• US Still Has It All To Do To Close Gender Equality Gap. [Management-Issues, UK] America still lags behind much of Europe when it comes to closing workplace, cultural and political gender gaps, according to a new study. The survey examined the gender gap in four areas from economics to political participation. The U.S lagged behind many EU states, which between them held half of the top 20 positions, including the EU's new member states. The U.S was rated 22nd, behind Colombia, while China ranked 63rd and Japan was 79th.

• Court Stays Out of Abortion Records Case. [Forbes, NY] The Kansas Supreme Court refused to intervene on behalf of two abortion clinics in a dispute with the state attorney general over patient records that were leaked to "The O'Reilly Factor." The clinics had asked the court to seize the records of 90 patients from Attorney General Phill Kline and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate how Fox News' Bill O'Reilly got access to abortion records for a Nov. 3 broadcast. The court offered no explanation for its ruling in a one-sentence order signed by Chief Justice McFarland. Kline received edited versions of the records in October from a Shawnee County judge after a two-year legal battle. He said he was investigating whether clinic doctors performed illegal late-term abortions and violated a state law requiring them to report suspected child abuse. The clinics, operated by Dr. George Tiller in Wichita and by Planned Parenthood in Overland Park, argued that Kline was on a "fishing expedition" that violated the patients' privacy. They also said Kline, a strong abortion opponent, could not conduct an objective investigation.

• Bush Pick Threatens Women's Health. [Seattle Post Intelligencer] Advocating abstinence until marriage, Keroack and his group are even opposed to dispensing contraception to married women! Instead, their Web site describes contraception as "demeaning to women" and "adverse to human health and happiness." Given that the vast majority of American women welcome and use contraception, the White House searched high and low to find someone with such crazy views. It's an obvious effort to placate Bush's ultra right-wing base, which is still smarting from the recent election results. Yet the appointment, which does not require Senate approval, has unfurled a wave of condemnation across the country; even The Salt Lake Tribune is calling for the Keroack nomination to be withdrawn.

• Family-Planning Run by Anti-Contraception and Abortion Doctor. [ShortNews.com, Germany] Medical Director for A Woman's Concern Eric Keroack has been appointed the lead that will oversee federally funded family planning programs. This includes programs that deal with pregnancy and abstinence. A Woman's Concern, which is a Christian nonprofit company, is run by Keroack. The company's statement of faith is to "help women escape the temptation and violence of abortion." It also opposes contraceptives, stating that use of it increases abortion. Cecile Richards, who is the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America was quoted as saying, "The appointment of anti-birth control, anti-sex education advocate Dr. Eric Keroack to oversee the nation's family planning program is striking."

• Bush's Family Planning Appointee Worked for Anti-Contraception Organization. [New York Sun] The Bush administration has appointed a new chief of family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who worked at a Christian pregnancy counseling organization that regards the distribution of contraceptives as "demeaning to women." Eric Keroack, who is the medical director for A Woman's Concern, a nonprofit group based in Dorchester, Mass., will become deputy assistant secretary for population affairs in the next two weeks. Mr. Keroack, an obstetrician-gynecologist, will advise Secretary Mike Leavitt on matters such as reproductive health and adolescent pregnancy. He will oversee $283 million in annual family-planning grants that are "designed to provide access to contraceptive supplies and information to all who want and need them with priority given to low-income persons."

• Low-Income Women's Health Clinic to Close Doors. [Seattle Times] First Hill clinic that has offered health care to low-income women seeking abortions and gynecological services for more than 34 years will close next month. Among the reasons that Aradia Women's Health Center is closing is the nearly 20% increase it has had in low-income patients seeking abortions over the past five years, said Karen Besserman, vice president of Aradia's Board of Directors. "There's a decrease nationwide of women seeking abortions, except for low-income women," Besserman said, adding that abortions make up more than half of the clinic's business. Price increases for rent, malpractice insurance and medical supplies — including contraceptives — are also factors in Aradia's cost crisis. Seventy% of the clinic's clients require subsidized health care, Besserman said.

• The Wage Gap for Women. [AlterNet] Imagine you're a woman interviewing for a job you really want. You get a call the next day with an offer, and immediately accept it. Later, though, you discover that a male counterpart earns significantly more than you. When pressed for an explanation, your boss tells you that the man demanded more when he negotiated his starting pay. If you sue for wage discrimination under this scenario, your chances of success would, unfortunately, be slim. Current rulings in employment law have permitted employers to hide behind the "she-didn't-ask-for-more" and other so-called market-based excuses as legitimate reasons for paying women less than men for the same job or one of equivalent value. Here's how the system has been working: Under the crucial federal antidiscrimination law -- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- a woman must prove that an employer was motivated by intent to discriminate when deciding to pay her less than a male counterpart. Therefore, employers who merely take advantage of the fact that a woman is willing to work for less won't be held liable for pay discrimination.

• KU Researchers Investigate Effects of Marriage, Family on Women. [Kansas City infoZine] Two University of Kansas researchers are studying why women who choose careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics advance as young professors, scientists or educators but then disappear from the profession. Karen Multon, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology and Research in Education in KU's School of Education, and Barbara Kerr, Distinguished Professor of Counseling Psychology, are researching how a woman's relationship with a significant other may impact her career choices. Kerr points out that married male scientists are found to be the most productive scientists, followed by single male scientists. Single women come in at third-most productive, followed by married female scientists. "So marriage is a benefit to male scientists but not to female scientists," Kerr said.

• Girl Glut in Colleges Leads to Discrimination in Admissions? [New California Media] Though the US has come a long way in women’s rights in the past 40 years, universities are putting women at a disadvantage once again. While at one time few women were given the opportunity to go to college, now the percentage of women in the applicant pool has sky-rocketed to somewhere between 60% and two-thirds. The downside of this is that now admissions officers are valuing male applicants more favorably. Such subtle discrimination deteriorates both educational rights and quality of education nationally, eventually bringing down the social standard for equality. Increasing social freedoms are not the only reason the number of female applicants has increased.

• Income Gap Persists for Female Faculty. [Indiana Daily Student] Not only do statistics show women are underrepresented in the upper levels of higher education, evidence also details that they are paid significantly less than their male counterparts. At each respective professorship level -- full, associate and assistant -- women are making about 10% less than men. However, as the majority of women cluster in the lower-paid assistant professor faculty level, overall male faculty at IU are being paid about 20% more than women, according to a 2006 report by the American Association of University Professors.

• Thoughts On Why Women Don't Rule Silicon Valley. [DailyTech, IL] An editorial written by Michelle Quinn in the San Jose Mercury News business section tries to get to the bottom of why there are only a small number of women working as board members and executives in Silicon Valley tech companies. The editorial cites a study that reports that out of the 103 public companies located in Silicon Valley, only 6.5% of board directors and 8.8% of company leadership teams are women. In California, women make up 8.8% of board directors and 11.7% of managers who their companies say qualify to be executive officers, according to a University of California-Davis study. Possible reasons why women are not prominent in established positions at Silicon Valley IT companies? Although there aren't any real solid reasons, several ideas have been thrown forward. Noted as the “Opt-Out Plan,” Quinn notes that women who gradually climb the ladder end up pulling “the rip cord at critical junctures” to possibly raise children. Those same women seem to not want to make the jump from the household back into the corporate world. Another theory is “The Individual Contributor Syndrome” -- an idea that claims women do a great job individually, but don't neglect to “schmooze or work in groups.” Could it simply be bias against women in the IT workplace? Will more women end up having jobs such as board members in the future? Only time will tell what will happen in the future.

• Fast-Growing Female Firms Have an Ally. [Florida Times-Union] Female entrepreneurs are a growing bunch: In the last nine years, the number of woman-owned companies grew at nearly double the rate that all companies grew. Presumably, that means there's a fast-growing group of ambitious women out there in need of business help. The Jacksonville Women's Business Center is trying to meet that need on the First Coast. Launched two years ago, the center (sponsored by the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Small Business Administration) has helped more than 700 female business owners and has garnered the support of about 100 volunteer mentors. The center aims to help all female entrepreneurs, from newbie to veteran, though about 60% of those served were startups. It provides affordable access to information, money, resources and networks otherwise hard to find.

• Women-Owned Firms Are Driving Force in Economy. [Indianapolis Star] Roger W. Schmenner, associate dean of the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, wrote (My View, Nov. 6) that small and mid-sized businesses are "a driving force" in today's economy. I'd like to add that women-owned businesses are the leaders of that driving force. According to the Center for Women's Business Research, based on U.S. Census data, women-owned businesses account for an estimated 51.7% of all privately held firms in Indiana. Of that amount, women own the majority share in an estimated 60.4%. Nationally, in 2006, for the past two decades, majority women-owned firms have grown at nearly twice the rate of all firms. Between 1997 and 2006 the number increased from 5.4 to 7.7 million.

• Survey: Chicago Firm Best in Country for Female Attorneys. [WQAD] A survey by two Harvard Law students shows a Chicago firm is Number One when it comes to its environment for women. Sonnenschein, Nath and Rosenthal beat out every firm in the country as a place where women feel comfortable to work and get promoted. Many attorneys say their male colleagues drop pencils as an excuse to look under tables at female attorney's legs. Or take clients to strip clubs where female attorneys feel unwelcome.

• More Female Employees Projected to Work Abroad. [Portsmouth Herald News] 55 percent of companies worldwide expect more female workers to be sent on international assignments over the next five years. 300 percentage increase in the number of female workers sent on international assignments by U.S. companies between 2001 and 2006. 1500 percentage increase in the number of female workers sent on international assignments by Asia-Pacific companies between 2001 and 2006.

• More Funerals Being Directed by Women. [San Jose Mercury News] In a society where women are staking their claim in a growing number of previously male-dominated fields, more women than ever are beginning - and maintaining - careers in mortuary science. While the state of Pennsylvania does not track the number of women in the field, funeral directors across the region have noticed the recent addition of a feminine touch to the industry. Since 2001, more than half of the students in classes at Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science have been women. This year's class is 52% female. The national average for 2005 is 57%.

• Female Recruits Pass Wall Test. [Worcester Telegram] The three female police recruits hoping to join the local police academy recently passed a state-required physical abilities test, indicating that a changed climbing wall in the test may have mitigated possible gender bias. At issue was a significant disparity between men and women recruits who passed the test, which includes an obstacle course and several other physical tests meant to reflect work police do. Statewide statistics show that 92% of the men who took the test passed, compared to 30% of women. The statistics triggered concerns that the test discriminated against women, particularly at a time when police departments across the state are trying to diversify their forces by hiring more women police officers.

• Female Electricians Are Still Rare. [Record-Searchlight] In 2000, only 2.9% of electricians in the United States were women, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2005, that number dropped to 2.7%. The number of women who work in construction trades overall has been slowly rising. It has grown from 1.9% to 3% over the past five years. And though the Bureau of Labor Statistics only began keeping detailed statistics in 2000, anecdotal evidence makes clear that 30 years ago a woman at a construction site was almost unheard of. Compared to other traditionally male-dominated fields, such as law enforcement and the military, the construction industry has proven almost stationary in terms of getting women on the job. According to the BLS, the number of women in law-enforcement and military ranks has swelled to nearly 15% of both professions.

• Women Warriors Change the Military Landscape. [Worcester Telegram] In Iraq and Afghanistan, women warriors are writing a new chapter in military history, serving by the tens of thousands, fending off enemy fire and taking on — and succeeding in — high-profile roles in the battlefield and the skies as never before. “The American public is beginning to realize that women are playing an equal part in this war and that they are facing the same risks,” says Duckworth, who lost both legs in the 2004 insurgent attack. “This is the first time in our nation’s history ... when it’s normal to see female names as part of the war wounded or those killed in action.” More than 155,000 women have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002, according to the Pentagon, nearly four times the number during the Persian Gulf War. Females now account for 15% of the active duty force.

• Marine Becomes Highest-Ranking Female Servicemember Killed in Iraq. [USA Today] A major who rejoined the Marines so she could go to Iraq has become the highest-ranking female servicemember to be killed in the war. Megan McClung, a 1995 graduate of the Naval Academy, was remembered by family and friends as having steel-like constitution. She was a triathlete who organized and ran a marathon in Iraq and competed in six Ironman competitions — running, swimming and bicycling — around the world. McClung, 34, was a public affairs officer with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton in California. She died Dec. 6. in Anbar province, a focus of insurgent violence in Iraq, the Department of Defense said. She was in a truck, escorting journalists on a story in downtown Ramadi, when a roadside bomb exploded.

• Female GIs in Line of Fire as Never Before. [Chicago Sun-Times] The number of women casualties -- 68 dead and more than 430 injured -- represents a tiny fraction of the total. Still, by one estimate, the deaths exceed the number of military women who lost their lives in Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War combined. There is no shared experience that binds together the women of war. Each has a different story, a reason they're in uniform, an explanation of how their lives have changed. Almost all serve anonymously, though a few have captured headlines back home, most notably Jessica Lynch. The former prisoner of war rocketed onto the nation's TV screens when she was portrayed as a guns-blazing, all-American heroine -- a depiction she herself disavowed.

• Gaston to take Duarte Mayor Post. [Pasadena Star-News] Lois Gaston was scheduled to be sworn in as Duarte's first African-American female mayor. Gaston, who is the current mayor pro tem, will succeed Tzeitel Paras-Garacci as the city's mayor. Duarte council members take turns serving one-year terms as the city's mayor.

• County's First Black Female Warden. [nwitimes.com] She's the first female, black corrections officer to become warden of the Lake County Jail -- and she survived the transition from Sheriff John Buncich to Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez. But she said she also has been an out-of-work, single mother of four who fed her family on $10 a week. That could be why Caren Jones takes her promise to the community so seriously.

• More Single Women Buying Their Own Home. [The Free Lance-Star] The number of single women buying homes is higher than ever before. From July 2005 to June 2006, unattached women made up 22% of all home buyers--a record high. During the same time period in 1995, 14% of home purchases were made by single women. Cultural and societal progress have contributed to the growth of female investment. In the 1970s "women had a hard time getting a credit card much less a mortgage," said NAR spokesman Walter Molony. "They were not being taken seriously by the lending community." But higher education and workplace advancements among women have led more of them to enter the real-estate market.

• Female Jailer Mandate Causes Difficulties for Jones County. [WHO-TV, IA] The Jones County jail needs more women jailers. Sheriff Mark Denniston says the jail is struggling financially to comply with a state requirement that female jailers be on duty when there are female inmates. Denniston says it’s an unfunded mandate, and he'd like the rule changed because it makes it hard from small counties. Jones County also houses inmates from other counties, and women jailers are already working overtime. The sheriff has asked county supervisors to look into the matter.

• More Women Embezzling on the Job. [Palm Beach Post] Embezzlement by women skyrocketed 80% between 1993 and 2002, even slightly exceeding the number of those crimes committed by men in 2002. Experts say women are tapping the company till for several reasons. Some have a vice, such as a gambling addiction or compulsive shopping. [For example,] Duffer racked up debts from online gambling. Others may have incurred large medical bills or made a bad investment and are desperate for cash.

• Woman on Texas Death Row Gets Execution Date. [The Associated Press] A woman condemned for the slaying of a 3-month-old child she was baby-sitting in her home in 1994 was given an execution date. Cathy Lynn Henderson, 49, was set for lethal injection for the death of Brandon Baugh, whose body was found stuffed in a wine cooler carton and buried in a field outside Temple in Bell County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Henderson's Austin-area home. The discovery came nearly three weeks after the child was first reported missing.

• Living Inside a Women's Prison. [The Express Times] New Jersey's only state women's prison is tucked inside a quiet, rural Hunterdon County township. The Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women holds 1,066 inmates, about 4% of the total number of offenders in New Jersey prisons, and it is growing.

• Arrests Tied to Pacifica Brothel. [San Jose Mercury News] Two men suspected of running a brothel in Pacifica and other Bay Area cities were arrested in Colorado. Kwor ``Tom'' Chou, 29, the so-called ``regional manager'' of the operation, and his assistant, Ri Luo, 42, were arrested on warrants obtained by Pacifica police. They face felony charges of pimping, pandering and conspiracy. A third man, who worked as their Web master and advertiser, has not been charged. Police are also likely to seek prostitution charges against several women in their 20s who are suspected of working out of an apartment in the 200 block of Gateway Drive in Pacifica, as well as women allegedly working from two apartments in Cupertino and one in Foster City. A sting operation was conducted in Denver, with law enforcement agents arresting Chou's common-law wife, who is suspected of setting up appointments via the Internet and telephone. Pacifica police had planned to conduct raids in Pacifica, Cupertino and Foster City until they determined that Chou and Luo had traveled to Colorado.

• Women's Clothes Are So Uncomfortable. [Hattiesburg American] I did uncover a simple fact startling to someone who has lived life as a man: Female clothes are the most uncomfortable garments humans can put on their bodies. Why do women do this to themselves? I asked Lisa Hayes, a fashion design professor at Drexel University, that very question. "You get the question from your 14-year-old daughter, 'You're going to the grocery store, why are you wearing lipstick?"' she said. "My answer is, 'It's for myself."' Women wear lipstick and high heels not just for men, not just for other women, but "because women want to feel beautiful or look beautiful themselves." But while these clothes look beautiful on my girlfriend, I couldn't help but wonder why low-cut shirts, super-short skirts and form-fitting everythings seem to be intentionally designed to make the wearer feel as self-conscious as possible. All men ever have to worry about is zipping their flies. "Just the element of dressing and what it means for the genders is far more complicated for women than it ever has been for men in any culture at any time," Hayes said. Girls already have more self-esteem issues than boys, so putting them in garments that emphasize every roll of fat is somewhat cruel.

• Diller Paved Way for Female Comics. [San Francisco Chronicle] The grand lady of comedy walked into the Las Vegas Suncoast Hotel showroom and strutted across the stage in a pink, knee-length dress encrusted with blinding sequins and matching silver gloves and boots. In earlier years, she might have found it difficult to anticipate the audience's reaction. But on May 5, 2002, with her wild, blond hairpiece glowing brilliantly in the spotlight, Phyllis Diller knew this was a special night.

• Catherine Pollard, 88; US' First Female Scoutmaster. [Los Angeles Times] Catherine Pollard, the Boy Scouts of America's first female scoutmaster, who waged a years-long legal fight over the issue, has died. She was 88. Pollard, who volunteered with the Scouts in Milford, died in Seminole, Fla., said Shawn Smith of Smith Funeral Home in Milford, which is handling arrangements. Pollard ran a Milford troop from 1973 to 1975 when no men volunteered. But her application for a leadership position was denied when the Boy Scouts contended that a woman was not a good role model for young boys enrolled in Scouting. The state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities sided with her, but state courts reversed its ruling. The state Supreme Court in 1987 upheld a lower-court ruling that boys need the guidance of men "in the difficult process of maturing to adulthood."

• Couric Getting a Raw Deal, Female Media Watchers Say. [The Philadelphia Inquirer] Katie Couric can't catch a break. So say three female media experts about the "CBS Evening News" anchor, who has been under the public microscope since her Sept. 5 debut. With CBS mired in its usual third place in the weekly Nielsen derby, some critics say viewers aren't ready for a solo female anchor. Adding fuel to their fire: In the November ratings sweeps, the $15 million-a-year Couric averaged almost 170,000 fewer viewers per night than did her less expensive "interim" predecessor, Bob Schieffer. Despite the numbers, it's way too early to judge Couric, says Connie Chung, whose disastrous forced anchorship with Dan Rather lasted only two years, until 1995. "All this takes an enormous amount of time," Chung says. "TV viewing rarely changes dramatically, whereas programmers do. I think Katie's holding her own nicely.

• Holidays No Holiday For Stressed-Out Women. [Monsters and Critics.com, UK] Nearly half of all U.S. women experience greater stress during the holidays, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association. 'Women report a bigger increase in stress of the holidays and seem more vulnerable to the effects of stress of the holidays,' Russ Newman, a psychologist who is the association's executive director for professional practice, told Reuters.

• Minister Believes Women's Office Hinders Equality. [Canada.com] Status of Women Minister Bev Oda says the Conservative government has removed "equality'' from the mandate of the status of women program because it wants to instill the belief in equality in every government department, agency and office. Oda said that many people feel that the status of women office "relieves them of responsibility'' for making progress on equality. "A lot of issues are not women's issues, they're Canadian issues,'' Oda said, explaining the government philosophy behind a series of moves that have provoked a week of Opposition criticism and protests by women's groups. The much-criticized moves include closure of a dozen status-of-women offices across the country, a halt to spending on women's rights advocacy and removal of the “equality” mandate from the women's program, which provides $10.8 million in annual grants.

• Status of Women Offices Set to Close. [Toronto Star, Canada] The Conservative government is taking an axe to Status of Women Canada, closing three-quarters of its regional offices and outraging critics in the process. Heritage Minister Bev Oda said that 12 of the federal agency's 16 regional offices will be shut down by April 1. The blow is part of a cost-cutting program announced in September that will see the agency lose $5 million from its $23 million annual budget over two years. Status of Women Canada works to advance women's economic equality and human rights and eliminate violence against women. Oda said the regional offices do little to serve women directly and money can be better spent by streamlining services.

• Women Investors Opt for Retirement Security. [Business Edge, Canada] More Canadian women see investing as a path to financial independence. However, independence still rates second to retirement security as an incentive to invest. The 60% of women citing financial independence jumped from the proportion who cited this reason last year (50%). "This is good news when you consider trends such as high divorce rates, the fact that one in five families with children is headed by a single woman and that single-parent families now have more children than married couples," said Patricia Lovett-Reid of TD Waterhouse.

• University Degrees Pay Off for Women. [Victoria Times Colonist, Canada] Women dominate university enrolment because it pays more for them to earn a degree than it does for men. Noting women's participation in university has outpaced men for the last three decades, including at an especially quick rate in the 1990s, Statistics Canada set out to understand why women now fill six out of 10 undergrad spots in the country's universities. The study found the university premium for women between 1977 and 1992 was 16% higher than for men. Between 1993 and 2003, it was even higher for women, at 22%.

• Women in Quebec Are More Violent Towards Men - Not the Other Way. [Café Babel, France] Every third day in France, a woman dies at the hands of a violent partner. The case is different on the other side of the francophone world. Sometimes it’s mum who dishes out the beatings. Instances of men being physically abused by their partners are far more widespread than previously thought, confirms Yvon Dallaire, a psychologist from Quebec and the author of ‘Violence towards men, an unthinkable and complex reality’ (published 2002).

• May Champions Women's Issues. [London Free Press, Canada] Green Party leader Elizabeth May continues to demonstrate she can work a crowd. At the latest all-candidates gathering for the London-North-Centre by-election, the question was whether a senior minister should be appointed to deal with women's issues in Ottawa. Women's issues, child poverty, child care and the environment were the main topics up for discussion. May proved a crowd-pleaser on many occasions, but especially with her answer to that one. "The best place for a woman at the cabinet table is as prime minister," May told a crowd of about 200 people, gathered by the group Women Our Votes Count, to prolonged applause.

• Even Women Won't Back Women, So We're Stuck With Men. [Globe and Mail, Canada] There is no disputing the notion that women don't get the same opportunity in politics as the male gender. The imbalance in the power structure, let's just say, is an embarrassment to modern democracy. But — and here's a delicate question — what happens when they do get a chance? The Liberal leadership convention provides a distressing example. The party created a system wherein each of the country's 308 ridings could form a women's club. From each club, the fairer sex could send two delegates. The thinking obviously was that the clubs would be more inclined to support female candidates and give them a bit of an edge. So what happened? In the first place, women didn't even bother to form clubs. In only 82 ridings have women's clubs been created over the past many years. In 226 ridings, they don't exist. Bad enough, you might say. But it gets worse. From the 82 clubs that were created, a mere two delegates were put up to support a female candidate, Martha Hall Findlay. As for the rest, the women's clubs went male — en masse.

• Female Firefighter's harassment Suit Tossed Out of Court. [CBC British Columbia, Canada] A B.C. Supreme Court judge has thrown out sexual harassment and discrimination claims filed by a Richmond firefighter, saying the court has no jurisdiction over her complaints. Justice Brian Joyce ruled Jeannette Moznik's allegations are directly related to her job and can be dealt with by her union's arbitrator. Moznik said she suffered personal injuries, nervous shock and depression because of the behavior of her male co-workers. She also claimed that the City of Richmond failed to stop the harassment and even fostered a culture of discrimination against its female firefighters.

• Women and the Niqab. [Globe and Mail, Canada] As a non-Muslim woman, I take great offence to the notion that anyone's worth bears any relation to their level of piety, or that one's worth can be preserved by one's costume. I also take exception to the idea that women who don't cover themselves are motivated by "superficial social expectations" and "vain desires." When I hear a defense of the niqab that does not involve casting aspersions on women who choose not to cover themselves, perhaps I will change my mind. In the meantime, I will continue to believe that the "freedom" provided by the niqab is the Orwellian kind.

Mexico

• UN report: Mexico Must Do More to Protect Women. [Houston Chronicle] If Mexico wants to eradicate discrimination against women, it needs to follow up its promises with action, a U.N. report said. The report applauded Mexico's 2006 passage of the General Act on Equality between Women and Men, but expressed concerns that additional steps have to be taken before it can be implemented effectively. The authors of the report, members of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, are worried the law lacks the necessary components to bring states and cities across the country on board. In particular, the committee is concerned that the National Commission on Human Rights, which is charged with overseeing enforcement, does not have "the necessary financial resources and specially trained personnel to achieve this goal." The report listed 42 recommendations Mexico should follow to eliminate violence against women, including ensuring access to safe abortions as allowed under the law; providing more sex education; outlawing mandatory pregnancy tests at maquiladora, or assembly-for-export, factories; and finding a way to end the disappearances of women in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez.

• U.N. Urges Mexico to Do More to End Violence Against Women in Juarez, Elsewhere. [The Associated Press] A U.N. report released Thursday said Mexico needs to do more to stop the violence against women in a border city where numerous young women were murdered and to investigate the alleged sexual abuse of protesters by police. The report, which lists 42 recommendations for Mexico to reduce violence against women, said Juarez continues to be a dangerous city for women despite an international outcry sparked by the murders of more than 100 women since 1993. The document said U.N. investigators appreciate the "efforts of the state to address the cases of violence against women in Ciudad Juarez," but remain "especially concerned that these efforts have so far failed to prevent further crimes from being committed." Most of the victims were dumped in the desert outside of town and many of the murders remained unsolved.

• Female Prime Minister Struggling. [Guardian Unlimited, UK] When Portia Simpson Miller became their first female prime minister Jamaicans celebrated in the streets, hailing "Sista P"' as a warmhearted champion of the poor. Just nine months later, much of her support has dissipated. A scandal over a political donation from a European company and her failure to reduce crime have voters questioning her effectiveness. The homespun style many once found endearing has begun to work against her. With some opponents urging her to call early elections, Simpson Miller risks becoming one of Jamaica's shortest-serving prime ministers since independence from Britain in 1962. She's obligated to call general elections by October 2007. With her approval ratings low, political analysts don't expect her to act sooner.

• Progression of Women a Contributing Factor to Domestic Violence. [Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica] The progression of women in the labor force is a contributing factor to the increasing levels of domestic violence, according to Faith Webster, acting executive director of the Bureau of Women's Affairs. Mrs. Webster noted that, with more women advancing academically and professionally, this sometimes results in tension in the home. "And you find that sometimes the man may not be working and the woman is in a higher position and that too can lead to abuse," she told The Gleaner. "It is really alarming (the rate of domestic violence) and this is one of the reasons why we are working so hard at the Bureau of Women's Affairs to ensure that people recognize that we are putting forward a zero-tolerance (approach) about this issue." From 1995 to 1998, reports of spousal abuse almost quadrupled.

• Prime Minister Firm Against Abuse of Women. [Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service, Jamaica] Prime Minister, The Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller has taken a firm stance against offenders who abuse women, stating that their actions were impeding the progress of the nation. "Violence against women in whatever form is considered a violation of their human rights. Such violence manifests itself in sexual, physical and psychological and economic forms. As a nation, we renew our commitment to ensuring that gender-based violence in any shape or form is eradicated and that systems are put in place to protect the rights of all, including our women and children," she said. The Prime Minister said the issue of violence against women and girls remained an ever present challenge to the social, political and economic development of the society.

• On Violence Against Women. [Jamaica Observer, Jamaica] These acts of violence, the Convention adds, can occur within the family or domestic unit or within any interpersonal relationship whether the perpetrator shares or had shared the same residence with the woman. It makes clear that it also encompasses those acts of violence against women which occur in the community including rape, sexual abuse, torture, trafficking in person, forced prostitution, kidnapping and sexual harassment in the workplace and other institutions. It is clear and I think we can all accept that women and girls are largely the victims rather than the perpetrators of violence of all kinds, not only in Jamaica but worldwide. For much too long in our human history, this has been taken to be the norm and was only in relatively recent times that governments enacted legislation to deal specifically with what really is a scourge in every society. It is interesting to note that after the second world war no one was charged for war crimes or crimes against humanity for the sexual violence in the form of enslavements, torture and experiments which were inflicted against women of the defeated nations. It was only in the International Tribunals of 1993 and 1995 that rape was listed as a crime against humanity. It was in the elements of crime of the Statute for the International Criminal Court that rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization or other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity were defined as crimes against humanity and war crimes.

• Some 200 Women Participate in Gender Equality Workshop. [Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service, Jamaica] A national consultation on gender equality and women's empowerment was convened at the Stella Marris Pastoral Centre in Kingston. The consultation brought together some 200 women from various women's groups from across the island, to discuss issues that were affecting them and find solutions to the problems that were identified. Dr. Glenda Simms, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Gender Issues and Women Affairs, told JIS News that she was very pleased with the number of women who attended the meeting. "This is an excellent turn out. and this is not just a consultation for talking but it is also action-oriented as we will look at solutions that can be implemented right away. They (participants) are going to be asked to establish a time frame to address these problems," she said.

• Charity Praised for Tackling Plight of Female Drug 'Mules'. [Independent, UK] Jamaican drugs "mules" - women who swallow bags of cocaine - were being picked up every day at British airports three years ago. However, arrests have now fallen to less than one a month, and the number of Jamaican women in prison has tumbled from 700 to just over 200. The turnaround follows a graphic publicity campaign in which posters, bumper stickers and beer mats were distributed across the Caribbean island. Its message - that smuggling drugs into Britain carried long prison sentences and could prove fatal if a bag splits - was hammered home by television films and a series of public meetings. In the past year they have advised more than 1,700 women of 50 nationalities. Nearly a quarter of the 4,420 women behind bars in England and Wales were born abroad. Almost all the Jamaicans and a high number of the Nigerians have been convicted of drug smuggling, and have typically received sentences of between four and 15 years.