In The News

Exploited and Far from Home, Some Au Pairs Are Mistreated

Anna von Münchhausen August 15, 2003
Working and living abroad as an au pair should be an exciting and rewarding experience for young men and women. It gives them the opportunity to stay with a family while they experience an unfamiliar culture. But this very unfamiliarity – so exciting when the au pairs are warmly received – can also leave them vulnerable to abuse. In March 2002, the German au pair market was liberalized and...

Conservatives Protest Gay Bishop

Ryan Alexander August 6, 2003
Will the Anglican Church split now that the US branch has confirmed an openly gay man as a bishop? The most vocal threats warning of a schism in Anglican unity are coming from the conservative Anglican dioceses in Asia and Africa, where church membership is growing the most rapidly. The Anglican Church's leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is responding to the controversy by beseeching...

US Vote Threatens Anglican Unity

Stephen Bates August 4, 2003
A decision today by the US Episcopal church could lead to a wave of dissension and split the worldwide Anglican church, says this article in the UK's Guardian. Yesterday, at the triennial general meeting of the US church, American lay and clergy representatives voted to approve the election of the church's first openly gay bishop. Earlier this year, openly gay Gene Robinson was elected...

Partner Immigration Bill Arrives in Senate

Ahmar Mustikhan August 4, 2003
A new bill introduced in the US Congress would allow US citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex domestic partners for immigration purposes. The bill aims to bring the rights of same-sex couples in line with those of opposite-sex couples in permitting the couple to reside together permanently in the US. "Our immigration laws treat gays and lesbians in committed...

Vatican Says Lawmakers Have Duty to Oppose Gay Marriage

Kirk Semple July 31, 2003
In North America and Europe, recognition of gay rights is slowly growing. Homosexual civil unions – which grant same sex couples the same rights and responsibilities of married couples – are legal in several European countries, including Germany, France, Sweden, and Denmark. Canada recently disposed of a ban on gay marriages; and the US Supreme Court recently struck down a long-standing Texas...

Japan's Neglected Resource: Female Workers

Howard W. French July 25, 2003
Inequality in Japan's workplace is not only keeping Japanese women down, but also Japan itself. With population decline threatening huge labor shortages and possible economic collapse, it would seem Japan might be eager to tap into an underutilized segment of the population. Indeed, many experts maintain that expanding the role of women in the workplace could be the best stimulus for Japan...

Workers Falling Behind in Mexico

Mary Jordan July 15, 2003
In Mexico, there are too many workers and too few jobs. The country has failed to recover from the financial crisis of the 1990s that sent the peso and the average standard of living plummeting. And, while the number of unskilled laborers remains high – indeed higher than ever before as women increasingly enter the workforce – lower wages in countries like Indonesia and Guatemala have lured...