Global Scans · Gender · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Achieving global gender parity will take many decades yet. Read on to understand the trends, challenges and efforts to advance parity at a faster pace.

• [New] Women who pursue higher education - and therefore are presented with better employment opportunities - tend to have more children. Institute for Family Studies
• [New] More than 4,000 Queensland women will be able to access one-off careers grants to help get back into the workforce. Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• [New] Health Risks: India faces a severe nutritional crisis affecting women across age groups. Vision IAS
• [New] Additional sessions will address cost reduction strategies for raw material suppliers to wind components, culminating in 'Winds of Influence', a powerful dialog led by women leaders who are redefining India's wind sector. SME Street
• [New] In India, several hospitals and healthcare initiatives have launched community outreach programs to educate women in rural and urban areas about breast health, risk factors, and lifestyle changes that can reduce vulnerability. KeyMyHome.com
• [New] The new Chamber of Deputies will include 67 women, the highest number in Czech history. Friedrich Naumann Foundation
• [New] CDC will identify and review the barriers that contribute to pregnant women missing hepatitis B screenings, and will recommend a pathway to ensure higher rates of testing. McDermott+
• [New] 72% of women career changers who have experience with a financial planner are very interested in a financial planning career compared to 41% of women career changers without experience with a planner (perhaps suggesting that some firms might find new advisor talent amongst its client base?). Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com
• [New] Since the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations declared 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, more brands are adding initiatives to support the rise of women in farming. Forbes
• [New] Equal participation of women in the workforce could add $12 trillion to global GDP within 10 years. Equality Now
• [New] The femtech industry is projected to expand from $59 billion to $103 billion by 2030 as women increasingly look to personal technology to tackle urgent health care needs like infertility, menopause, chronic conditions and more. Forbes
• [New] Harnessing technology such as the Commonwealth Meridian can transform debt transparency and policymaking, while investment in green industries, digital economies, and regional value chains will drive diversification and inclusive growth, particularly for women - and youth-led enterprises. Commonwealth
• [New] In 2025, more than 316,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the United States, making the efforts of the awareness month increasingly important. American Cancer Society MediaRoom
• [New] An algorithm that works perfectly for a white male in Silicon Valley might be dangerously inaccurate for a Black woman in rural Alabama. The European Business Review
• [New] The US Department of Agriculture told state agencies on Wednesday that due to the lapse in funding they will not receive their quarterly allocation of fiscal year 2026 money for WIC, formally known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. CNN
• [New] Federal funding for WIC, the food assistance program for low-income women, infants and young children, could run out within one to two weeks if Congress does not allocate more money. CNN
• [New] Right-wing authoritarianism significantly and positively predicted sexual harassment, mediated by hostile attitudes towards women among American men in the general population. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Young Middle Eastern women who are obese or overweight are facing a higher risk for the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and its associated risk factors like hypertension and Type Two diabetes. American College of Cardiology
• [New] By 2030, 45% of prime working age women in the US, defined as women aged between 25 and 44, will be single according to Census Bureau historical data and Morgan Stanley forecasts - the largest share in history. The Guardian
• [New] Plan International Australia emphasised that girls and young women face compounding vulnerabilities in a destabilised climate future. News Hub - Medianet News Hub archive
• [New] Obesity rates among women were predicted to surge from 57% in 2010 to 85% by 2030. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] By 2040, Mazandaran Province is projected to have the highest obesity rates in Iran, with 72.57% of women and 48.21% of men affected. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The global surrogacy industry-projected to reach $100 billion in the next decade - operates largely on the backs of poor and vulnerable women. The Center for Bioethics & Culture Network

Last updated: 16 October 2025