American Association of University Women (AAUW) is a nationwide network of more than 100,000 members and donors, 1,000 branches, and 500 college/university institution partners. AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.

Why aren't more women pursuing careers in science, engineering, and math? Is the lack of women in these fields a consequence of societal discouragements, innate differences in ability between the sexes, or differences in aspirations? These questions always spark a host of other questions – and a multiplicity of answers – all of which have important implications for gender equality and for retaining the nation's competitiveness in the technological marketplace.

Among the 200 million private households in the EU27, what share consists of single women with or without children? And what proportion are couples? How does the number of children affect the employment rate of both mothers and fathers? How do women and men perceive their general health? Answers to these questions can be found in this News Release, published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on 8 March 2011. The tables in this News Release only show a small part of the large amount of gender based data available at Eurostat. A dedicated section on the topic of gender equality has recently been created on the Eurostat web site, where many of these indicators are presented, as well as links to the website of the General Directorate Justice, Fundamental rights and Citizenship of the European Commission and to the European Institute for Gender Equality.

Link to 1st EUD Newsletter

The European Union has enshrined gender equality as a fundamental right. The European Commission Report on Progress on Equality between Women and Men in 2010 presents recent developments in gender equality and statistics in all fields covered by the Strategy for equality between women and men (2010-2015): equal economic independence; equal pay for equal work and work of equal value; equality in decision-making; dignity, integrity and an end to gender-based violence; and gender equality in external actions. The report on The Gender Balance in Business Leadership highlights the extent of the gender imbalance in corporate boardrooms. It presents examples of measures taken to redress the situation. It also emphasises both the economic and the business case for a better gender balance in company boardrooms.

European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes is marking the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day with a speech in Budapest, warning that the ICT sector must find a new gender balance if it wants to avoid underperformance in coming years.

Thoughts from Blog The Female Perspective of Computer Science by Gail Carmichael.