As well as improving public health and productivity, access to clean, running water will, locals say, help keep girls in education. Thu, 08 Nov 2018 06:00:25 +0000 Michele Sullivan https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/11/08/healthy-rivers-lead-to-healthy-communities https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/11/08/healthy-rivers-lead-to-healthy-communities Michele Sullivan, president of the Caterpillar Foundation, makes the case that the rehabilitation of riverbanks and wetlands creates a profound and positive impact on rivers, wildlife, farms and communities around the world. The Foundation’s Great Rivers Partnership with The Nature Conservancy, she says, is improving some of the world’s most impressive rivers and changing lives. Entrepreneurship Equal Pay and Opportunity Solutions Fri, 02 Nov 2018 13:34:56 +0000 Aynur Tekin https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/11/02/how-turkish-women-with-disabilities-are-entering-the-workforce https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/11/02/how-turkish-women-with-disabilities-are-entering-the-workforce Women with disabilities often encounter ‘double discrimination’ in Turkey – faced with unemployment or lower-grade jobs on account of their gender and their disability. Government work quotas are not solving the issue, so Turkey’s women are taking matters into their own hands. Financial Inclusion Tue, 30 Oct 2018 10:30:00 +0000 Dominic Kirui https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/30/how-daycare-and-savings-groups-empowered-women-in-a-nairobi-slum https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/30/how-daycare-and-savings-groups-empowered-women-in-a-nairobi-slum From small beginnings, a group of Kenyan women in a slum area have developed a thriving savings group that has brought a measure of financial independence and stability to their lives. Asset and Property Rights Thu, 25 Oct 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Dominic Kirui https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/25/kenyas-women-run-village-banks-benefit-the-whole-family https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/25/kenyas-women-run-village-banks-benefit-the-whole-family In Part 2 of a two-part report on the informal banks that help women secure financial stability, we look at the safeguards the women have put in place to protect their pooled resources. Equal Pay and Opportunity Thu, 25 Oct 2018 07:30:00 +0000 Lara Setrakian https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/10/25/deeply-talks-how-philanthropy-can-fund-gender-equality https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/10/25/deeply-talks-how-philanthropy-can-fund-gender-equality Lara Setrakian talks to Cynthia Nimmo, president and CEO of the Women’s Funding Network, now a growing community of more than 100 women’s funds and foundations spanning 14 countries that invests more than $400 million a year in programs related to women’s issues. Mon, 22 Oct 2018 07:30:00 +0000 Ian Evans https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/22/the-race-for-wash-technology-that-might-actually-work https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/22/the-race-for-wash-technology-that-might-actually-work Technology solutions to address water, sanitation and hygiene issues have had a litany of failures, but a few responses seem to be breaking the mold. One of the most exciting is the idea of decentralized systems. Asset and Property Rights Entrepreneurship Financial Inclusion Informal Economy Fri, 19 Oct 2018 12:41:21 +0000 Dominic Kirui https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/19/the-informal-bank-that-empowers-kenyas-poorest-women https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/19/the-informal-bank-that-empowers-kenyas-poorest-women In Part 1 of a two-part report on the informal banks that help women secure financial stability, we look at a savings group in Kenya that grants independence to the women who join it. Thu, 18 Oct 2018 07:30:00 +0000 Martin Bader https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/18/menstrual-discrimination-is-illegal-in-nepal-but-no-one-is-listening https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/18/menstrual-discrimination-is-illegal-in-nepal-but-no-one-is-listening A little over a year after the Nepalese government outlawed the chhaupadi tradition that places restrictions on menstruating women, little has changed in practice. Activists say the beliefs underlying gender-based discrimination need to be addressed. Equal Pay and Opportunity Wed, 17 Oct 2018 12:30:00 +0000 Kizito Makoye Shigela https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/17/the-women-engineers-solving-tanzanias-sanitation-problems https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/17/the-women-engineers-solving-tanzanias-sanitation-problems Dar Es Salaam is slowly overcoming the sexism that pervades the field of engineering, drawing on the skills of its women engineers in an effort to tackle the city’s sanitation challenges. Wed, 17 Oct 2018 12:30:00 +0000 Michele Sibiloni https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/17/the-ugandan-sanitary-pad-factory-keeping-girls-in-school https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/17/the-ugandan-sanitary-pad-factory-keeping-girls-in-school A factory in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, is helping keep girls in school by producing cheap, reusable sanitary pads. By teaming up with NGOs, they’ve been able to distribute them to thousands of girls. Wed, 17 Oct 2018 12:30:00 +0000 Mahesh Bacham https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/17/the-indian-women-campaigning-for-clean-water https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/17/the-indian-women-campaigning-for-clean-water A campaign started by the women of Beechaganahalli village in Karnataka, India, has transformed lives. Their efforts resulted in the building of a treatment plant to remove arsenic and fluoride from local groundwater – and now local people have clean water to drink. Unpaid Domestic and Care Work Tue, 16 Oct 2018 11:00:00 +0000 Jihii Jolly https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/10/16/deeply-talks-domestic-workers-in-the-gulf https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/10/16/deeply-talks-domestic-workers-in-the-gulf In our August episode of Deeply Talks, experts joined us to discuss our new long-form investigation, on the rights of migrant domestic workers in the Gulf. Asset and Property Rights Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:59:24 +0000 Shipra Deo https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/10/15/rural-women-celebrating-the-culture-of-courage https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/10/15/rural-women-celebrating-the-culture-of-courage On the U.N.’s International Day of Rural Women, Shipra Deo of land rights organization Landesa looks at two women who embody the tenacious spirit found in India’s rural communities and explains how overturning gender inequality is central to achieving the SDGs. Asset and Property Rights Fri, 12 Oct 2018 15:49:00 +0000 Gurvinder Singh https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/12/fighting-for-the-marriage-rights-of-khasi-women https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/12/fighting-for-the-marriage-rights-of-khasi-women Tensions are running high in India’s Khasi community, one of the world’s few remaining matrilineal societies, as a new bill seeks to prevent women from marrying non-tribal members. Mon, 08 Oct 2018 11:00:00 +0000 Nazeem Muhajarine, Daphne McRae https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/08/poor-women-who-use-midwives-have-healthier-babies https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/08/poor-women-who-use-midwives-have-healthier-babies A new study of women in lower socioeconomic circumstances in British Columbia found midwifery care to be an effective model of prenatal care, significantly lowering the likelihood of preterm births, and small and low birth-weight babies. Entrepreneurship Financial Inclusion Informal Economy Fri, 05 Oct 2018 13:03:22 +0000 Wesley Lang’at https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/05/riskier-when-the-lights-are-out-the-sharp-end-of-the-kadogo-trade https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/05/riskier-when-the-lights-are-out-the-sharp-end-of-the-kadogo-trade In part 2 of our report on the low-income food sellers of Nairobi, we examine the threats facing the women who provide this vital link in the food-security chain – and what the future may hold for them. Entrepreneurship Informal Economy Thu, 04 Oct 2018 10:30:00 +0000 Wesley Lang’at https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/04/women-run-kadogo-food-stalls-ensure-the-poor-are-fed-in-nairobi-slums https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/04/women-run-kadogo-food-stalls-ensure-the-poor-are-fed-in-nairobi-slums Kenyan women operate low-cost food kiosks that fulfill an essential function: providing hot food to people too poor to buy fuel to cook their own meals. But they often struggle to make ends meet, not least because some of their clients are unable to pay. Mon, 01 Oct 2018 11:00:00 +0000 Maisam Najafizada, Jill Allison https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/01/women-healthcare-volunteers-are-undervalued-and-denied-upward-mobility https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/10/01/women-healthcare-volunteers-are-undervalued-and-denied-upward-mobility The thousands of women who volunteer in low-income countries’ healthcare systems deserve proper training, appropriate remuneration and the chance to be heard in decision-making, argue Maisam Najafizada and Jill Allison of Memorial University, Newfoundland. Equal Pay and Opportunity Wed, 26 Sep 2018 08:00:00 +0000 Jamille Bigio https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/09/26/nigerias-discriminatory-laws-hurt-women-and-corporations-alike https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/09/26/nigerias-discriminatory-laws-hurt-women-and-corporations-alike Nigeria’s working women deserve better legal protection – just as across the world laws making it harder for women to work than men are holding back economic progress. Yet companies will profit from promoting legal reforms to boost women’s participation in the economy. Mon, 24 Sep 2018 11:00:00 +0000 Kizito Makoye Shigela https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/24/tanzanian-women-traders-fight-gender-abuse-in-the-market-place https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/24/tanzanian-women-traders-fight-gender-abuse-in-the-market-place In Dar es Salaam, a local charity is raising women traders’ awareness of their rights and helping survivors of abuse and assault bring the perpetrators to justice. Founder Jane Magigita says the scheme has led to a large decline in sexual violence in the city’s markets. Entrepreneurship Fri, 21 Sep 2018 11:30:00 +0000 Swati Sanyal Tarafdar https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/21/highly-prized-black-chickens-a-blessing-for-indian-women-farmers https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/21/highly-prized-black-chickens-a-blessing-for-indian-women-farmers Women in Chhattisgarh state have branched out on their own as farmers rearing Kadaknath chickens, which are in great demand for their high-protein meat. A local enterprise scheme is boosting the women’s independence and has saved the birds from the edge of extinction. Thu, 20 Sep 2018 07:30:00 +0000 Emily Courey Pryor https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/09/20/gender-data-is-essential-to-drive-sdg-advocacy-for-women-and-girls https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/community/2018/09/20/gender-data-is-essential-to-drive-sdg-advocacy-for-women-and-girls A new index brings us one step closer to measuring progress toward gender equality under the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, but ultimate success is hampered by a persistent problem: gaps in the relevant data. Entrepreneurship Tue, 18 Sep 2018 05:00:00 +0000 News Deeply Contributor https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/18/women-led-alternative-to-top-down-philanthropy-is-driving-change https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/18/women-led-alternative-to-top-down-philanthropy-is-driving-change The Women’s Funding Network embraces a ground-up philosophy that empowers women to work together in planning and raising money for community projects. Key to its success, says CEO Cynthia Nimmo, is the fact that WFN takes a long-term view of project impacts. Equal Pay and Opportunity Fri, 14 Sep 2018 14:30:00 +0000 Anne Kidmose Jensen https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/14/the-next-african-megacity-could-be-engineered-by-women https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/14/the-next-african-megacity-could-be-engineered-by-women As Tanzania seeks to decongest Africa’s fastest growing city, more women are stepping up to become registered as professional engineers. Entrepreneurship Solutions Thu, 13 Sep 2018 05:51:50 +0000 Anastasya Manuilova https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/13/coworking-with-inbuilt-childcare-helps-russian-moms-get-back-to-work https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/13/coworking-with-inbuilt-childcare-helps-russian-moms-get-back-to-work Many Russian women find it difficult to get back into work after having children, but coworking centers with free childcare – the brainchild of P.R. specialist Olesya Kashaeva – are helping many in Moscow. This year Kashaeva is opening centers in 35 Russian cities. Tue, 11 Sep 2018 06:03:50 +0000 Sam Mednick https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/11/theres-no-time-for-rest-life-as-a-childrens-nurse-in-south-sudan https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/09/11/theres-no-time-for-rest-life-as-a-childrens-nurse-in-south-sudan Nursing assistant Bosco pushes himself to his physical limit to help the mothers and infants of Kapoeta, South Sudan, in the face of a brutal conflict and shortages of supplies. Talking to Sam Mednick, he shares his pride in his work and his commitment to his community.