In The News

Asia's Elite Corps

Suzanne Sng November 6, 2003
Is there a global 'face' for female beauty? If so, it isn't Asian, say the heads of several Asian modeling agencies. As the Elite modeling agency gears up for its talent search in Singapore this weekend, only about one-fifth of the contestants are Asians. "There may be more and more Asian models," in the future, says the managing director of Carrie Models, which has...

Tough Struggle at Sea

September 30, 2003
Women are increasingly manning the world's ships, yet they continue to face discrimination. According to a new study published by the International Labor Office, women currently represent between 1 and 2 percent of the world's 1.25 million seafarers, serving on some 87,000 ships. Even in the Philippines – the world’s largest supplier of seafarers to the global merchant fleet – only...

Why is Zimbabwe Overlooked By SA's Sunshine Advocates?

Goko September 26, 2003
With an Islamic appeals court's acquittal of Amina Lawal, the Nigerian woman who was sentenced to death for having sex out of wedlock, feminist activists from around the world are celebrating a victory against conservative Shari 'a law. However, as the editorial in this Johannesburg daily points out , violations of women's rights are common in many parts of Africa – Muslim,...

Dutch Groups Launch Gay Marriage Manual

September 2, 2003
In the latest battle over convergence on global attitudes and laws regarding homosexuality, Dutch gay rights groups have published a manual outlining how and why their country legalized gay marriage. The guide also offers advice to politicians and activists in other countries on how to promote equal rights for same-sex couples and gays and lesbians more generally. The handbook's...

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...

Closing the Culture Gap

John Boudreau July 18, 2003
California's San Francisco Bay area attracts a diverse group of people from around the world who come to the US for work, pleasure, or study. When the love bug strikes, though, do cultural differences just fade into the background? Certainly not, says this article in San Jose's Mercury Times. Nonetheless, honest communication and an open mind can help bridge those inevitable cross-...