'One Team, One Book' teaches young athletes about Title IX

In St. Louis, the Hillsboro High School volleyball team is educating themselves and others about Title IX. With the encouragement of their coaches the team is reading “Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX” and devoting 30 minutes of practice each day to discuss what they have read. The project was started by the school’s librarians in an effort to educate young athletes about the challenges previous generations faced participating in school sports. The project has been a success for this team and has encouraged other teams to take part in similar activities. Click here for more.

Black, female leaders battle Baltimore urban woes

As of this year, Baltimore’s top elected posts- Mayor, City Council President, Chief Prosecutor and Comptroller are all held by Black women. The jury is still out on how their presence may affect growing crime and poverty rates, but many are hopefully that the shift in leadership is for the better. Click here for more.

Female Baby Boomers Face 'Retirement Gap'

The first Baby Boomer to file for social security was a woman, highlighting the increasing number of women who will rely on the program in the near future. Thousands of Baby Boomers could apply for social security everyday over the next 20 years, over half of whom will be women. Yet, in the presidential primaries there has been no mention of the retirement gap or the particular needs of women. Click here for more.

Argentina's first lady wins top job

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, former senator and first lady, won Argentina's presidential election on Sunday. Fernandez won over 40% of the vote and promises to build on the economic legacy of her husband’s presidency. Much of Fernandez’s support came from Argentina’s poor and working class citizens, who credit her husband with generating jobs. Please click here for more.

A woman's supreme right over her own body and destiny is in jeopardy

Forty years after the passing of the Abortion Act in the UK, women’s rights are still in jeopardy. The debate still rages on about the rights of the fetus and the right to privacy as hundreds of anti-abortion activist gather to demonstrate. Click here for more.

For Women, Greater Obstacles to Retirement

For many women, retirement is not an option. An increasing number of women can not afford to retire because they have not saved enough money to support themselves after retirement. Even if they have invested in a traditional pension or a 401(k) plan, women consistently enter retirement with about half as much money as men do. Please click here for more.

For Women, a Slow Narrowing of the Pay Gap

In 1979, women working full time made only 63 percent as much pay as men, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now working women make 81 percent as much as men. Yes, that’s an improvement, but it still means that median weekly earnings were $600 for women last year, compared with $743 for men. Click here for more

Why Men Dominate Math and Science Fields

A new study suggests that women are less likely to participate in science and engineering settings where they are outnumbered by men. The study published in Psychological Science notes that in order to bring gender equality to science and engineering, changes must occur in the social and culture aspect of the fields. Click here for more.

House Fails to Override Child Health Bill Veto

Supporters of the S-chip bill did not muster enough votes in the house to override a presidential veto. The bill to provide health insurance for 10 million children was supported by a vote of 273 to 156, 13 votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority to pass the bill. Recent polls show widespread public support for the measure and the democratic leadership is confidant in its ability to propose a re-drafted version. Click here for more.

System overhaul key to reducing breast cancer deaths for black women

In Chicago, massive changes to the city’s healthcare system are required for reducing deaths from breast cancer, according to a special task force. African American women there are dying from breast cancer at a rate 68% higher than white women and experts point to a segregated healthcare system as the main cause. Underserved women in the city do not have access to high-quality screening, detection or treatment, causing a high rate of mortality. To improve survival rates, the panel recommends creating a universal, transparent quality-control system for screening and detecting breast cancer. Please click here for more.

Abstinence 1, S-Chip 0

The House of Representatives is considering increasing funding for abstinence only education by $28 million. Abstinence-only programs, the only form of federally-financed sex education, could receive $200 million a year if the bill passes. In an effort to pass the State Children’s Health Insurance program, democratic leaders are offering a trade off that would increase funding to the abstinence-only programs despite their having been proven ineffective. Please click here for more.

Birth-Control Foe To Run Office on Family Planning

The Bush administration has appointed Susan Orr, an opponent of contraception, as chief of family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services. Orr has supported proposals to stop health insurance plans from covering birth control and appears to be as controversial as her predecessor Eric Keroack, who also opposed support for contraception. In her new post, Orr will oversee $283 million in annual grants to provide low-income families and others with contraceptive services, counseling and preventive screenings.

Unilever Shuns Stereotypes of Women (Unless Talking to Men)

Unilever, makers of Dove and Axe, promote two competing images of women. The Dove campaign celebrates women of all shapes and sizes while the Axe campaign features underfed and over-sexualized images of women. Is this hypocrisy? Some consumer groups say that Unilever should be criticized for its imbalanced messaging. Please click here for more.

Deadly Deliveries

Maternal mortality is increasing nationally. A total of 54 women died in 2004 and it is estimated that more than 13 women will die for every 100,000 babies born in the United States. A number of factors are contributing to the increase in maternal mortalities, including: the rising age at which women have children, the obesity epidemic, and a decrease of practicing obstetricians. In New York, where rates are among the highest in the country, another leading factor is the growing number of poor and immigrant patients. Please click here for more.

Outlawing Abortion Does Not Lower Rates

A global study of abortion rates around the world has concluded that rates are similar in countries where abortions are legal and those where they are not, suggesting that banning abortion does not deter women from seeking the procedure. The study shows that in Uganda, where abortion is illegal, the estimated abortion rate is more than twice the rate of that in the United State. The lowest rate was in Western Europe where abortion is legal and contraception is widely available.
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Afghan Women Jailed for Safety

Women in Afghanistan who have been jailed for “moral crimes” such as adultery or being in the company of a man who is not a relative are believed to be safer in prison. The annual festival of Eid, that brings the prospect of presidential pardons, puts these women at risk of being released and put in the custody of relatives who may carry out “honor killings” and other serve punishments. Warnings from international organizations about the risk of releasing these women follows an early September report by the U.N. that found at least half the women in Afghanistan's largest jail are there for so-called moral crimes. Please click here for more information.

M.B.A. Programs Pay Off for Women Seeking a Return to Wall Street

Women returning to the workforce after leaving to fulfill family obligations are now being aided by executive MBA programs. Programs like Back in Business at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth offer a curriculum that combines academics and career opportunities. With a median age of 47 and an average of eight years out of the workforce more than half of the programs participants found jobs with high-level companies such as Goldman Sachs.
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