“My world has been confined to a small community. Looking at spectacular female leaders in the globe, I thought that I want to have a wide range of perspectives and ideas. It sure was a stimulating, refreshing experience.” (Shin Myeongwha)“I have had lectures on women leadership, but nothing like th
Throughout history, there have always been sexual violence committed against physically vulnerable women. Over the past several months, in particular, hundreds of women have fallen victim to violence.In April, the Nigerian militant Islamist Group Boko Haram leader announced “I abducted about 300 gir
“Google is not where we want to be when it comes to diversity.”Despite much more diverse customer bases, Google is still dominated by white men. Diversity Report that Laszlo Bock, the senior vice president of people operations at Google, released on May 28 suggests that women constitute only 30% of
There are still numerous women employees deprived of their right to motherhood: Some are fired for being pregnant, while others who applied to take child care leave are forced to resign.Observing Gender Equality Week, the Korean Women Workers Association’s Equality Helpline examined 929 counseling r
"We failed to prevent the worst ferry disaster, protect students’ safety and happiness, and provide decent education that can help them speak up for themselves," declared 15,852 members of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTEWU).While expressing sorrow, the KTEWU members prompted the
A month after the sinking of the worst ferry disaster in Korea, the country is still struggling to overcome shock, sadness, and rage. As of May 15, while no one returned alive, over 280 bodies have been retrieved and 23 others are recorded as missing whose family members are waiting for them.People
Teenagers have taken action. Their condolences for students from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, who were killed on a school field trip due to the sinking of the ferry Sewol, developed into anger toward irresponsible and incompetent adults.“We are the same age. It could have happened
Korea has gone through numerous wars and foreign invasions. During those times, what would have been like for mothers who sent their kids to wars to yearn for the day they would meet their children again and to hear the news of the death of their kids or accept it with no bodies to bury?The sinking
Since the ferry Sewol submerged 15 days ago, mothers have become proactive. They lost their temper as some 300 students who listened to an announcement urging passengers to ‘Stay put’ were found either missing or dead.They came to think that the tragedy could have happened to their kid as well. Feel
In anger, Sohn Sooji(pseudonym), the mother of a 3-year old, said “Everytime I watch news, I feel a strong desire to leave this country.” Since the sinking of the ferry Sewol, Sohn and her friends, mostly mothers of her child’s friends, have exchanged their critical views over the government’s disas
Korean citizens have voluntarily paid tribute to the victims and launched fundraising campaigns. ‘Hope Bridge - Korea Disaster Relief Association’ opened an account with Kookmin Bank to support the victims and their families: Account number 054990-72-010019 (Kookmin Bank), Account holder - Korea Dis
In memory of comfort women, a monument is to be established in Washington D.C.On April 30, the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan in Washington (the Korean Council in Washington) and the Comfort Women Memorial Committee introduced their plan to set up a monument in
“I have been crying day and night. I can’t live a day without my child whom I have raised for seven years. Just imagine how much pain mothers who have raised their child for seventeen years would have to cope with.”(A mother of a 7-year old child) “I have doubts whether Korea is a safe country to ra
Heads of state and leaders around the world sent letters of condolences.In the afternoon on April 17 (local standard time), in addition to releasing an official statement, President Barack Obama said in the White House press conference “On behalf of the American people, I would like to express deepe
“My daughter is still out there,” a mother wept, while answering a call. She was wearing a name tag with a picture of her daughter, clad in neat and tidy school uniform.As the Yellow Ribbon campaign launched by several online communities quickly spread throughout the nation, yellow rape flowers are
Launched in 1946, BBC Radio Woman’s Hour has unveiled the Woman’s Hour Power List 2014, identifying the top ten women who have changed the way power operates in diverse areas such as health, education, and women issues.First introduced last year, the Woman’s Hour Power List ranked the top 100 powerf
At a time when senior defense officials from Tokyo and Seoul began discussing the dispute over Japan’s use of sex slaves during World War II, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe showed his intention to change the Kono Statement, arguing “There is no evidence that women were forced to work in Japanese military
Korea’s famous women’s universities, Ewha and Sookmyung, opened centers dedicated to support female entrepreneurs start their business and to enhance university-industry cooperation. Ewha’s University-Industry Cooperation Building is the first of its kindOn April 2, Ewha Womans University held a ded
March 30–April 5 is the annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week. To mark the occasion, marches took place in 71 cities in 24 countries. People participated in sidewalk chalk parties and street rallies, and put up banners to raise awareness about street harassment.Nuala Cabral and Holly Kear
“A doctor told me that a child can become quasi-autistic if parents fail to provide stimulating activities and that my child, Jongjin, developed quasi-autism because my wife is a foreigner. Does this make sense at all? The doctor’s words hurt my wife so badly. She thinks it is her fault that Jongjin