Thursday, February 23, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Bus stop advert – for women only

Posted: 22 Feb 2012 12:30 PM PST

Emma Caddow
WVoN co-editor 

An interactive advertisment on a bus stop in London’s busy Oxford Street has been designed so it can only be watched by women.

The advert, which is being trialled for two weeks on a bus stop in front of Selfridges department store, is part of the children’s charity Plan UK‘s Because I am a Girl campaign, and is said to have cost £30,000.

The advert’s interface has an in-built HD camera which identifies the viewer’s facial features, then measures the distances between their eyes, the curve of their cheekbone and jaw, and the width of their nose.

Using facial recognition software, it is then able to determine whether the viewer is male or female.

The software is thought to be 90 per cent accurate.

If a man stands in front of the ad, he will only see the charity’s website appear.

However, if a woman stands in front of the interface, she’ll be able to watch the 40 second advert which follows the lives of three 13-year-old girls in the UK, Mali and Thailand.

The advert has stirred reactions on a number of blog sites because it is only available to women. The charity explained that:

“Men and boys are denied the choice to view the full content in order to highlight the fact that women and girls across the world are denied choices and opportunities on a daily basis due to poverty and discrimination.”

The three girls who appear in the advert talk about their hopes and dreams for their future, interspersed with footage following their everyday lives.

Plan UK says the advert highlights the choices that many girls in developing countries are denied.

Plan UK CEO, Marie Staunton, said of the campaign:

"Millions of girls across the globe are being denied the right and choice to have an education.

“This ad is a deliberate attempt to raise public debate on this issue.

“Plan's Because I am a Girl campaign works with women and men, girls and boys, to challenge the discrimination that girls face as a result of their sex.

“We work to challenge negative stereotypes.

“Although we're not giving men and boys the choice to see the full ad on this occasion – so we get a glimpse of what it's like to have basic choices taken away – boys and men play a vital role in helping girls to be all they can be.

“Men and boys are also invited to join 'the Plan' to give girls choices.

“We look forward to hearing the public's thoughts at #choicesforgirls" added Ms Staunton.

To find out more and see the film in full, visit choicesforgirls.org.uk

Self-reliance and supporting family are key financial considerations for women

Posted: 22 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST

Katie McQuater
WVoN co-editor 

Women across generations are willing and eager to provide financial support to their family members, whilst also maintaining a strong desire for self-reliance, a US study has revealed.

The findings from the MetLife Mature Market Institute study are based on the responses of 1,060 women aged between 21-65 years old across the United States.

The study indicates the overall desire of women to provide financial support to family members.

Almost eight in ten women out of each of the three generations surveyed (Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y) stated a desire to be able to give more financially to children or grandchildren.

Additionally, approximately half of all women surveyed felt they had a strong or absolute responsibility to provide financial support for their children's education.

Another trend which crossed all three generations was an acceptance that women need to prepare for retirement to avoid relying on family later in life.

The findings indicate a strong emphasis on self-reliance, particularly amongst the Boomer generation.

This trend also means that as women get older, they are less likely to accept financial support – 45% of Boomers said they wouldn't accept financial help from adult children even if they needed it.

The study also observed some gender differences. Men were more likely than women to feel a sense of responsibility for ensuring their spouse was financially secure in the event of their unexpected death.

This is most prevalent in the older generation (83% of male Boomers compared with 71% of female). Fathers and grandfathers were also more likely to want to provide more financially for their children than their female counterparts.

Backlash over appointment of female adviser by UK prime minister

Posted: 22 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST

Emma Caddow
WVoN co-editor 

Last November, UK prime minister David Cameron announced he was appointing a female adviser.

Her job spec: to assess how government policies would impact women.

Now, we don’t want to state the glaringly obvious, but shouldn’t the government already be doing this?

And shouldn’t it have enough female input within its own internal structures?

Rather than being positively embraced, the announcement resulted in a barrage of attacks on Cameron and his ‘female friendly’ position.

The Fawcett Society, the UK's leading campaign group for equality between women and men, said the appointment has created:

“concern about a fall in support for the coalition among women, and criticism of David Cameron, his cabinet and his advisers. Slashed benefits, job cuts, and a reduction in core public services, risk pushing progress on women’s equality back a generation”.

Last week, a mixed panel of eminent women held a round table discussion about Cameron’s proposal:

Baroness Williams; Channel 4 News’ Social Affairs Editor Jackie Long; Mehj Ahmed from the British Youth Council; Director of Tate Britain Penelope Curtis; and founding member of the voluntary organisation Southall Black Sisters, Pragna Patel, all attended.

Patel asked a good question - why does the government need a specialist women’s adviser when it already consults on every proposal it draws up?

What does the appointment imply about the advice already given by female cabinet members such as Equalities Minister Lynne Featherston?

Patel commented: “I can’t help feeling this is another gimmick: a cynical ploy to get women’s votes because the government is suddenly wobbling over the fact that women are disproportionately affected by the huge and swingeing cuts.

“It is a vacuous attempt to detract attention from the glaring reality of these measures.”

Ahmed added: “How is this one female adviser going to represent all the women of the UK, let alone just the youth?

“We have pensioners, mothers, single mothers, people working in public and private sectors…

“I don’t understand how David Cameron feels he can hire just one female adviser and feel that it is OK to represent the entire female nation in Britain today.”

Curtis commented: “To have an adviser to represent 50 per cent of the population is pathetic. It represents inequality in general: the self-replication of a governing group.”

The panel agreed the most urgent government policies were those surrounding women’s employment.

Long said: “The rhetoric surrounding benefits is all about worklessness and workshy: ‘We will … drag those people who don’t want to work back to work.’

But women are saying: ‘We want to work, we don’t want to be on benefits – but where’s the narrative? What is your response to that?’”

Long also raised the issue of how expensive childcare is in the UK, saying it was detrimental to helping women return to work after having children.

Patel: “If the government were to offer one thing to women, I think it would be reviewing the whole issue of childcare and how that would enable women to work.

“As long as we could find more jobs.”

Laura Trott, currently chief of staff to the Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, will start her new job in the spring.

You can listen to the full discussion on the Guardian website.

Pinterest: more than ‘just’ a women’s social network

Posted: 22 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST

Katie McQuater
WVoN co-editor 

The rapid growth of virtual 'pin board' social networking site Pinterest has been documented in the media recently, its success attributed to its popularity among women.

Around 80% of the site's US users are female, although the UK has more male users.

Pinterest was founded as a gender-neutral platform for people to collect and share easily. It allows users to pin and group images on a vast array of themes and is visually-stimulating.

Co-founder Ben Silbermann has said that it's simply collecting and sharing common interests that lies at the heart of the concept:

"As a kid, I loved collecting. I collected everything from insects to stamps to books. I've always thought that the things you collect — whether it's the furniture in your home or the music on your iPod — says a lot about who you are.

“I thought it would be great to bring that entire experience online and help connect people who have common interests."

The site's content is dominated by lifestyle themes such as interior design, crafts and style.

Along with the large number of female users, this has resulted in Pinterest being described as female-only by some – tech blog Gizmodo dismissed the site as 'Tumblr for ladiez', and one Washington Post journalist has called it 'digital crack for women'.

Yes, the site is dominated by women but doesn’t mean that it's only of interest to women, or, even more patronisingly, that it was created especially for women and women alone.

That perception portrays a very narrow view of a valuable and interesting platform, by confining it to one gender. The message is: if you are female, you will love Pinterest. If you are a man, you won't get it.

Whilst doing a disservice to the many creative businesses run by both sexes using Pinterest to showcase work and drive traffic to their blogs and websites (it's more than just kitsch and recipes), the idea that it’s only for women also pigeonholes women's interests.

It also conveniently ignores the fact that Pinterest is not only rapidly expanding, but is also the fifth most-visited social network in the US, after Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Yahoo! Answers (according to data from Experian Hitwise).

Yes. That's the fifth largest social networking site, not the fifth largest social networking site for women.

Meanwhile, 70% of Google+ users are male, perhaps because it is seen as an extension of other Google services such as Android, popular with young men.

The opportunities Pinterest can provide for both women and men are seemingly endless. It's visually engaging and allows easy sharing and interaction.

It just remains to be seen whether this start-up company can bridge the gender gap and attract a wider male audience, or whether the sexes are to be confined to separate social networking spheres and outdated gender stereotypes.

Marie Colvin: “I should stay and write what I can to expose what is happening here”

Posted: 22 Feb 2012 05:59 AM PST

Julie Tomlin
WVoN co-editor

Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin remained in Syria because she was determined the terrible story of events there had to be told.

Colvin had hoped to moderate a discussion that is taking place on the growing crisis in Syria at the Frontline Club in London this Friday.

On Sunday she wrote in an email to programme editor Millicent Teasdale that she had decided to stay "at the epicentre of the storm" in Baba Amr in Homs:

"They are killing with impunity. Sadly I wont be able to make 24th have decided I should stay and write what I can to expose what is happening here."

Reports that Colvin was one of two Western journalists killed in the Syrian city of Homs, when shells hit the building they were staying in, have shocked and saddened friends and colleagues at the Frontline Club.

Writing on Twitter, Channel 4 News presenter, Jon Snow, said “Assad’s assassination of Marie Colvin: Utterly devastating: the most courageous journalist I ever knew and a wonderful reporter and writer.”

Last night, Colvin described on Channel 4 News the “merciless” attacks on civilians surrounding her.

She said: “I think the sickening thing is the complete merciless nature. They’re hitting civilian buildings mercilessly and without caring. The scale of it is just shocking.”

She also spoke on the BBC, telling viewers: "I saw a baby die today”.

This post appeared originally on the Frontline Club blog.

Minister claims India’s women want mobile phones “not toilets”

Posted: 22 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST

Ellie Watmuff
WVoN co-editor

One of India's most outspoken cabinet members, Jairam Ramesh, the Minister for Rural Development, caused controversy on Friday by declaring that women in the country are increasingly demanding mobile phones, but "not demanding toilets".

His sensationalist comments formed part of a speech about sanitation, which he delivered in New Delhi at the launch of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) report on Millennium Development Goals.

"Sanitation is the much more difficult issue,” Ramesh, who is also minister for Drinking water and Sanitation, said.

"Now we are talking of behavioural changes and women demand mobile phones. They are not demanding toilets. That is the mindset we have,".

Ramesh´s inflammatory remarks drew strong criticism from women across India.

Many took exception to his gaffe which implied that women are somehow to blame for a lack of adequate toilet facilities in the country, by actively choosing mobile phones over improved sanitation.

AP president of Progressive Organisation for Women V Sandhya said "Jairam Ramesh should be ashamed of himself for being a minister in a government which has failed to provide latrines to women but made cellphones available everywhere."

"Why is he blaming women for poor sanitation conditions in the country?” Ranjana Kumari, head of the Centre for Social Research in New Delhi asked.

"Is it not the responsibility of the government to ensure good sanitation facilities?"

In his delivery Ramesh expressed concern that India, one of the world's most populous countries, accounts for almost 60% of open defection in the world while having in excess of 700 million mobile phone subscribers.

When later pressed on his remarks Ramesh acknowledged the headline grabbing potential of his outburst but said:

"The point is that India accounts for 60 per cent of open defecation in the world and this is a serious problem. Sixty per cent open defecation in a country that has 700 million mobiles!"

Sadly, his comments over-shadowed the broader concerns he raised regarding the impact the government’s low spend on sanitation was having on rural women in the country.

He described his own ministry’s Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), as a "token sanitation campaign” for the "pittance" it received in government funds and for the lack of substantive progress made.

He pledged improvement to "both funding and management in water supply and sanitation " in the next couple of months.

Ramesh’s comments come in the wake of an Indian woman being given $10,000 by a non-profit group for leaving her marital home because it lacked a toilet.

The woman, Anita Narre, refused to defecate in the open and sparked a “toilet revolution” in her village in central India. Her action motivated other women in the village to coax their partners to build toilets, transforming the village.

Story links, February 22, 2012

Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:00 AM PST

Every day we'll post up a number of story links that we think are interesting.

They won't necessarily be from that day, but usually will not be more than a few days old.

The following are the ones we’ve found today.

Story links:

Is the fight against childhood obesity creating eating disorders, Time Ideas, February 21, 2012

Time to end ban on women chiefs in Lesotho, Osisa, February 21, 2012

US work for abandonment of female cutting, US embassy, February 18, 2012

Skirts optional for female Olympic boxers, ESPNW, February 18, 2012

New mammogram benefits for women in their 40s, Web MD, February 22, 2012

Women less likely to get immediate heart attack treatment, USA Today, February 21, 2012

MQM wants equal rights for women in every sphere of life, Pakistan Observer, February  22, 2012

Women in business strengthen their base, Botswana Gazette, February 22, 2012

Cancer treatment now includes fertility planning, WeNews, February 22, 2012

Sunday Times journalist killed in Homs shelling, Guardian, February 22, 2012

Johannesburg marches for miniskirts

Posted: 22 Feb 2012 01:00 AM PST

Ellie Watmuff
WVoN co-editor

Parts of the South African city of Johannesburg came to a standstill on Friday over a mass debate on miniskirts.

The Women’s League arm of the governing African National Congress (ANCWL) led a march against gender-based violence to the High Court, in protest at the treatment of two women who were hassled at a Noord Street taxi rank last December.

The women were groped and shouted at by a group of men on account of their clothing; one wore a miniskirt and the other had a visible bra strap.

The march, led by one of the victims, commenced from Bree street taxi rank, with a heavy police presence. Many walkers, reportedly including men, donned miniskirts in a show of solidarity.

Justice Minister Jeff Radebe signed a memorandum of understanding at the court, vowing that the justice system would back efforts to curtail violence against women and children. Radebe said those who told women what to wear were not freedom fighters.

"The struggle for freedom has always been the struggle for human rights, the struggle for women’s empowerment."

He said he showed his support "because I like miniskirts", a comment which was well received by the assembled crowd, who applauded his sentiment.

Premier of Gauteng, the province containing Johannesburg, Nomvula Mokonyane spoke out about the importance of the march, stating that no one could enjoy human rights while women and children lived in fear of abuse, and highlighted the particular role of the taxi industry in joining the crusade against sexual harassment:

“It is their duty to respect human rights… taxi drivers, taxi commuters: no one should allow violence against women and children,” she said.

“As women, we are proud of our bodies, we are proud of our mini skirts.”

Lulu Xingwana, the country´s Minister of Women, said the march was in support of the women’s movement and gay rights and revealed that the Noord Street taxi rank would be closed down unless improvement was seen in attitudes towards women's liberal rights;

“Real men don’t rape women, real men love and respect women,” she said.

“No one has the right to [commit] corrective rape. Rape is rape.”

“Corrective rape”, in which men rape lesbians in what they see as an attempt to “correct” their sexual orientation appears to be on the increase in South Africa (see WVoN coverage).

Xingwana pledged that the ANCWL would work to rid South Africa of sexual harassment, city by city.

Another march is due to be held in Sunnyside, Pretoria on March 8 to increase awareness for the cause.