Towards Equality
2021 Edition
Ahead of the Generation Equality Forum, Sparknews invited 15 news outlets from around the world to join forces and shed light, with a solutions-oriented approach, on today’s most pressing gender equality challenges.
On June 18, 2021, they published 27 news stories, shared in 10 languages, reaching more than 70 million people.
To kick off the first media alliance of the Towards Equality program, Sparknews hosted a live-streamed event featuring prominent journalists and international key opinion leaders paving the way towards gender equality.
Here’s a look at some of the stories shared by our media partners as part of the first edition of the Towards Equality media alliance, in English:
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Eleonor Faur, Feminist Sociologist: “In a World That Neglects So Much, Caring for Others Is Revolutionary”
By elDiarioAR 🇦🇷 A pioneer in the study of the care industry through a gender lens, the specialist analyses the pandemic’s impacts, the community-oriented organisations led by women in popular sectors, and the need to rethink our entire economic systems and distribute care responsibilities in a more balanced way.
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Prof. Beth Goldblatt: “The Pandemic Has Highlighted the Need for Affordable, High Quality Childcare”
By Folha de S.Paulo 🇧🇷 An associate professor at Sydney’s University of Technology’s faculty of law, specialized in human rights, Prof. Beth Goldblatt says that government financial aid and a universal child care system should be combined in order to reduce gender inequalities.
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In Kenya, Domestic Workers Turned Their Lives Around During the Pandemic
By Daily Nation 🇰🇪 Domestic work is a huge part of the informal economy in the Eastern-African country, one that has been particularly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. But some domestic workers have managed to turn the tide and start their own businesses thanks to the Inua Mama Sua project in Nairobi.
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Hiring Targets, Eased Rules Used to Narrow the Gender Gap in Japanese Academia
By The Asahi Shimbun 🇯🇵 In Japan, the academic gender gap is wide. But some of the top universities in the country are taking strong steps to tackle inequalities and attract more female scholars.
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Climate Migrant Women in Italy Strive for Equal Opportunities
By Corriere della Sera 🇮🇹 The climate crisis deepens the gender inequalities already affecting women. A campaign on climate poverty under the leadership of the NGO WeWorld is trying to raise awareness.
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Kenyan Women Are Crushing Stone and Stereotypes at the Same Time
By Daily Nation 🇰🇪 Self-help groups have been booming in Kenya in the last decades. Now, an all-women gravel-making group in the Sarwat Village is turning both stones and stereotypes into ashes.
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In Spain, a Network of Activists, Lawyers and Midwives Break the Silence on Obstetric Violence
By elDiario.es 🇪🇸 The Spanish government recently announced that it will include the term “obstetric violence” in the law as a form of gender violence — a step that comes after dozens of women pushed to spread awareness on the issue, to support those who have suffered it, and to change hospital protocols.
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Turning Museums Into Feminist Spaces
By elDiario.es 🇪🇸 Traditionally, museums are spaces of cultural expression governed by a masculine stand view. But in Spain, some museums and non-profits are taking concrete steps hoping to make women artists’ work more visible and to rethink the cultural world’s influence on gender equality.
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Tackling Paternity Leave Stereotypes in Japan
By The Asahi Shimbun 🇯🇵 The Japanese archipelago has one of the most generous paternity leave systems in the world, yet few are the men who actually take advantage of it. Some local governments and companies are trying to turn the tide.
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In Brazil, the fight against domestic violence goes through beauty salons and barbershops
By Folha de S.Paulo 🇧🇷 Created in 2017, the Mãos Empenhadas Contra a Violência (Hands committed against violence) program trains professionals in beauty salons to identify and help victims of domestic violence.
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“Elles Aussi” Campaigns for Real Parity in the French Political Landscape
By Arte 🇫🇷/🇩🇪 When the country banned female genital mutilation in 2011, few expected this traditional practice to migrate to underground clinics.
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In Italy, School Textbook Publishers Scrap Gender Stereotypes
By Corriere della Sera 🇮🇹 An interview of gender expert Irene Biemmi, who has been working as an advisor on a publication project aiming to give an equal representation to men and women.