Gender and Austerity: The Feminization of Economic Crisis Response

Read this. When we talk about class, we talk about gender.

Women, Peace and Security: US State Dept takes a lead

from Feministing.com: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new plan introduced by the U.S. government to help protect women and girls in conflict zones and ensure that peace processes include women.

UN report says all states should provide access to safe abortion, contraception

Read about it in Feministing.

NYT and Global Women

Follow the Female Factor in the International Herald Tribune here.

Global Gender Gap

By World Economic Forum

For China's Educated Single Ladies, Finding Love Is Often a Struggle By Deborah Jian Lee

Speaking of Families Worldwide, read here in the Atlantic.

NYT: Protecting the Rights of Surrogate Mothers in India

Costs and issues are in NYTs.

"The cost of surrogacy for prospective parents is about $14,000 in India, compared with an estimated $70,000 in the United States."

"But a team of researchers from Sama, a nongovernmental women’s health organization, has raised concerns about the bill in a recent paper. "

"But Sama notes that it does not address the number of assisted reproductive cycles a woman can experience, an important issue for the women’s health. "

"The proposed law does not spell out what a surrogate mother would be paid in the case of a miscarriage or other complications during pregnancy. "

"In 2008, Dr. Sadhna Arya, a gynecologist in Jaipur, was part of the team of doctors involved in the complex case of a baby who was born to an Indian surrogate mother after the contracting couple, from Japan, decided to divorce. At the time, Dr. Arya spoke out against the way in which surrogate mothers were treated in India: “You have treated the surrogate mother like an object, used her as a factory.”