Gender News Archive

To view all the news articles that appeared in a particular year or month, click on a year below.

Forthcoming Commonwealth publication cited in ICASO discussion paper: Released: 18 October 2010; The book will include new research on unpaid HIV care in the household
Law practitioners battle against barriers to women’s rights on 30th anniversary of landmark convention: Released: 6 July 2010; Senior legal figures recount some of the challenges faced in enforcing international women’s convention in India and Nigeria
9WAMM Bridgetown Communique: Released: 10 June 2010; Ninth Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting, Bridgetown, Barbados, 7-9 June 2010
Triennial women’s affairs meeting begins: Released: 8 June 2010; Opening ceremony attended by 300 delegates from across the Commonwealth
Giving a voice to unpaid HIV care workers: Released: 7 June 2010; ‘The voices of carers speak to their daily struggles with life decisions that have socio-economic and political implications for their families and communities’ – Dr Meena Shivdas
Gambian Cabinet receives training in Gender Responsive Budgeting: Released: 12 May 2010; Workshop organised as part of Commonwealth Secretariat’s support towards promoting gender and economic empowerment in member countries
Women artisans from India gain foothold in international marketplace: Released: 11 May 2010; New series of case studies details link between women and global markets and the gender impacts of trade policies
Breaking the silence: Public education programmes needed to raise awareness of women’s rights: Released: 30 April 2010; Child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation were the focus of a Human Rights debate held at Commonwealth Secretariat’s London headquarters
Ministers for Women’s Affairs to meet in Barbados: Released: 28 April 2010; ‘Women are pivotal agents of social and economic transformation’ - Secretary-General
Poverty has a woman’s face – radical change is required: Released: 4 March 2010; Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma's statement for International Women's Day

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International Women’s Day is held each year on 8 March. It was first observed worldwide in 1909.

There are 20 women Presidents and Prime Ministers in the world; seven from Commonwealth countries: Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, India's President Pratibha Patil, Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, Malawi's President Joyce Banda, Mauritius' President Monique Ohsan Bellepeau and Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar.

Currently, 13 Commonwealth countries are in the top 40 for mainstreaming women into Parliaments: Australia, Canada, Guyana, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda. Rwanda ranks first with 56 per cent.

A third of African countries have over 30 per cent representation of women in governance.

Following constitutional amendments to reserve a third of all local government seats for women in India, over one million have been elected to the Panchayat Raj (local government)

Each year, more than 500,000 women – at least one every minute – die from pregnancy-related causes. The vast majority of these deaths occur in developing countries. An African woman's lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes is one in 16; in Asia, it's one in 65. In Europe, it's one in 1,400.

Women produce half the world's food, but own only 1 per cent of its farmland.

Past mortality rates for females in child-bearing age groups were higher than males at the same age. This is no longer the case. Female human life expectancy is considerably higher than men.

The first computer programmer was a woman in 1842: Ada Lovelace (1815–1852), analyst of Charles Babbage‘s analytical engine.

The first country to grant women the right to vote was New Zealand in 1893.

700,000 people will experience domestic violence in the UK. 90 per cent are white British females

Gender-based violence causes more deaths and disabilities among women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war.

More than one billion people live in extreme poverty, 75 per cent are women and girls.

7 of the top 9 Fortune list of the most powerful businesswomen are from Commonwealth countries.

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Enquiries on our gender work:

Ms Linda Kalindi
gender@commonwealth.int

Media enquiries:

Victoria Holdsworth
+44(0)20 7747 6383
v.holdsworth@commonwealth.int

Gender News Archive

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