Ms. Magazine to Unveil Petition of Women Who Had Abortions. [Houston Chronicle] At a pivotal time in the abortion debate, Ms. magazine is releasing its fall issue with a cover story titled "We Had Abortions," accompanied by the names of thousands of U.S. women who signed a petition making that declaration. The publication coincides with what the abortion-rights movement considers a watershed. Abortion access in many states is being curtailed, activists are uncertain about the U.S. Supreme Court, and South Dakotans vote Nov. 7 on whether to ban virtually all abortions in their state.

3 out of 4 Women Work for a "Boss From Hell"! [South Asian Women's Forum, India] Three-quarters of women think they work for the "boss from hell". One in five have been propositioned and 7% have been asked for sex. There have been orders to axe honeymoons, look after kids and clean shoes. Nearly half the 2,500 quizzed had quit jobs because of unjust demands. The survey found one in five works late each day and half regularly cancel plans. But despite this, nearly three-quarters say they would never put their boss before their partner.

2006 Will be Year of Triumph for American Female CEOs. [Sabah, Turkey] US Fortune magazine has published the traditional list defining the most powerful woman in the USA. In the ranking, especially the increase in the number of female CEOs of world's biggest companies is remarkable. All the managers in the first seven of the list are CEOs. Many global companies such as PepsiCo, Kraft Food, Xerox, eBay and Avon are managed by female CEOs. The magazine highlights the fact that the rise of female managers will certainly continue in the following years; however, it indicates that 2006 is the rising year for US female CEOs.

Female Faculty Frustrated. [Technology Research News] A study by the National Academies shows there is no good reason for the heavy underrepresentation of women in science and engineering faculty positions at American universities. Four times more men than women with science and engineering Ph.D.’s hold full-time faculty positions. Female faculty members are generally paid less, promoted more slowly, receive fewer honors, and hold fewer leadership positions. The study showed that these disparities are not accounted for by biological differences or job performance.

Female Profs Still Paid Less. [Yale Daily News] Female professors at Yale are on par with their counterparts at peer institutions in terms of receiving tenure, but not in terms of their paychecks, according to a report released Thursday by the American Association of University Professors. According to the Faculty Gender Equity Indicators 2006 report, 20.2% of tenured professors at Yale are female, and women hold 40.8% of tenure track jobs. Harvard and Princeton have similar proportions of female tenured professors, but lower percentages of women on the tenure track - 34.4% and 29.9%, respectively. The AAUP report also indicated that female professors at Yale earn less than their male counterparts at every professorial rank.

GRPD's First Female Detective Dies at 84. [WOOD-TV] Harriet Hill, the first black female to work at the Grand Rapids Police Department, died after a battle with esophageal cancer. She was 84. Although she originally planned to become a nurse, Hill got the bug for police work after being hired as a clerk typist for the police department in 1951. She was inspired by the work of women police officers.

Blacksburg Gets Its First Female Chief of Police. [Roanoke Times] Kim Crannis, a 22-year veteran of the Blacksburg Police Department, was named the town's first female police chief Wednesday. She joins only one other female municipal chief and a handful of female university police chiefs in the state. "Kim Crannis is a leader," former chief Bill Brown said. "She has all the skills and abilities to be the perfect chief for the town of Blacksburg."

LaPorte Welcomes First Female Police Chief. [Fox 28] The City of LaPorte will soon have a new police chief. Assistant Chief Julie Smith will take over the role October 16th. Smith, the first female chief for the city, says after 18 years in the department she is ready for the next challenge.

Activist, Former Africa Correspondent for NCR Dies at 59. [National Catholic Reporter] Carole J.L. Collins, an activist since the 1970s in organizations seeking global economic justice, a campaigner against South African apartheid and a writer specializing in African affairs, died from complications associated with congestive heart failure. She was 59.

Local Women Fight Domestic Violence. [Carlisle Sentinel] Thirty Pennsylvania women are being honored by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence for the work they’ve done to end domestic violence. The coalition grew out of what was known in the early 1970s as the Battered Women’s Movement. Volunteers worked together at first to provide emergency shelter for women and their children fleeing abuse in the homes.

HMO Shunned Pregnant Women: Suit. [Chicago Sun-Times] An insurance company and major state contractor that has reaped nearly $250 million of taxpayer money allegedly denied pregnant women health care so it could pocket higher profits. Public money flowed to Chicago-based Amerigroup Illinois as the government gave it the job of signing up anyone in need of insurance who couldn't afford it. The insurer allegedly cherry-picked "healthies," and systematically avoided women in their third trimester of pregnancy because they cost more to insure.

AWOL Female Soldier Claiming Sex Harassment to Face Court-Martial. [FOX News] A soldier who said she was sexually harassed by noncommissioned officers and refused to return to Iraq will face a military trial. Fort Lewis' commander referred Army Spc. Suzanne Swift's case to a special court-martial.. Swift, 22, was charged with missing movement and being absent without leave. She claimed she had been harassed or abused by three noncommissioned officers — two in Iraq and one at Fort Lewis. She alleged that her supervisor in Iraq coerced her into a sexual relationship.

Female Cadets Advance in ROTC. [Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun] Women in the Cornell Army ROTC program “do the same thing as men, meet the same standards as men,” said Lt. Brian Page, department head of ROTC. These women often surpass their male counterparts: Major Richard Brown ’90, who teaches the Junior Army ROTC class, said that in his six years at Cornell, three of the top cadets have been female. The number of women in the program varies; some years the graduating cadet class will be evenly split between the genders, while other years there will be no women..

Army Probes Female GI's Death. [Philadelphia Daily News] An American soldier serving in Kuwait has been found dead of a non-combat related injury, and the military is investigating, a U.S. military spokesman said yesterday. The spokesman declined to identify the soldier, except to say she was female. Nor would he provide any details regarding her death, which occurred Sunday.

Female Firefighter Alleges Sex Discrimination at LA Dept. [San Jose Mercury News] Capt. Alicia Mathis said she was filing a discrimination complaint against the LA Fire Department because of the stories of abuse she heard from fellow female firefighters, as well as her own experiences. The complaint is an administrative prerequisite to a class-action suit, and alleges gender discrimination, hostile work environment, harassment and retaliation. Mathis, a 17-year veteran, said women were drilled to the point at which they suffered injuries, and were afraid to speak out against the men they relied on while doing their jobs. She also claimed she had a colleague climb into her bed and try to kiss her.

Female Officer's Lawsuit Settled. [Baltimore Sun] Howard County has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit by a female police officer for $75,000 after she alleged a hostile "men's locker-room" mentality in the Police Department. All but $8,000 of the settlement covers legal fees. In the suit, Susan Ensko, a 17-year veteran of the force, claimed that she was subjected to jokes about off-hours "bull roasts" involving strippers, pornography on work computers and inappropriate remarks, including a suggestion that she take a shower with another female officer.

Female Sheriff's Deputies File Suits in Contra Costa. [Inside Bay Area] Two female deputies have filed discrimination lawsuits against the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department, saying it failed to stop sexual harassment by male colleagues that included fondling one and repeatedly watching the other change into her uniform. Concerned that one of the plaintiffs would complain to sheriff's headquarters, a sergeant called her a "troublemaker" and told the male staff in a meeting: "We wash our dirty laundry here," according to the suit. In the second lawsuit, former Deputy Kristy Linkenhoker said then-Sgt. Michael Costa ground his hips against her buttocks and blew into her ear at the West County Detention Facility.

Suit Alleges Private Prison Discriminated Against Female Workers. [WTVF] A federal agency is accusing two private prison companies of discriminating against women who worked at the Crowley County lockup in Colorado. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says Dominion Correctional Services and the Corrections Corporation of America subjected female employees to unwelcome advances and comments. It also says the companies limited promotion opportunities and retaliated against those who complained.

Quiet Life of Alleged Tokyo Rose. [Chicago Sun-Times] Iva Toguri D'Aquino, the Japanese-American who served eight years in prison after being wrongfully pegged as the mythical World War II propagandist Tokyo Rose, died of natural causes. She was 90.  Ms. Toguri, a California-born, UCLA-educated American citizen, worked at the station to earn money after finding herself trapped in Japan without a U.S. passport or a Japanese food ration card. When the war ended, Ms. Toguri, who never renounced her U.S. citizenship, mistakenly admitted to being Tokyo Rose to reporters in a paid interview.  Though there was no such person as Tokyo Rose, Ms. Toguri was arrested for treason in 1945. In 1949, with America still brimming with anti-Japanese prejudice, she was convicted of treason by a federal jury in San Francisco. She was found guilty on one of eight flimsy counts and sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Violence Against Women Act: The Fast Food of Law Terri Lynn Tersak. [Opinion Editorials] As I reflect on my own experiences with domestic violence and the pretense of help our abuse system claims to offer, I find myself feeling most sorry for today’s victims. As the years pass, our domestic violence systems under the Violence Against Women Act offer less and less help to the most severely battered, but ever increasing rewards for those who operate the systems. I encounter a frightening number of victims of severe battery with the same story to tell; they went through the courts and things got worse for them, almost immediately.

Indecent Exposure Not a Crime for Women: Judge. [Chicago Sun-Times] A judge dismissed an indecent exposure charge against a woman accused of disrobing in front of a 14-year-old boy, saying the law applies to men. Superior Court Judge Robert W. Armstrong said the law only mentions someone who "exposes his person."

Female Teacher's Sex Charge is Unusual. [News & Observer] When former Johnston County teacher Rebecca Withrow was charged this month with having sex with an 11-year-old male student, the news stunned parents who knew her as a talented teacher, devoted parent and PTA president. Withrow's case is distinguished in part by the fact that she is female. By most accounts, more than 90% of charges nationally involve male teachers. In North Carolina, from 2000 to 2005, 160 school employees were charged with sexual improprieties with a student. Of those, 147 -- 92% -- were male. Those involving female teachers often draw more attention though.

JackHammers Hire Female GM. [Chicago Sun-Times] The Joliet JackHammers promoted Kelly Sufka to executive vice president and general manager, becoming possibly the second baseball team in the nation to name a woman to that role. ''I want to keep raising the bar,'' she said. ''Our strong entertainment is our No. 1 thing.''

Resorts Court Female Golfers. [Charlotte Observer] Though women remain a relatively small part of the multibillion-dollar golf market, the upward trend in female interest has caught the attention of resorts looking for new ways of attracting customers. A number of them, including Pinehurst, are courting women through gender-specific classes and programs designed to introduce golf as a fun challenge.

Anna Davis Named AEF Senior Female Athlete of the Year. [Tribe Athletics] Former Tribe All-American Anna Davis became the first field hockey player to earn the Athletic Education Foundation (AEF) Senior Female Athlete of the Year award, taking home the honor for the 2005-06 school year. Davis was recognized along with senior male athlete of the year Ramon Jackson (men’s gymnastics) at halftime of the College’s home football game against VMI on Sept. 23.

Women Find Out It's Never Too Late for a Quinceanera. [Houston Chronicle] Women from across the Rio Grande Valley showed it's never too late for a coming-of-age party. The Pueblo Alegre adult day care center held an "adult quinceanera" for women ranging in age from 60 to 90. The traditional rite of passage ceremony for 15-year-old girls was too expensive for some of the women's families, said Hilda Tijerina, co-director of the day care center.

TV Plots Victimize Female Law Enforcers. [Washington Times] After several weeks of watching very bad things happen to some of the strongest, most competent female law enforcement characters on TV's major crime shows, it was nice to see some equal-time punishment finally being meted out. Not that it's really equal, of course. Whereas Greg's (Eric Szmanda) beating seemingly could have befallen any good Samaritan -- male or female -- who tried to stop an attack on a stranger, many of the plot twists in these shows are designed specifically with female characters in mind. The message being sent about powerful women is at best mixed: They're smart, all right, but they also can be exploited in ways their male counterparts can't.

Oda Refuses to Resign Over Accusations of Muzzling Women. [Canada.com] Heritage Minister Bev Oda rejected calls for her resignation at a politically charged Commons hearing where she came under Opposition fire over the Conservative government's decision to strip the promotion of ''equality'' of women from the mandate of Status of Women Canada. Oda was unapologetic throughout a verbal pummeling by Liberal, NDP and Bloc MPs who accused the government of attempting to ''muzzle'' women and ''gut'' the agency by writing a new mandate that says it will no longer fund groups doing research, lobbying or advocacy on behalf of women's equality rights.

No Money for Women's Lobby Groups. [Toronto Star] The federal Conservative government says it will no longer fund women's groups that do advocacy, lobbying or general research. The drastic change to the mandate and operation of Status of Women Canada also drops the word "equality" when listing the agency's goals. Previous objectives such as helping women's organizations participate in the public policy process and increasing the public's understanding of women's equality issues have been eliminated from government literature. Organizations that receive funding from the Trudeau-era agency were stunned.

Violence Against Women Drops: Study. [Toronto Star] A fundamental change in the way assault cases against women are handled has contributed to an overall decline in the instances of violence against women. And nowhere is that change more evident than in spousal homicide involving women — which has seen a 39% decline in the number of women murdered between 1991 and 2004. The study also showed that in 2004 at least 7% of women living in marital or common-law- relationships reported a physical or sexual assault, dropping a percentage point from 1999 figures.

Rising Tide of Violence Against Women 'Intolerable,' GG says. [CBC Toronto] Denying women human rights — including the right to live free from violence — "is the most flagrant form of subjugation and one of the worst scandals of our time," Governor General Michaëlle Jean said. The statistics on the numbers of female victims of violence are "intolerable," she told the International Conference Violence Against Women in Montreal. UN figures show that one in three women in the world has been brutalized or forced to have sexual relations. Violence is the leading cause of death among women 16 to 44, conference organizers said in a media release.

Manitoba Study Suggests Disabled Women More at Risk of Abuse. [680 News, Canada] Disabled women may be up to 40% more likely than other women to be abused by their partners. The problem isn't always recognized by society because disabled women are often stereotyped as not having romantic relationships. The victims also have very real fears for their physical and financial well-being if they report their partner. "Maybe the perpetrators feel that women with disabilities are less able to resist their domineering, jealous, violent and possessive behaviors."

A Thorny Issue – Women Kicking High. [The Nation Newspaper, Barbados] One of the most significant developments in local football happened at the National Stadium. The inaugural women's football league kicked off with seven teams in the fold.  Numbers at this stage are not that important, but getting in gear is because a baby won't know if it can walk until he or she tries to take the first step.