Teenage Girls Are 'Out of Control'. [England] Teenage girls are now more likely than boys to drink, smoke, steal and take drugs, a survey has shown. In a disturbing confirmation of the spread of the 'ladette' culture, it found violence, aggression and self-destructive behaviour has spread alarmingly among girls over the past 20 years. While boys appear less likely to be drawn towards crime or drugs than they were, psychological and social problems are stacking up among teenage girls, who are now expected to compete on equal terms with boys for educational opportunity and jobs. The study of 14 and 15-year-olds was conducted by questionnaire, in schools under exam conditions, and the results compared with a similar one from 1985. Professor Colin Pritchard, who led the research, said: 'Girls now significantly smoke and binge-drink more than boys. They truant, steal and fight at similar rates, and start under-age sex earlier than boys.'

UK Has First Woman Foreign Secretary. [England] Margaret Beckett, who once briefly led the Labour Party -- the first woman to do so -- has become Britain's first woman foreign secretary following a major Cabinet reshuffle. The far-reaching ministerial changes, which also saw the appointment of Geoff Hoon as secretary of state for Europe, were announced Friday after Labour suffered heavy losses in local council elections in England. Beckett, who replaces Jack Straw who is now leader of the Commons, is a gritty left-winger who eased herself into the center ground under Tony Blair's leadership. The 63-year-old is one of the great survivors of the Blair era. After Labour won the 1997 election, she became trade and industry secretary and then, as leader of the Commons, her humor and toughness earned her respect in all parts of the House.

Women 'Drive Online Music Market'. [England] More than three quarters of women aged 16-45 in the UK now own an MP3 player or mobile phone that plays MP3s, research by media group Emap found. The report said women spend longer listening to music than men, discover more music and listen to more podcasts. Sophie Watson Smyth of music magazine Q said the internet gave women the freedom to widen their musical tastes. The digital music market is booming, with download sales up more than 150% in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period in 2005. Some 80% of women spend now more time listening to music than they did before they got their MP3 player - compared with 75% of men, according to Emap. Eight out of 10 also say they have rediscovered lots of old artists and albums, compared with 72% of men. And 72% of women say they spend more time on the internet looking for new music, 7% higher than the figure for men. Emap said the popularity of downloading music was behind a boom in the number of women reading music magazines.

Men Waste More Time at Work. [England] The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time, said Bertrand Russell. Many men, it seems, think along the same lines as the philosopher. According to a study published today, they waste more time than women at work - an average of two hours and 10 minutes each day. Telewest's nationwide survey found that of the 1468 British office workers questioned about what they were really doing when they were supposed to be working, 39% of men admitted they spent time e-mailing friends (compared with 36% of women); 19% of men followed sport online at work (4% of women did the same); 29% admitted they arranged their social life in the office (compared with 21% of women); and 21% indulged in online shopping during office hours (14% women did the same). The study also found that of the two hours 10 minutes wasted each day at work, one hour 38 minutes of that was due to communication technologies not being used properly. Waste factors include over-reliance on voicemail when returning or making phone calls, having to wait for people to call back, plus waiting for e-mails to be answered.

First Solo Female Sails West Around World. [England] Dee Caffari, 33, a former British school teacher, has circumnavigated the globe against prevailing winds and currents in 178 days. She began the 29,000-mile voyage in November and crossed the finish line off Cornwall, England, on Thursday, the BBC said. Her mother presented her with a medal when she arrived in Ocean Village, Southampton. "There were a few moments during the voyage when I really didn't think this day would come, so this is a very special feeling," Caffari said at a press conference in South Hampton, the BBC reported. "The journey was one of extremes and while there were times when it got so tough I didn't think I could carry on," Caffari said, "I was also privileged to experience some magic moments with the ocean all to myself," she added.

Women in Science and Technology: the Business Perspective. [EU] Companies benefit from making better use of their women researchers. This was the key  conclusion of a report on Women in Science and Technology (WiST), presented yesterday at a conference in Vienna, organised by the Austrian EU Presidency and the European Commission. The report is based on 12 months of work with multi-national companies. Janez Potocnik, European Science and Research Commissioner said: “If Europe is to become a world-class destination for science, then we need to make better use of our female scientists. Industry needs them, our education institutions need them, and our policy choices need them. If we don’t create a fairer system, where all can participate equally, we lock out a huge pool of talent and potential that we just can’t afford to lose.” The objective of the conference, and the WiST report, wass to examine what can be done to attract more women researchers into industry. In 2003 the European Commission published The Wake-Up Call for European Industry. In order to realize Europe’s ambitions in achieving a competitive knowledge-based society, the number of researchers must be increased. Business is a crucial partner for mobilising talent and women are obviously the source of untapped potential. Increasing the participation of women is fundamental to achieving the European innovation goals.

Women Work Longer Hours. [Scotland] Women work longer hours than their male counterparts, often believing they have to do more to justify their role in the workplace, according to a new report today. A survey of 3200 employees found that women work an average of 46 hours a week, almost two more than men. The longest hours are put in by workers in London, with women toiling for up to 64 a week, three more than men, the study by law firm Peninsula showed. Clare Gunnell, of Peninsula, said: "Some women believe they have to work that little bit harder to justify their role. But people who enjoy their job are bound to work longer hours than people who are stressed or not happy."

The 40% Solution. [Spain] José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain's self-described "feminist" prime minister, has begun his most ambitious effort yet to guarantee equality for women in business and politics, demanding that women make up at least 40 percent of the candidates from any political party and 40 percent of the members on corporate boards. The initiative, which is expected to go before Parliament in June, is a signature proposal of Zapatero's campaign to make Spain a world leader in the expansion of civil liberties and the promotion of gender equality. His government says that the initiative is necessary to combat the stubborn vestiges of the patriarchal society over which General Francisco Franco presided until his death 30 years ago. "Society cannot prosper if you ignore the talent of half the population," said Soledad Murillo, secretary general for gender policies at the Institute of the Woman, an agency within the Labor Ministry. "Countries that commit themselves to gender equality are the most competitive, and their citizens are the most motivated," she added during an interview by telephone. The bill would prohibit either sex from making up more than 60 percent of the candidates from any political party wishing to participate in national or local elections. It would also demand, but not require, that companies seeking government contracts appoint women to 40 percent of the positions on their boards of directors over the next four years. Women already occupy 36 percent of the seats in the lower house of the Spanish Parliament, so the impact of the bill on national politics may be limited. But some parties at the regional and local levels of government are highly uneven in terms of gender, according to government officials. The bill's biggest impact would most likely be in corporate board rooms, where in 2005 women made up only 3 percent of the members at the companies included in the Ibex 35, Spain's benchmark stock index, according to the Labor Ministry.