As a young girl growing up in a Kenyan farming village, Musimbi Kanyoro was inspired by the philanthropy of her mother, whom she describes as “Melinda Gates, but with a lot less money”. Her mother spread generosity in their community Read More
Waterworks and the Workplace: Responding to a Crying Coworker
I saw the tears welling up in my co-worker’s eyes and the corners of her mouth slightly turn downward as she described a tough meeting with her supervisor. She scurried quickly from the hallway to a corner of my office, Read More
Why I Love My Body
Growing up in a family of three girls, you tend to accumulate a lot of dolls. There is still an entire closet in my house dedicated to our collection of American Girl dolls and their respective accessories. Polly Pockets, with Read More
The Relationship Between Gun Violence and Domestic Abuse
In the United States, a woman is fatally shot by her partner every 16 hours. That is 760 women slain each year – leaving children without their mothers, families without their sisters and daughters, and communities without their colleagues and Read More
Women in Computer Science: A Brief History
During the 1960’s in America, software engineering was actually seen as “women’s work”. It wasn’t until men realized that it was actually a very difficult task and required a high level of skill that they began to systematically take over Read More
Maternal Health in Crisis
When a student of mine mentioned that she wanted to focus her research on the state of America’s maternal health — the health of women in the periods immediately before, during, and after childbirth—I was embarrassed to say that I Read More
Climate Change, Sustainability and Gender Equality
“Women are impacted first and worst by climate change.” Recently I’ve been learning more about the climate change narrative from a more nuanced, gendered perspective. Climate change has a massive impact on the world’s poor, and since 70% of the Read More
International Day of the Girl: Standing Up for Girls Everywhere
What is Day of the Girl? In December of 2011, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared October 11 as International Day of the Girl Child, or more simply known as International Day of the Girl. Since then, October 11 Read More
Is There a Link Between Poverty and Mental Disorders?
It comes as no surprise that people living in poorer countries are more often affected by various health conditions ranging from cardiovascular diseases to cancer. Numerous factors such as non-nutritious foods, financial stress, substance abuse or even environmental pollutants might Read More
Is Your Partner a Narcissist? Signs of Narcissistic Abuse
Whenever you travel by plane, flight attendants provide important safety instructions prior to takeoff. “If there’s a loss of cabin pressure, the panels above your seat will open, and oxygen masks will drop down. Place the mask over your nose Read More