Showing 1 - 10 of 22
Time to invest more in women
Oped, María Fernanda Espinosa and Anita Bhatia, Published on 07/07/2025
» The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, which ended on Thursday, has taken place at a time of escalating debt crises, rising poverty, declining food security and proliferating climate-related damage. These crises are all exacerbated by deep reductions in official development assistance (ODA), and they all disproportionately affect women and girls, especially in developing countries.
Future-shaping on shifting sands
Oped, Surakiart Sathirathai, Published on 22/05/2025
» Today, as the world stands at yet another inflection point, I believe it is more important than ever to reflect not only on the history of our cooperation -- but also on how we can shape its future, together.
Trump versus China; round two on the way
Oped, Angela Huyue Zhang, Published on 09/11/2024
» In August 2019, amid an escalating trade war with China, then-US President Donald Trump fired off a series of tweets directing American companies to "immediately start looking for … alternative[s] to China" and shift their manufacturing back to the United States. The demand sent stock markets into a tailspin and alarmed US businesses with exposure to China.
Marriage equality is good business
Oped, Todd Sears, Published on 09/04/2024
» Thailand has an incredible reputation for being LGBTQ-friendly, but its national laws and policies don't quite match the open-minded brand that its government projects. This dissonance -- what the UN called "tolerance but not inclusion" in a 2019 report -- is what the Thai parliament is on the brink of changing in a seismic decision to legalise same-sex marriage that will have a positive far-reaching impact on Thailand's economy for years to come (and hint: it's much more than the millions of dollars to be generated by the weddings themselves).
The push African women need to escape poverty
Oped, Rudo Kayombo, Published on 12/03/2024
» What do poverty, climate change, and conflict have in common? They are among the biggest challenges confronting Africa, and they all disproportionately affect women living in poverty or on the margins of society.
The world wins when women win
Oped, Indermit Gill & Tea Trumbic, Published on 08/03/2024
» In May 1988, Alejandra Arévalo became the first female geologist to enter an underground mine in Chile. In doing so, she defied a popular myth: that a woman brings bad luck by venturing into a mine. She also broke the law. At the time, Chilean women were forbidden to work in underground mining or in any other job that "exceeded their strength or put at risk their physical or moral condition." Ms Arévalo's defiance helped spark a revolution. By 1993, the restrictions on women in mining had been abolished; and by 2022, women represented 15% of the Chilean mining workforce, a threefold increase since 2007.
Global cash-transfer fund could end acute poverty
Oped, Cina Lawson & Rory Stewart, Published on 07/03/2024
» For decades, the international community has grappled with the challenge of ending extreme poverty, which is the leading Sustainable Development Goal for 2030. Despite some progress, we remain far off track, with an estimated 700 million people still struggling to survive on less than US$2.15 (71 baht) per day. Unlike in previous decades, however, we now have a solution that can be scaled up rapidly to accelerate the end of extreme poverty: direct cash transfers to the poorest households.
Give women farm sector power
Oped, Jong-Jin Kim, Published on 06/03/2024
» Despite women's significant contributions to our agrifood systems in the Asia-Pacific region, women continue to face persistent obstacles, including limited access to resources, services, and discriminatory practices all along the food value chain. As we gather to celebrate this year's International Women's Day (IWD), it is time for action to fully recognise women's indispensable role in the fields, in the factories, and those running small and medium-sized companies, associations and cooperatives -- all of which produce the nutritious food we eat each day.
Build strong foundations for all
Oped, Alberto Rodriguez, Published on 26/01/2024
» As educators and students celebrate World Education Day this week, this moment provides an opportunity to reflect on the transformative power of education. And East Asian countries have a particularly relevant historical experience.
School sows seeds of food wisdom
Oped, Joan Rumengan, Published on 06/01/2024
» 'I bring a very big sack of delicious wheat for all of you," Buto Trigo, a monster with a scary set of three eyes, told her audience of young people at an open-air theatre performance in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. "It's good to fry or steam. Try it! Your homemade cooking will look beautiful," she said, likening its beauty to that of the sinister queen she is allied to.