The UK government needs to listen to Iceland’s progressive prime minister when she says robust welfare policies are the antidote to far-right extremism. And what’s more, investing in social infrastructure – in care, in health, in schools – is essential to driving the growth the government wants, says Amy Brooker of the Women’s Budget Group.
Why the UK must take a bold stance against global attacks on women’s rights
Amid a worldwide backlash against women’s rights, and after its own aid cuts that further threaten those rights, it has never been more urgent for the UK government to speak up loudly for global gender equality, says the Gender and Development Network.
The era of anti-rights: what can you do about it?
With movements to roll back gender rights on the rise around the world, Kelly Mundy and Rachel Noble explain why the fight to protect them is more important than ever and set out three things we can do to support them.
From Personal to Powerful: in the face of growing attacks on rights, states must hold the line for gender justice
Three decades after the landmark Beijing declaration to advance women’s rights, right-wing, religious, and conservative actors are reversing and obstructing hard-won progress. This International Women’s Day, our new Oxfam campaign calls on governments across the globe to reassert their commitment to gender justice, bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights, say Lata Narayanaswamy and Amina Hersi.
Four ways to boost investment in women-led small businesses
Oxfam’s conversations and projects with entrepreneurs across the globe reveal a big gender gap in access to finance, says Windy Massabni. Women in business tell us that better support for them will include loan guarantees, alternative credit scoring systems and building the gender awareness of lenders.
The men are gone – but the patriarchy remains: the struggles of women left behind in Syria’s ‘no-man land’
Years of conflict have led to thousands of men dying or being pushed away. Now, says Dania Kareh, the women who remain face a huge challenge as stubborn social, economic and educational barriers frustrate their efforts to build decent lives for their families.
Spare us the token gestures: International Women’s Day must be a call to action for economic justice
Globally, men own $105 trillion more wealth than women. So today of all days we need to talk about how our global economic system just isn’t working for women, says Dana Abed, as Oxfam launches its #HerMoneyMatters campaign.
How the pregnancy penalty supercharges global inequality
In a blog for International Women’s Day, new parent Anthony Kamande reflects on the heavy cost his partner and family have paid for the simple act of having a baby. The world, and especially its poorer countries, needs a pregnancy rights revolution, he says, and international funders such as the IMF must play their part.
Power at our fingertips: feminists in Asia stake their claim to digital space
Whether reshaping gender narratives via TikTok, or highlighting sustainable farming via Facebook, women in Asia are mobilising on digital platforms like never before, says Myrah Butt in the latest blog in our International Women’s Day series.
Migrant women are raising their voices against an unjust childcare system: it’s time to listen to them
Whether depriving nannies of labour rights, or locking mothers out of child benefit, the UK can be a callous place for migrant childcare workers and parents, says Veronica Deutsch. And the battle to reform the childcare system starts by listening to the women affected.