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The Big Picture brings together a range of PS commentaries to give readers a comprehensive understanding of topics in the news – and the deeper issues driving the news. The Big Question features concise contributor analysis and predictions on timely topics.
Minding the Gap
Every March 8, International Women's Day, the world reflects on the progress made toward closing gender gaps in business, politics, and society. But, as always, the focus must also be on the work that still lies ahead.
In this Big Picture, Arancha González shows that women entrepreneurs around the world continue to face significant barriers to participation in international trade. Tedros Ghebreyesus and Senait Fisseha highlight the far-reaching implications of persistent gender disparities in the public health sector. Gabriela Ramos and Mario Pezzini offer a data-driven approach for identifying areas where gender disparities remain entrenched not just in cultural norms, but in law. And Anne-Marie Slaughter argues that setting gender quotas will be less effective than developing nuanced approaches to the deep structural barriers women face.
Meanwhile, in India, a laggard on gender-equality indicators, Jayati Ghosh finds hope for improvement in a recent mass demonstration by the women of Kerala state. Lina Abirafeh explains how urban planners can do far more to account for women's needs in cities. And Hannah Storm laments that, even in the age of #MeToo, sexual harassment runs rampant in the very media organizations that are in a position to bring such abuses to light.