Japan wants to host 2031 World Cup to fire up women's football

TOKYO - Japan wants to host the Women's World Cup in 2031 to ignite the domestic game and cut the gap on Europe and North America, the country's football chief told AFP.In 2011 Japan won the competition but they have since been overtaken, with women's football booming in Europe in recent years."We would like to raise the value of women's football here," Japan Football Association president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said in an interview at JFA headquarters in Tokyo, in front of a giant photo of Japan's World Cup-winning team.Miyamoto was captain of the Japan men's team when they co-hosted the World Cup with South Korea in 2002, a tournament that helped spark huge interest in football among the Japanese public.Now 47, he took over as JFA chief this year and has similar hopes for the 2031 Women's World Cup. The country has never hosted the event.Japan is likely to face stiff competition for hosting rights however with a joint bid from the United States and Mexico expected. England and China are also reportedly interested."We have the WE League, and it has been struggling to gather an audience,"...

Read More........ → November 26, 2024

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to begin on 4th Oct

India will open their campaign in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 on October 4 in Dubai against New Zealand and then take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue on October 6. India’s third match is scheduled to take place on October 9 against Sri Lanka in Dubai again, and the Women in Blue will finish the group stage with a high-voltage match against defending champions Australia in Sharjah on October 13. The upcoming edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup was scheduled to take place in Bangladesh, but it was shifted to the United Arab Emirates a couple of weeks ago. The two semifinals of the tournament will be played in Dubai and Sharjah on October 17 and 18, and the final will take place on October 20 in Dubai., ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to begin on 4th O...

Read More........ → September 23, 2024

Sonakshi finds it 'a bit more daunting' to be a business woman

Mumbai, (IANS) Actress Sonakshi Sinha, who has also stepped into the world of business with her nail label, said that being an entrepreneur is a bit more daunting as it doesn’t come “naturally to her.”Talking about what’s more daunting, being an actress or being a business person, Sonakshi told IANS: “I think acting comes like second nature to me and it has always been like I have learnt everything on the go but I never felt uncomfortable doing anything. Right now as an entrepreneur, that is something very very new.”“I am again learning the ropes and I am involved as much as I can be. It's something really different for me. I am really loving it. I feel that is a bit more daunting than acting was for me because it doesn’t come naturally.”The actress added that “business is something I have to learn still and I think I am doing pretty well at that.”On the personal front, Sonakshi loves listening to music and shared that her playlist is very “diverse.”“I love to listen to music that sounds good so you can find anything from Hindi film songs to Punjabi music to house music. I love percussion....

Read More........ → June 17, 2024

Taskforce Urges Investment in Women-Led Ventures to Fuel UK’s Tech Evolution

A glaring gender gap in the UK’s high-growth entrepreneurship ecosystem is hindering progress and stifling the full potential of women in driving innovation and economic growth, a new report has revealed.The report, from a taskforce spearheaded by Anne Boden, founder of Starling Bank, advocates for significant reevaluation of investment strategies with only six per cent of high-growth enterprises being wholly or majority led by women.The Women-Led High-Growth Enterprise Taskforce, chaired by Boden since it was established in May 2022, has worked with entrepreneurs, campaigning organisations, and the investment community to gather data and identify the main barriers for women in starting and scaling high growth enterprises.FundingCentral to its report’s findings is the stark revelation of persistent barriers obstructing women entrepreneurs from accessing essential funding. Despite strides made in recent years, the report highlights that only a fraction of equity investment in the UK is directed towards fully female-founded businesses.Women continue to receive less than two per cent of...

Read More........ → April 23, 2024

U.S. tennis player Coco Gauff wins U.S. Open women's singles tournament

U.S. tennis player Coco Gauff won against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open Saturday in the women's singles final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, New York. Gauff, in a three-set match, scored 2–6, 6–3, and 6–2 for her first Grand Slam trophy. After winning the match, Gauff said, "I feel like I'm a little bit in shock in this moment". She added, "I'm just thankful for this moment, I don't have any words for it, to be honest".Before Gauff, 19, the last U.S. teenager to play in the U.S. Open women's final was Serena Williams, then 19, who played her older sister Venus Williams in 2001, and Gauff was the first to win since the younger Williams sister in 1999. On Tuesday, Gauff had defeated Jeļena Ostapenko from Latvia in two sets, 6–0 and 6–2, advancing her to the semifinals to play Czechian player Karolína Muchová. Thursday, Gauff defeated Muchová, again across two sets, moving her to Saturday's final. Sabalenka, 25, played the U.S. Open semifinals last year and 2021 and first took a career Grand Slam title at this January's Australian Open. After the match, Sabalenka said,...

Read More........ → September 15, 2023

Indian-American woman judge named first justice of a district court in US

Tejal Mehta, an Indian-American woman judge who promised to make a real impact to the community and treat people with compassion, has taken oath as the first justice of a district court in the US state of Massachusetts. Mehta will serve as the first justice of the Ayer District Court. Her swearing-in took place on Thursday. She has served as an associate justice with the same court and was unanimously selected and sworn in by Judge Stacey Fortes, chief justice of the District Court, on March 2, the Lowell Sun newspaper reported. "I'm confident that with her leadership that the best is yet to come for the Ayer District Court," said Fortes, chief justice of the District Court, who selected Mehta for the position and swore her in during the ceremony. "As a lawyer, you can help people, but you can only help them to a point," Mehta said, adding that "As a judge, you can do so much more and get to the root of issues and talk to people in such a way that really gets through to them." "I have seen the same hopes and despairs in every court I have sat in as a travelling judge," Mehta, who started...

Read More........ → March 07, 2023

Tennis - Saudi Arabia sends first female team to ITF event

A modern tennis racket, with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer frame [wikipedia]Women's sport in Saudi Arabia reached a new milestone this week as the conservative Kingdom sent their first female team to an International Tennis Federation (ITF) event, Reuters reports.The Asia/Oceania pre-qualifying event of Billie Jean King Cup Juniors, hosted this week in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is the first time Saudi Arabia has been represented by a female team at an ITF event."This is an amazing experience, and it is so empowering," Saudi Arabia captain, Areej Farah, told ITF."Taking part in this event is a big step for women's tennis in Saudi, and we are all very proud to represent our country and do our best."Watching doors open for our young Saudi female athletes is just beyond exciting. I feel like I'm living through them, and I honestly thank this team for trusting me and allowing me this opportunity to guide them."Although recent reforms have given women in Saudi Arabia more freedoms, many of their rights remain restricted.Saudi Arabia's women's football team only played their first match in February...

Read More........ → February 27, 2023

Women to be inducted as army pilots: Indian Army Chief

Women will be inducted as pilots in the Army Aviation Corps from next year, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Tuesday.Till now, women are only part of ground duties in the Army Aviation Corps.Women pilots would be flying helicopters to forward locations and be part of operations at the borders, the Army Chief said, adding that the proposal has been cleared.The Indian Air Force has 10 women fighter pilots. In the Indian Navy, women pilots are flying the Dornier aircraft and also as observers on board helicopters and P8I surveillance aircraft.Other than the 10 fighter pilots, the IAF has 111 women pilots who fly transport planes and choppers.During his annual press conference in New Delhi, General Naravane said: "Last month, I had initiated a proposal that women officers can be recruited to Army Aviation. The next course which will begin in July this year, will induct women for training purposes in flying branch and after one year they will be able to join in operational duties."The Indian Army raised the Army Aviation Corps on November 1, 1986 and it comprises helicopters...

Read More........ → January 13, 2021

Albania to get country's first female Army General

Tirana: Albania’s defense ministry has nominated a woman to promote to the rank of general, which would be a first for the nation, Associated Press reported. Defense Minister Mimi Kodheli’s press office said Tuesday that she has proposed a female colonel to move up to join five male generals. The woman’s name was not disclosed as the nomination process has not been completed. Kodheli, appointed in 2013 as the first woman to serve as Albania’s defense minister, has proposed three women as colonels, increased the number of women in uniform to 14 percent of about 8,500 military personnel, and appointed a woman as Albania’s counselor at the Afghan defense ministry. - Source: ummid.co...

Read More........ → November 05, 2016

Hillary: My Cabinet will be 50% women

Hillary Clinton is all smiles during a campaign event in the courtyard of Philadelphia’s City Hall. Reuters Washington, April 26: Eyeing to become the first woman president of the US, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has said if elected to the White House, half of her Cabinet would comprise women. "I am going to have a cabinet that looks like America, and 50 per cent of America is women, right?" Clinton said during a MSNBC town hall last night on the eve of the crucial East Coast primaries in five states - Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Her remarks comes a day after her campaign manager John Podesta said that he would like to see Indian-American Neera Tanden in Clinton's Cabinet. Tanden had worked for Clinton for more than 14 years and currently is head of the Center for American Progress (CAP), a think-tank which has made its own mark at the national and international level under her leadership. In July, Clinton is likely to be the first woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major political party. The former secretary...

Read More........ → April 27, 2016

Women’s pay: Microsoft boss Nadella wasn't all wrong

Edie Lush By Edie Lush: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has caused outrage by suggesting that women who believe they are not being paid fairly should not ask for a pay rise, but should have “faith in the system” and rely on “good karma”. It came up when Nadella was asked by Harvey Mudd College President Maria Klawe what his advice was for women who are not comfortable asking for a pay rise or a promotion. He responded: “It’s not about asking for the raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along… “And that, I think might be one of the additional superpowers that quite frankly women who don’t ask for a raise have. Because that’s good karma. It’ll come back because somebody’s going to know ‘that’s the kind of person that I want to trust. That’s the kind of person I want to really give more responsibility to.’ “And in the long term, efficiency, things catch up. And I wonder… I wonder whether taking the long-term [view] helps solve… what might be perceived as this uncomfortable thing of ‘Hey, am I getting paid right? Am I getting...

Read More........ → October 21, 2014

Ecuador: The World Banana Queen

Once again, the long tradition of Latin American beauties winning the World Banana Queen contest was broken when Susan Romanishin, an American model and businesswoman, was crowned World Banana Queen. The contest, which was created 51 years ago, only became international in 1985 when the organizers allowed the participation of candidates from countries that produced, exported or consumed the fruit. On Saturday September 27, Romanishin, who is 22 years old and was born in Nevada, became the second representative of the U.S. to get that title. The first U.S. citizen to be crowned was Amanda Delgado, in 2008. The countries that have won the most crowns since 1985 have been: Colombia, with six crowns, Venezuela and Costa Rica, with four, and Brazil with 2. The only time the representative of the host country won the crown was in 1988, when the winner was Ximena Correa. Romanishin showed her ease and charisma during the show, which apparently tipped the scales in her favour. "I will promote consumption of Ecuadorian bananas in my country," she said. "I also eat Ecuadorian bananas," she...

Read More........ → October 04, 2014

35% of female characters in Indian movies shown with nudity: UN report

India tops the chart in showing attractive women in its movies and as much as 35% of these female characters are shown with some nudity, finds a first-ever UN sponsored global study of female characters in popular films across the world. The study, commissioned by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, with support from UN Women and The Rockefeller Foundation, reveals deep-seated discrimination, pervasive stereotyping, sexualisation of women and their underrepresentation in powerful roles by the international film industry. Indian films, the study finds, have a significantly higher prevalence of sexualisation of female characters and the movies score low in depicting women in significant speaking roles and as engineers and scientists. While women represent nearly half of the world's population, less than one third of all speaking characters in films are female and UK-US collaborations and Indian films are at the bottom of the pack. Both, the American/British hybrid films (23.6 per cent) and Indian films (24.9 per cent) show female characters in less than one-quarter of all...

Read More........ → September 27, 2014

Not nearly enough women' in Cabinet, says Cameron

PM admits the government needs more women - but why did he need his wife to explain it to him? DAVID CAMERON has decided there are not ”nearly” enough women in the top echelons of government. ”My wife likes to say that if you don't have women in 50 per cent of top positions, you are not missing out on 50 per cent of the talent, you are missing out on more than 50 per cent of the talent and I think she's right”, the Prime Minister told an audience in Mumbai today. Nice sentiment, says the Daily Telegraph’s Emma Barnett, but there’s a problem – the prime minister is acting on advice from Samantha rather than coming to his own conclusions. ”If Mr Cameron really has to take his advice on promoting women from his wife, akin to having her help him pick out a pair of socks or a decent tie, our Prime Minister really has proven just how out of touch he is. ”It’s a bit like when someone white talks about racism, and quickly qualifies their views by explaining that ‘their best friend is black’.” Barnett believes that Cameron – who in his last reshuffle cut the number of women in his 27-strong...

Read More........ → August 23, 2014

A woman finally wins the Fields Medal after 50 years. Why did it take so long?

Finally, after more than 50 male winners, a Fields Medal goes to a woman mathematician, Maryam Mirzakhani. If you tossed a coin 51 times, your probability of 50 tails then a head would be less than one in 2,250,000,000,000,000; but nowadays close to half of maths undergraduates are women. That is a pretty stark juxtaposition. Does Mirzakhani’s success mark a turning point in the battle for women to gain more recognition in mathematics? All Fields medallists are outstanding in the literal sense of the word – their achievements surpass almost everybody else’s. Their confluence of raw ability, personality, upbringing, education, support and mentoring, as well as simple good fortune, is right out in the far tail of the distribution of such things. Data is scarce in this rarefied region, and hypotheses are hard to test; so, too, is the influence of the culture of their chosen field. Nevertheless, such astronomical odds of a woman winning the medal are disturbing, and they are just an extreme point of a range of evidence that women are underrepresented in mathematics at many levels. An...

Read More........ → August 14, 2014

Clinton: US needs to break ‘glass ceiling’ at top

Many Americans think the nation has "unfinished business'' in sending the first woman to the White House, said Hillary Clinton. (Source: AP) Hillary Rodham Clinton says she knows she has a decision to make about running to become the first female president, and believes “we need to break down that highest, hardest glass ceiling in American politics.” The former secretary of state tells People magazine that she wants to enjoy the moment ,she’s about to become a grandmother – as she considers “what I think is right for me.” But she says many Americans think the nation has “unfinished business” in sending the first woman to the White House. “I’m certainly in the camp that says we need to break down that highest, hardest glass ceiling in American politics,” the former first lady said. “To have a woman president is something I would love to see happen, but I’ll just have to make my own decision about what I think is right for me.” The interview was posted a few days before the release of Clinton’s new book on her four years as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state. She tells...

Read More........ → June 30, 2014

ICC World T20 2014: Indian Women Impressively Defeated Westindies

India openers Mithali Raj and Punam Raut took India to a nine-wicket win over West Indies at the Sylhet Stadium. Both openers scored half-centuries as India cantered to victory after their bowlers restricted West Indies Women to 117.  Chasing 118, Raj and Raut got the team off to a flying start. Kaur set the tone of the innings with a boundary off Shanel Daley in the first over. The pair milked the West Indies bowlers as they cruised towards the target. Both reached their half-centuries as they leveled scorers with WI. Their partnership was worth 117 when S Selman claimed Raut to deny India a 10-wicket victory. Earlier in the over, Raut had smashed the bowler twice to the boundary and ran twos couple of times to claim 12 runs off it. After the opener had to return for 56, Smriti Mandhana came to the middle and struck Anisa Mohammed for a four in the next over to take the team to victory. Raj remained unbeaten on 55 as India attained the target with 14 balls to spare. Source: Articl...

Read More........ → April 02, 2014

ICC World T20 2014: Indian men and women acquired, striking win against Australia, Bangladesh

. India registered their fourth consecutive win in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 with a 73-run victory over Australia. The Indian bowlers skittled the opposition out for 86 after Yuvraj Singh’s 60 off 61 balls helped them to a challenging total. Chasing 160, the Australians perished miscuing shots while taking the aerial route. Indian spinners fashioned Australia’s collapse. Ravichandran Ashwin starred with a four-wicket haul as India coasted to a win in their last league game. Earlier, opting to field first, George Bailey opened the bowling with spin from both ends. Rohit Sharma, who took first strike, began the proceedings with a boundary to deep square-leg off Brad Hodge. But two balls later, he was back to the dugout after handing a catch to point. Virat Kohli then joined Ajinkya Rahane in the middle. Rahane had replaced Shikhar Dhawan in the team, while Mohit Sharma got his T20I debut. Kohli took off from where he had left in the previous game. His six over mid-wicket indicated that he was set for another blistering knock. But after a run-a-ball 23, Kohli’s attempt to clear...

Read More........ → March 31, 2014

Brands cash in as Indian women go western

Though a relatively small segment of the overall apparel industry in India, western wear is gaining ground among New Age woman. Women shoppers, from metros as well as small towns are gradually opting for western wear, which has pushed up sales of branded clothing. Rise in brand awareness, nuclear families, working women are some of the reasons driving the aggressive growth of this segment. Apparel brands and retailers are cashing in on this opportunity. In January, for instance, the Aditya Birla Group launched fusion and western wear label ‘Liva’ for women. As Manohar Samuel, President, marketing and business development at Birla Cellulose points out, though ethnic wear is popular in India, the company decided to bridge the gap in the market for western wear. He said that the women’s western clothing market is growing at 30 percent CAGR. Brands riding the growth wave:  Experts estimate the growth rate of women’s western wear category between 40 and 50 percent a year. The reasons behind this growth momentum, is the advent of international labels and the growing popularity...

Read More........ → March 18, 2014

Ellyse Perry meets with super talented 4 year old girl ‘Lil K’

. March 28, 2013: ‘Lil K’ is the little Newcastle girl that has caught the attention of Cricket Australia after footage of her playing cricket went viral. She joins us this morning for a bit of backyard cricket, Lil K with Ellyse Perry. click to watch above video. Ellyse Perry Had the pleasure of meeting a super talented 4 year old girl! For those of you who missed it on the Today Show this morning, see below: The Today Show was on hand as four-year-old cricket prodigy Lil K Lewis met her Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars idol Ellyse Perry: http://cricketa.us/14tnakM, If you haven't seen Lil K's highlights package, you can view it here: http://cricketa.us/19jf2ac, Source: https://www.facebook.com/ellyseperryofficia...

Read More........ → March 16, 2014