The Plight of Women in India

In the wake of the horrific rape in New Delhi, the New York Times has written a staggering account of the other tragedies that women in India face. Researchers estimate that nearly 2 million women in India die every year from violence and discrimination. 

Among the causes are not only sexual violence but also domestic violence, family disputes and female infanticide, as well as infant neglect and poor care of the elderly that affect girls and women far more than boys and men.

Some of the more painful stats from the article: 

• Researchers estimate that anywhere from 25,000 to 100,000 women a year are killed over dowry disputes. Many are burned alive in a particularly grisly form of retribution. 

• Researchers estimate that there are as many as 100 million “missing women,” as Mr. Sen called them, in India. These are women who would be alive if they died at the same rates relative to men as woman die relative to men in more developed countries, and their ranks grow by nearly two million each year, studies by an American and Canadian research team concluded. 
• As many as 100,000 women are burned to death each year and another 125,000 die from violent injuries that are rarely reported as killings, according to government figures and other data analyzed by the research team.

• A 2005 government survey found that 54 percent of women in India said that husbands were justified in beating their wives, with the most common justification being if they failed to show proper respect for their in-laws.

Women-owned firms at the $10 million level outpacing...everyone else

via Meghan Casserly @ Forbes

Womenable President and CEO Julie Weeks asked the U.S. Census for never-before-published data categorizing that 2% of women-owned firms that have passed $1 million in sales and breaks them into three revenue buckets in the American Express OPEN-commissioned report: $1 to $4.9 million, $5 to $9.9 million, and $10 million+. 

What she discovered was that at the highest end of reported earnings—that is to say, more than $10 million in annual revenues—the number of women-owned firms has grown by 56.6% since 2002—fully 47% higher than the 38.4% increase among all $10M+ firms regardless of gender.

Not only are women-owned firms at the $10 million level outpacing all $10 million firms in growth, but they are accelerating an astounding 98% faster than all women-led firms (the 2% over a million and the 98% below).  

Returns at Hedge Funds Run by Women Beat the Industry

Via DealB%k...

An index from the professional services firm Rothstein Kass showed that female hedge fund managers produced a return of 8.95 percent through the third quarter of 2012. By contrast, the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, released by Hedge Fund Research, logged a 2.69 percent net return through September.

Wage gap for Latina women in the 20 states with highest Latina employment

Via NBC Latino...

"Texas and California might have the largest populations of employed Latinas – but Hispanic women in these states are paid only 59 cents and 69 cents, respectively, for every dollar paid to men, according to a new Census data analysis put together by the National Partnership for Women and Families, a progressive organization focusing on women’s issues .   

In Florida and New Mexico, the wage gender gap is the smallest – but Latinas are still making only 68 cents for every dollar paid to a man.  In fact, in the 20 states with the largest number of Hispanic women working in full-time, year-round jobs, the wage gap is between 51 and 68 cents for every dollar men makes."

Losing the Other Half

“Women’s rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment is essential not only for women, it’s essential for the whole society. 

And we have so much evidence of that in the world.  If you, for example, have 100 people and you’re only using the capacity of the half, you’re losing the other half.  

So if we are able to untap and unleash women’s potential, the whole country will benefit from that.”
-- Michele Bachelet, January 8, 2013

Where are the women??

President Obama is rolling out several top picks for his new cabinet this week, including former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense and counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan as CIA director, and Jack Lew for the Treasury Department. 

Where are the women??

Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi King has appointed the first women to the consultative council. 

Via Bloomberg...

The appointments, reported by the official Saudi Press Agency, came after Abdullah issued a decree requiring at least 20 percent of members should be women. It says they must observe Islamic law and be properly covered, and will enjoy full rights in the council, have a separate entrance to the chamber and sit in a special section apart from men.

The Year of the Woman

In the 2012 election, women made history by taking 98 seats, the highest ever in Congress. Among these amazing women include the first Buddhist to join the Senate, as well as the first Hindu and the first openly bisexual woman in the House. As the WashPo reports, "House Democrats became the first caucus in the history of either chamber not to have a majority of white men."

It is a good year to be a woman.