Women's Leadership

Most of the world’s nations are not doing enough to protect women and girls from the economic and social fallout being caused by the COVID-19 crisis, according to new data released today by UNDP and UN Women from the COVID-19 Global Gender Response Tracker.

An abuse-fighting bot has sent out hundreds of positive messages on social media to counter the online harassment of women candidates in New Zealand's general election.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, her main rival the opposition leader Judith Collins and more than 260 female parliamentary candidates have become a target for online hatred and sexism ahead of the Oct. 17 national polls.

Germany’s justice ministry has sparked an argument over gender and language by drafting a bill that uses only feminine endings, giving some the impression that it applies only to women.

Legal texts in Germany usually use the masculine version of words such as “employee” or “landlord” to cover both men and women.

But campaigners have been arguing for years that using this language excludes women or gives the impression they are less important.

On a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program earlier this month, a debate between two physicians over coronavirus-related restrictions turned into a brief clash over the role of gender in mainstream discourse.

“You’re just shouting; you’re not actually speaking,” infectious-disease expert Neil Rau told his female colleague, interrupting.

“Do not be sexist,” family doctor and medical anthropologist Nili Kaplan-Myrth responded, not missing a beat. “I’m speaking in an assertive voice.”