Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Women’s Advancement Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on November 15, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on women’s economic advancement. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Understanding the burden of unpaid work that holds women and girls back, and exploring how it can be redistributed.
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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.
The oil-rich Gulf States depend on the migrant labor of millions of domestic workers to cook, clean and care for children across the region. For those workers, the chance of a better life for their own families comes with the risk of exploitation, abuse, even slavery.
Mexico gives poor, jobless moms up to $147 a month to feed and educate their kids. But money with strings attached may actually overburden women while freeing up their husbands’ time and money, Nora Haenn of North Carolina State University writes.
In our June episode of Deeply Talks, experts join us to discuss issues affecting widows and the unique disadvantages they face as they try to earn a living and care for their families.
Changes in family structures and lengthening life expectancies are leading the world towards a care crisis, the International Labour Organization has warned. And it’s women who will lose out the most.
In the Sri Lankan hills, preschool teachers run classes to prepare women for the practical and emotional realities of taking on migrant work in a foreign country and teach husbands how to do the job of raising the children.
Child’s rights advocates welcome a global turn away from placing abandoned children in institutions. But while most people agree that home care is best for children, much of that extra care is being taken on by women. Experts say men will need to step up to make community care feasible.
Sophie Richardson China Director, Human Rights Watch
China’s state-run organization on gender equality is promoting a damaging narrative about women’s subservience in an attempt to fix social issues, Human Rights Watch China director Sophie Richardson writes.
Glen Tarman Head of Global Advocacy, CARE International
The International Labour Organization has a unique opportunity to provide protection for working women around the world. Glen Tarman, head of global advocacy at CARE International, explains why a binding convention on sexual harassment is so necessary.
According to Kenyan law, a divorcing couple’s property should be divided based on each spouse’s contribution. But rights advocates who tried, and failed, to change the law to an even split say women’s contributions are largely non-monetary and hard to prove in court.
A company in Lebanon hopes to reduce the potential for abuse of foreign domestic workers by improving relationships with their employers. But migrant advocates say this won’t fix the problem in a country where two domestic workers commit suicide every week.
Deepta Chopra Development Geographer with a Focus on Women’s Empowerment
Reaching gender equality in paid work means more than just giving women jobs – we need to put in place systems for public services and decent employment to allow women time and energy to care for their families, says Deepta Chopra of the Institute of Development Studies.
In our April episode of Deeply Talks, experts join us to discuss both the burden of unpaid care shouldered by women, and the consequences of outsourcing that care.
Mayra Buvinic, senior fellow at the U.N. Foundation, discusses how time use surveys can measure the value of women’s work and what the pathway to policy change looks like when it’s based on sound data.
Highlights from a closing session, organized by NGO CSW/NY and News Deeply, on the outcomes of the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women and takeaways for implementation and inclusion.
Carolynne Wheeler News Manager, WaterAid
In many families, the burden of collecting water falls to women and girls. Without access to clean water, they cannot achieve their potential to learn, work and care for their families, says Carolynne Wheeler of WaterAid on World Water Day.
In our March episode of Deeply Talks, which falls on the first day of the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), our editors examine this year’s theme of empowering rural women and girls, featuring insights from two experts.
Dr Ruba Jaradat Regional Director for Arab States, International Labour Organization
On International Women’s Day, International Labour Organization (ILO) regional director for Arab States Dr. Ruba Jaradat calls on societies and governments to recognize the contribution of women care workers who uphold our economies.
In our WhatsApp story for International Women’s Day, we used real-time updates to understand the challenges three women face during the course of a typical work day. Here we replicate the story with further insight into the obstacles that keep so many women from gaining stable and equal work.
To achieve economic equality, activist and author Vandana Shiva says we need to recognize the value of women’s work and start counting production, not just profits.
On International Women’s Day, we’re broadcasting a 12-hour WhatsApp story about a day in the life of three working women. To sign up, message “NEWS DEEPLY” and your time zone to +1929-382-0011 using WhatsApp.
In Kenya, an estimated three in 100 children are living with cerebral palsy. The full-time care they require means mothers often have to quit – or are fired from – their jobs, leaving them with little support or protection from the government.
They are the hidden cost of Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war in the Philippines: single, teenage mothers whose partners have been killed by police or vigilantes. And without a job or government support, it’s near impossible for them to support their children.
The head of the International Trade Union Confederation speaks to News Deeply about recognizing unpaid care, representing the rights of domestic workers, and what automation means for women.
To make real progress on women’s economic advancement in developing countries, we need better data and systems-level thinking, says Alison Holder, Director of Equal Measures 2030. She spoke with Women’s Advancement Deeply about what she’s watching in 2018.
When a woman in Zimbabwe gives birth to a disabled child, she can find herself rejected by her husband and facing poverty. At the Batsiranai Craft Center, these mothers get together to earn a living and give each other the strength to raise their children on their own.
With millions of Nepalese men leaving their homes to work in the Gulf states, women are taking on new responsibilities, beyond what has previously been expected of them in a largely patriarchal society. But some are finding that old attitudes die hard.
According to a new United Nations report, more than 2 billion people around the world do not have access to clean, safe water in their homes. Most of the work of getting water falls on women and girls.
We’ve made some significant progress in gender equality in the past year, but there’s still a long way to go. Our panel of experts share their views on what’s next.
Hong Kong’s migrant domestic workers have virtually no social protection if they get fired for becoming pregnant. PathFinders co-founder Kylie Uebergang explains how confidence-building education helps them access the services they need.
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