Women's Views on News

African women encouraged to preserve the environment and fight poverty

Women from across Africa have gathered in Johannesburg to discuss the role they can play in preserving the environment and fighting poverty.

The 4th Women and Environment Conference "Towards a green growth path: Women at the forefront of poverty eradication", has attracted women from across the continent.

Delivering the keynote address, Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Rejoice Mabudafhasi, said one of the first tasks of the conference was to launch the National Forum for Women and Environment.

"The primary role for the forum will be to act as the mouthpiece for women, while also championing their empowerment needs within the portfolio of environmental affairs," she said.

The forum, which was launched at the start of the conference on Sunday, will also serve as the platform for women to inform policy and decision-making issues that affect them.

Read the full story on AllAfrica.com.

Recognition for African women scientists

A passion fruit pathologist, a catfish breeder, and a pigeon pea researcher are among the 60 outstanding women agricultural scientists from 10 African countries who received a fellowship from African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD).

The fellowship will help these top researchers strengthen their research and leadership skills, and enhance their contributions to poverty alleviation and food security across the continent.

"Today we debunked the myth that qualified African women researchers 'aren't out there'-an excuse that's often used to justify why women are not hired or promoted equitably within agricultural research institutions, universities, and corporations," said Vicki Wilde, AWARD Director.

"We've proven that top-notch female scientists do exist in significant numbers and, equally important, they are conducting critical food security research that is desperately needed to feed future generations. We are recognizing and supporting these women today with an AWARD Fellowship."

Read the full story on AllAfrica.com.

Why women compete for the same men (allegedly)

Have you ever wondered why you and all your friends end up fighting desperately over the same man? Or why so many of your friendships dissolved when your friend stole the man of your dreams out from under your nose? No, neither have I. But if you have, then the University of Cardiff can tell you why this allegedly 'common' phenomena has its roots in hard science, reports WalesOnline.

Apparently the research shows that women are influenced by other females’ attraction to men when arriving at their own “attractiveness judgements”. But the same cannot be said for males, who experts claim are more individual in their selection.

“These findings cannot be simply due to females being more conforming than males," said Dr Dunn, who led the study, "As another experiment we conducted showed that, when males and females were presented with fictitious rating scores, there was no difference between the sexes in their attractiveness ratings.

“Men’s indifference to other men’s judgements of attractiveness may be related to their exclusive focus on physical attractiveness,” said Dr Dunn. “Although it is not fully clear as to why women are influenced by other women’s attractiveness judgements, evidence suggests that women take into account a wide variety of non-physical factors when evaluating male attractiveness."

I can't say I've ever noticed this particular phenomenon myself. In fact, quite the opposite, most of my best friends have shown a spontaneous aversion to the men I've loved, and vice versa, which has been quite reassuring as they always take my side in an argument and comfort me after the break up by pointing out 'I never liked him anyway,' and calmly and accurately listing all his faults.

But the research is a great weight off my mind, because for a second there I had an awful feeling that once again human time, money and resources were going into the scientific discovery and justification of gender differences when there are so many better things we could all be focusing on. Like saving the planet and world peace, just off the top of my head.

Study shows that sexist men do not perceive women as fully human

A study by US psychologists at Princeton University has shown that sexist men do not perceive women as fully human when viewing pictures of them dressed sexually. 

After being hooked up to a fMRI machine, the men were shown pictures of both men and women. Some were scantily clothed, some were not. On viewing the pictures, the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain was activated unless the men were sexist (when it wasn't). 

This study is consistent with other research that has found that, when women were dressed sexually, these men implicitly associated them more with animals. 

These findings, reported in Psychology Today, are also consistent with a wide range of work showing that objectified women are perceived as less competent. 

I don't know what to say about this. It's not as if we feminists didn't know all this instinctively, but somehow to have it confirmed by science is hugely depressing. On the positive side, it presumably means that if men can be reprogrammed the world would be a happier place for us all. 

Where should we start?

Single motherhood, artificial insemination and family values

It is estimated that 50,000 women a year start families on their own, according to Mikki Morrissette, founder of the Minnesota-based online forum Choice Moms. The trend seems to be kicking in with increases in the number of financially independent single women who don't necessarily see a point in waiting for Mr Right to have their children.

Scott Brown, the California Cryobank's director of communications, estimates that about 10,000-20,000 single women visit a sperm bank every year. He believes that within 20 years, single heterosexual women will represent more than half of its clientele.

Yiskah Rosenfeld, 42, is one such woman: "I realized that for me part of what it is to be human is to be a parent. I bought into the myth that you only have a child if you have a partner. It took a while to overcome that fantasy," she told Mercury News. 

Jane Mattes, a New York psychotherapist who founded the support group Single Mothers by Choice in 1981 knows that sentiment well and traces the roots of the trend of chosen single motherhood to the 1970s feminist movement, which opened doors to better, higher paying jobs for women.

The trend is also reflected in two films this year - last April's "The Back-up Plan" and "The Switch" which opens on Friday. Jennifer Aniston, who plays an artificially inseminated single woman in "The Switch" recently commented: "They [women] don't have to fiddle with a man to have that child.They are realizing if it's that time in their life and they want this, they can do it with or without that [man]."

Bill O'Reilly, from Fox News, promptly took offence, saying Aniston's words were "destructive to our society" and that she was spreading a message to young girls that they don't need a dad. 

To add to the ruckus, organisations like the Center for Marriage and Families have published a report entitled "My Daddy's Name Is Donor", claiming that "young adults conceived through sperm donation experience profound struggles with their origins and identities and that their family relationships are more often characterized by confusion, tension, and loss." (I wonder if they've also looked into the ramifications of forced or unhappy heterosexual relationships on young adults,but somehow I doubt it). 

The hesitation expressed by narrow minded physicians, organisations and other individuals reflects the reluctance of our society as a whole to accept strong independent women confidently stepping into the shoes of bread-winners and decision-makers.

Prolonged hormone therapy may increase cancer risk

Using postmenopausal hormone therapy for more than 15 years increases a woman's risk of developing breast cancer, particularly among leaner women according to research at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

The research, conducted by a team including Tanmai Saxena, an MD and PhD student at the Keck School, has been published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, an American Association for Cancer Research journal.

The research revealed that women who have used postmenopausal hormone therapy for more than 15 years are at an added 19 per cent risk as compared to women who have never used it. The risk was an added 83 per cent for women who used combined therapy with estrogen plus progestin for 15 or more years. 

The research also found other variable factors affecting development of cancer in women on prolonged hormone therapy, such as the woman's BMI. Thinner women, as reported by Health News Track, appear to be on a higher risk.

Dr Saxena advises: "There needs to be a personalized conversation with women about the risks of using postmenopausal hormone therapy."

New theories on why women can't supposedly read maps

Differences between male and female abilities can be traced to variations in the hard-wiring of their brains at birth, it has been claimed.

A growing number of scientists are challenging the pseudo-science of "neurosexism", as they call it, and are raising concerns about its implications, The Observer reports today. These researchers argue that by telling parents that boys have poor chances of acquiring good verbal skills and girls have little prospect of developing mathematical prowess, serious and unjustified obstacles are being placed in the paths of children's education.

This belief is challenging views espoused in books such as John Gray's international bestseller Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.

In her new book Delusions of Gender, to be published by Icon next month, Melbourne University researcher Cordelia Fine says there are no major neurological differences between the sexes.

There may be slight variations in the brains of women and men, said Fine, but the wiring is soft, not hard. "It is flexible, malleable and changeable," she said.

Stress reduces chances of getting pregnant

Have you got a friend who tried for years to get pregnant, gave up to have IVF, and then conceived naturally?

I bet you have. We all have. It's one of those facts of life isn't it? The moment you stop genuinely trying to get pregnant...baam!

Well a new study shows that it isn't just Sod's Law at work, that stress has a physical impact on your ability to get pregnant. It's actually the first study to show such a link (why hasn't more work been done on this you wonder...) and it highlights a clear link between levels of adrenalin and the ability to conceive.

A good excuse for a nice sit down or a plot to send us all back to the kitchen and out of the 'stressful' workplace? (I'm sure that's just me being paranoid...) Read the details in The Independent.

Where's the chemistry for female scientists?

Women scientists are struggling to find a formula for success in their careers, according to a new report. It is still very much a man's world in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering, with women and minorities lagging behind because of biases which build up over time.

The research, reported on womensenews.org, says gender stereotypes often start early and never go away.

One female scientist said: "Our society prescribes to this stereotypical behavior. Only girls can play with dolls and only boys can play with Legos."

Meanwhile, an American Indian scientist said: "Entrance positions are not a problem. But after the first 10 years of your career, women and minorities start losing ground with their peers. Small disadvantages and biases accumulate over time."

It needs a potent reaction to blow this particular glass ceiling apart.

Women buy sexier clothing when they're ovulating

Strange as it may seem, Dr Kristina Durante from the University of Minnesota has done some research and found that women buy sexier and more daring clothing when at their most fertile, but not because they want to impress their partners. 

Instead, the "display" is an attempt to outdo potential "love rivals" so that they look less desirable in direct comparison. The ultimate aim is to capture the best partner possible, but the choice of attire is more influenced by other women who could stand in their way than a direct motivation to appeal to the man (assuming that they are heterosexual). 

Women who were at different phases of their menstrual cycle were shown a variety of pictures of other women before being told to choose which clothes they wanted to buy.

Of the women who were ovulating, those that were shown the most alluring photographs chose outfits that did more to enhance their appearance than those who were shown pictures of unattractive women or women who lived more than 1,000 miles away.

Women who were not ovulating showed no similar variation in behaviour.

If you're interested, you can read more in the Telegraph. 

All seems a bit pointless to me, but there you go. Maybe I just lack imagination.