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Issues of cost of living and higher taxes in states in the northeastern US and California vs the lower taxes and lower cost of living in the Southern States of the US. Whose side each of the two main parties are on in the US has switched in the period since Harry Truman and FDR in the 1940's. The Republicans represent small business and the less educated in society, the Democrats represent the more educated, affluent sections, and women, the black minority, with Hispanics divided between the two parties. Unions are now neutral and workers in factories lean more towards Republicans. On health care there is a failure for both parties. Both parties have failed miserably with all the lobbying creating obstacles-- to provide cost of living in healthcare. In comparing healthcare and the wealth of societies, it can now be noted that a well funded healthcare system with medicine within reach of the entire population of 1.4 billion people in a poor country like India does better than that of a rich society like the US with 350 million people. This makes a huge difference in the quality of life. Infrastructure investments in relatively far less affluent countries like China and now India make it possible to have better conditions of living relative to the US with infrastructure and transportation from the 19th century still awaiting rebuilding. ...

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Paid Leave for caregivers, parents, is a missing part of America's progress into a society that cares for women, children and elderly parents. America is the only nation among developed countries that lacks paid leave. Biden's Families and Workers Plan was designed to make this part of the fabric of American society. The 12 weeks paid leave originally planned is particularly needed for caregivers, mostly women, and is now down to 4 weeks. It was then taken out on the resistance of 1 senator from West Virginia out of 50 Democratic party senators. Women are hard hit during the pandemic and are unable to get back into the work force. Most Republicans if in the shoes of women as caregivers, or mothers needing maternity leave for children, would support this essential feature of a modern or well developed society, yet this is often missing as the nation is divided because about a third of Americans have paid leave and the rest lack paid leave. This piece of the bill for paid leave is now back in the bill in Congress, in another effort to get this through. ...

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Tontine pension products are popular in Japan where longevity has risen to the point where many women are live much longer. To make their pensions last longer for older participants the women pool their investment assets so that the oldest participants do not outlive their savings. As participants die the remainder of the asset pool is divided among the remaining women so that older participants can continue to receive periodic payouts for longer. Annuity products of this type are offered by Japanese insurance companies where contributions are made by Japanese people in their 50's for pension payouts later in life.

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A vocal advocate for women in tennis, Andy Murray of Britain, plans to retire in 2019 after chronic hip pain. Murray was a strong supporter of women in the game and an ally for the WTA Tour where women feel underappreciated compared to men in tennis.

Naomi Osaka, the U.S. Open champion found a new hitting partner in Andy Murray in Bribane, Australia recently. Murrray was taught tennis by his mother Judy. He was the first to hire a women's coach Amelie Mauresmo to his team in 2014. Among those who admire Murray is Billie Jean King, who helped establish women's tennis in the seventies. A first round loss at the Australian Open to Bautista Agut has led to Murray considering retirement.

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The decline in fertility rates in Brazil from 6.1 children per woman in 1960, to less than 1.9 children per woman in 2010, has astounded experts. Especially because this is observed in all parts of Brazil, in poor and affluent areas. The tend is observed throughout Latin America, from Chile and Mexico to Ecuador. The fertility rate in Latin America has declined sharply from about 6 children per woman in 1960, to 2.3 in 2010. The rate in the U.S. is 2.0, which is enough to keep the population at a level where it remains stable.

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Sadanand Dhume points out the change in women's fertility rate that will add one more factor to improvement in the quality of life and access to resources in India. This comes as development projects, infrastructure, logistics, is being built in the north at a pace unprecedented in history. Women's fertility rate has dropped below the replacement rate of 2.1 in India. Because of the youthful population with median age of 28 in India population will peak at 1.6 billion in 2050 making India the largest country by population in the world- with one in 6 people on the planet in India. From a fertility rate of 6 in 1960 in India, with each woman having 6 babies, it is down to 3 by 2005 and 2 in 2021. This shows the effect of sustained development over time, which is also evident in agricultural production where India is now self sufficient in food. For many years the Hindi speaking heartland suffered from poor governance and mismanagement of the economy- the region that covers Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh has a population of 250 million, Bihar 131 million and Madhya Pradesh 86 million, for a total of 467 million about the size of North America or the European Union. It is this region that is now pushing a development agenda today more than any other region in India with the joint effort of both the federal and state, local, governments in a way that is unprecedented in Indian history. Because of the Gati Shakti Master Plan, Atman Nirbhar Make in India Plan, and push for local is vocal, the infrastructure efforts in building roads, highways, airports and logistics, the advances in digitization and use of new technologies, there is an added boost with new synergies in this development effort. A new airport and logistics setup at Noida in Uttar Pradesh will be the largest in Asia, a new Ganga Expressway is planned, and many development projects are being launched in Varanasi, Prayagraj and other cities in UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh. Leaders at the federal level Mr. Modi, Mr. Piyush Goyal, and at the state level Mr. Adityanath, are pushing the development projects at a pace that will make these areas the fastest developing in India, and quite possibly the world, in a the next 3-5 years. ...

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John Fritze gives this exceptional report in USA Today with a gallery of black and white pictures on the life and work of an American who truly embodied some of the best spirit of America. Born on a ranch in the Arizona-New Mexico region in America's southwest in the 1920's she built in herself a remarkable resilience to start work in the law when women were not hired for legal work, choosing to start work as an unpaid legal worker at the county attorney's office in San Mateo because he had hired a woman once. Her response -"I loved my work and it was great," shows a remarkable attitude and one that reflected some of the ethos of America in the nineteenth century, what makes America and wins the respect of the world in Asian, African and Latin American countries. Her response at 75 years when retiring was to engage in work she loved and brought value to the nation- creating iCivics website to teach civics knowledge to children. She also led the College of WIlliam and Mary and engaged with young people. ...

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The Colombian women's soccer team's win 2-1 over Germany in World Cup 2023 shows how much has changed in women's soccer worldwide. WIth only about 30% of the possession the Colombian team dominated the game. The winning goal came in the 89th minute of the game from a stunning header by Manela Vanegas. Colombia led for most of the game. Linda Calcedo scored first for Colombia. The last time Germany lost a game in global games was in 1995 against Sweden. 

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The amazing thing about Katherine was that with only a pencil and a slide rule she could calculate the precise trajectories for Apollo 11 to land on the moon in 1969. She could do so much of the math in her head that determined the success of missions to the moon and other planets.  Another amazing thing is that even though the white women worked separate from the white men and the black women worked separately, there was mutual respect. As Katherine puts it NASA was a very professional organization and there was not the time to think what color I was. She said she never had a feeling of inferiority, never, she thought of herself as good as anybody else, and not any better. NASA has its computational facility named after her. She also had a famous line- calling her group of women mathematicians at NASA "computers in skirts." A movie "Hidden Figures" recalls this time and the women at NASA, America's space program agency. ...

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French coach Herve Renard has coached teams from Zambia, Saudi Arabia and other countries. Just one year after he brought Saudi Arabia into World Cup Soccer headlines with a win over Argentina, he is coaching the women's team of France. He is eager to take on something new and offered to coach the women's team after French players Wende Renard and Sommer had a falling out with the coach Deacre. Herve Renard has brought some calm to the team, wins over Brazil and Morocco, and a chance to make it to the finals.

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Women made large gains in the 2018 Mexico elections. WOmen won 49.2% of Mexico's 128 member Senate for a 50% increase. WOmen also won 47.8% of the lower house of Congress. In Mexico City, a city of 8.9 million people, the first female mayor was elected. In a country with macho politics this is a stunning change. A UN study shows only Belgium has a larger representation in the upper legislative chamber, and only Rwanda, Bolivia and Cuba have ahigher representation in the lower house of parliament. Not all the momentum for women comes from the election of Lopez Obrador. In 2014 the constitution of Mexico was changed requiring poltical parties to have male and female candidates in equal numbers at the federal, state and local levels. In fact of the more than 83,000 candidates seeking office nationwide, 50.4% were women. More than 89 million people registered to vote and female voters were 51.9% of the total. Mr. Lopez Obrador's encouragement added to the fervour for women to vote and women to fight for political office. It also helped Claudia Sheinbaum , a 56 year ol environmental engineer win the election for Mayor of Mexico City by a landslide. Sheinbaum was environmental chief under Mr. Obrador when he was Mayor 2000-2005. Her platform was to improve drinking water supplies and transportation services, expand free child care.  Some of Mr. Obrador's supporters say the agenda for reducing inequality by tackkling corruption, reducing government waste, increasing social spending on the poor helped rally women as candidates and voters. Obrador's conviction that women have a greater capacity for hard work also played a part. Sheinbaum was encouraged to run for office in 2015 and won as governor of Tlalpan, one of Mexico City's 16 boroughs. After the 2006 election loss of Obrador for the presidency she had returned to research work at the National Autonomous University. The entry of women is also seen as a way to bring new approaches to tackle the problems of inequality and corruption after the male dominated established parties from the Calderon-Pena era failed to address these problems. ...

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Of the estimated 14,400 candidates for provincial elections in Iraq, about 4000 are women. And security improvements have enabled women even in Basra to stand up for elections. In the current Iraqi constitution there is amandate for 25% of seats in Parliament to be reserved for women, but there is no such provision for provincial elected parliaments. This does not imply that years of lack of representation in the last 50 years under dictatorships, and the rule of religious parties and militias, is going to be easily overcome. Many qualified women simply don't want to risk standing for election because of threats to their safety and the male dominated culture that prevails. Its the courageous ones who are standing. The hope is that women can also put adent in the deep corruption that prevails in government and bring a new perspective and better representation of society.

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Christine Armstong gives this excellent story in The Times on how difficult it is for women to maintain work-life balance in today's work and business environment that gives little allowance for things like raising a family and children. In interviews with many women she describes each situation with insights and what it means for working women and for dads.

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Melissa Eddy of the NYT provides this exceptional account of the debate in Germany on national priorities, as the child care educators represented by the Verdi service workers union go on strike for a 10% increase in wages. Workers at entry level jobs in manufacturing represented by strong unions earn the same pay as teachers in child care centers and early childhood education who have many years of experience. The child care education workers are supported by the federal family minister, SDP minister Manuela Schwesig, who says that the additional experience and education upto university level of the child care educators in early childhood education should be recognized. Schwesig said: "We need a debate in Germany on how much we value the work of those who take care of the early education of our children and with young adults." One aspect of the 240,000 child care educators strike has drawn less attention. This is the gender pay gap as a large percentage of educators in childcare centers are women. Equal Pay Day in Berlin was organized for June 5, to call for equal pay for women who have fallen behind in pay. Data from the European Commission in 2014 shows Germany ranks third to last in gender pay equality, with only Estonia and Austria trailing behind, as cited by Deutsche Welle. Schwesig who attended the rally pointed out: "When women, despite equal work and education, earn less than their male colleagues, it is not only unfair. It is wrong." While Germany has moved ahead in quotas for female employees, women in boardrooms, parental leave, this does not help women in critical areas such as early childhood education and elderly care, which suffer from a large pay gap with men working in manufacturing jobs. ...

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As revelations of sexual harassment of women in the media industry come into the open following the Weinstein story, NYT provides essays by women who retell their own experiences and discuss the way forward from here. Many women were afraid to talk about it fearing it would hurt them in a workplace dominated by men, though many women were aware of the harassment situations. Yet each group of women in each workplace remained to some extent isolated, and unable to bring the issue out in the open to formulate plans for protections to be put in place. Women CEO's rarely took up the issue, preferring to work on company issues, taking sexual harassment to be a social issue not a business issue. Even though this issue affects the workplace itself in many ways, some of them insidious and detrimental to all. Men often did not take the lead to clear things up and create a good workplace environment, preferring to remain silent in the face of a corrosion of trust.

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Japanese Dads are taking on a bigger role and changing parenting. BBC Future shows this story about Japanese dads from a new generations that are taking on the joys, difficulties and responsibilities of parenting.  A new kind of superhero in Japanese manga comics is Ikumen, a Japanese term (from ikuji for childcare) for young dads actively spending time with their children compared to an earlier generation of fathers who spent most of their time at work, and rarely took on family responsibilities. During the sixties and seventies as Japan emerged from the wartime recovery and modernized Japanese culture defined men's role to spend most of the time at work, even getting allowance for spending from their wives who controlled the family budget.  In 2010 the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare started the Ikumen project to increase paternal involvement in child caring. This was a major cultural change and was part of the change in culture needed for the Third Arrow of Japan's Abenomics project to get women's participation up to western country levels. Today the women's participation rate in workplaces exceeds that of the U.S. Even in the 1980's men spent on average about 40 minutes with their children mostly during the family meal in the evening and even had to have their wives find their clothes. The common saying was - "jishin, kaminari, kaji, oyaji," earthquake, thunder, fire and father, remote and given respect. Women's reaction was not positive as they postponed marraige for later, then even not marrying at all for the next generation, leading to reduced childbirth rates. The Ikumen project projected fathers in a masculine role of heroes for taking on parenting, like the t-shirt logo "Strength for Society" portraying them as saving society, saving the  country. About 45% now support the idea of "men should work, women should stay at home" compared to 60% in 1992- drop of 15%. The statistics do not quite tell the story because during this period women participation in the workplace has jumped to western country levels as part of Abenomics Third Arrow to revive the economy. The problem that is still being tackled is that of bosses in the workplace who lack awareness and discourage taking paternal leave which has risen from 2% to 7% in five years 2012 to 2017. ...

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This interview in DW.com by Stefan Dege with author Sebastian Sons ("Built on Sand: A Problematic Ally"), looks at the changes in Saudi Arabia as a new generation of younger leaders under Prince Salman take over the desert region. A big change is that benefitting women in Saudi Arabia. The driving ban lifted is only one change. The bigger change is in the way educated Saudi women will now be integrated into the labor market.  This means improvements in gender relations can also now take place.  One reason cited here that these top down changes from Prince Salman are more likely to happen affecting Saudi society at the grassroots is that 70% of the Saudi population is under 30 years of age. Many have studied overseas and are educated, seeking a freer and more open life. The younger generation is euphoric says Sons, and they put all their hopes on Prince Salman that he can find a way out of the entrenched societal ways  that limit young people, and women from economic participation.  The Wahhabi clerics are seen as a junior partner to the monarchy in Saudi Arabia, and they too see the economic participation of women as necessary in today's tight economic situation. There is even optimism that Merkel could push for better women's rights, and for a Goethe Insitute for better cultural understanding in Riyadh. A very detailed timeline on women's rights in Saudi Arabia is provided here including education and personal ID's. ...

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Experts see strong growth in jobs in 2022. Employers added 431,000 jobs in March. This is the 11th straight month of job gains of over 400,000, the longest period of such growth since 1939. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6%, approaching the low unemployment rate of 3.5% in February 2020, just before the pandemic.

Low unemployment rate is boosting wages but not as much to keep up with inflation. The easing pandemic is also encouraging people to seek jobs. Many retirees are also coming back, and so are women. With 300,000 women joining the workforce in March 2022.

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England win after equalizing in 90th minute extra time vs Italy UEFA Women Soccer semifinal July 2025. The game did not go to penalty kicks as the added 30 minutes led to a penalty kick by English player Kelly. 

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After making headlines the issue of TikTok is no longer making news. Here is what has happened since- TikTok took the case to the Supreme Court after the Biden Administration's effort to bring it under US security with American ownership. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government. Social media helped Republicans and DJT in the election. DJT wanted TiTok to be an American company if it was to operate in US. China was opposed to this and would not allow ByteDance the owner of TikTok negotiate this-leading to an impasse. The DJT administration worked out a relationship  with China by September 2025 following tit for tat tariffs in May 2025. Xi's strategy was to put rare earths on the table after it had gained a 90% monopoly on rare earths processing technologies and supplies. Some supplies include a site in Greenland, so that the Greenland issue as opponents of US acquisition have made appear is not fiction. DJT Administration pulled back and negotiated a deal with China but realized how the US had left key gaps in its security which is why the Greenland issue came up in 2025. Similar to how Democrat president Harry Truman had done as the Soviets expanded influence in Greece and Turkey by 1948. Little of this making it to almost the entire US press and the entire European press, including Democrat Harry Truman's 1947 offer of $100 million ($1.5 billion in 2026) for Greenland, rights, title and ownership similar to Alaska purchase by Seward, and US Virgin Islands purchase in 1916 from Denmark.   The deal makes TikTok an American/ China investor run company with Byte Dance ownership of 20%, Oracle 15%, Silverlake US equity firm 15%, Abu Dhabhi (UK type) MGX 15%, and prior investors 30%. Prior investors are General Atlantic, SIG, Steve Case's Revolution with JD Vance having equity, Dragoneer, NJJ Capital. The company now valued at $20 billion based on 200 million US users. Yet this does not address the dangers and damage done by social media hours for youth in the US, endless hours from education shifted to phones and social media videos. Australia has banned it for under 16 year olds, UK parliament has voted to ban, French parliament has also voted for a ban, China has strict rules that protect its youth for use specifying hours and restrictions, leaving the US and India, Brazil vulnerable to dangers of social media. Strictly speaking You Tube is considered as social media even though it serves an information function, Facebook and TikTok are where a lot of the damage to education takes place in social media. US is entirely leaving its young people especially women unprotected. Once the fentanyl issue is tackled attention will again focus on these dangers to creating good citizens in the US  with civic education if democracy is to be preserved, something endless numbers of lobbyists- which even in Teddy Roosevelt's and FDR's, JFK's days have opposed- will again oppose.     ...

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Galston says the Hillary Clinton campaign strategy may be flawed. Following a president from the same party who has served two terms is difficult for a presidential candidate because of an anti-incumbency mood that sets in after 8 years. Galston cites an expert from Emory University about this costing the incumbent party about 4 percentage points in votes. This would eliminate President Obama's 3.9 percentage point win in 2012, says Galston. Hillary Clinton's cautious campaign sticking to the themes set by the Obama campaign and appealing to the core base of young people, women, minorities, and upscale professionals, runs the risk of not appealing to other voters needed such as the working class white voters. Stanley Greenberg, a pollster with much experience is cited by Galston as showing that the women's vote also is not the same for Democrats. Among unmarried white women for instance it has dropped from a 20 point margin in 2008 for Mr. Obama to a 4 point margin in 2012. By 2014 this was down to 2 points, and in 2015 this is now down to zero margin, with both Republicans and Democrats even among unmarried white women. Unmarried and working class white women are described by Greenberg as looking for a candidate who can help the middle class, with Democrats perceived as the party of government and special interests, making the 2016 election different from the ones before it....

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Japan's governing LDP party wins over two thirds of the seats in parliament in a snap election called one year before the end of the term in office. Prime minister Abe's popularity by summer 2017 dropped to about 30%, and yet with a divided opposition he managed to win the election with a large majority. The opposition led by the Democratic Party and Tokyo Governor Mrs Koike fragmented with the formation of new parties, Yuriko Koike's Party of Hope, and the Consitutional Democratic Party. Mrs. Koike failed to keep the opposition united with some missteps including asking for a loyalty pledge from candidates. This election win makes it possible for Abe to get a third term as leader of the LDP and eventually becoming the prime minister with the longest term in office. Abe had a poor start during his first effort as prime minister when he resigned in less than a year. This is a comeback for Shinzo Abe from that difficult period. Yet the constitutional changes to support Japan's Self Defense Forces with the growing threat from North Korea are not getting the same level of support. Opinion remains divided on that issue.  One aspect of this election is that very few women candidates are running for parliament. In contrast to the election in Britain with more women running for office and getting elected, in Japan's 2017 snap election less than 10% of candidates elected are women. ...

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This analysis in the BBC says women carry an invisible load. The BBC calls it cognitive labour, emotional labour and the intersection of the two, which puts a major burden on women. The cognitive labour is thinking about all the practical elements of household responsibilities. Emotional labour is maintaining the family's emotions, calming things down if the kids are acting up. The intersection of the two is preparing, organizing, and anticipating everything to make life flow.

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Brandy Melville is an Italian brand emerging as an exclusive skinny girl brand for young women. It is now number 8 in the top ten for female clothing. 

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This is another article in the Guardian's "Mother Load" series on the difficulties facing women as they raise children with busy work lives.