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BOY SCOUTS REMOVING THE WORD "BOY" FROM THEIR NAME. 

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BOY SCOUTS REMOVING THE WORD "BOY" FROM THEIR NAME. 

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The Boy Scouts of America 's flagship programme is allowing girls to enter its ranks for the first time in more than a century - and it will change its name to match.

The new name for its Boy Scouts programme, which is run for 11 to 17-year-olds, will be Scouts BSA from next February.

"We wanted to land on something that evokes the past but also conveys the inclusive nature of the program going forward," said Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh, adding that many possibilities were considered during deliberations over the name.

Her added: "We're trying to find the right way to say we're here for both young men and young women."

Despite the programme's name change, the parent organisation will remain the Boy Scouts of America, and the Cub Scouts, the programme for 7- to 10-year-olds - will also keep its title.

The organisation has already started admitting girls into the Cub Scouts, and Scouts BSA begins accepting girls next year.

Mr Surbaugh predicted that both boys and girls in Scouts BSA would refer to themselves simply as scouts.

The program for the older boys and girls will largely be divided along gender-lines, with single-sex groups pursuing the same types of activities, earning the same array of merit badges and potentially having the same pathway to the coveted Eagle Scout award.

Mr Surbaugh said dividing the groups should alleviate concerns that girls joining the BSA for the first time might be at a disadvantage in seeking leadership opportunities.

So far, more than 3,000 girls have joined roughly 170 Cub Scout packs participating in the first phase of the new policy, and the pace is expected to intensify this summer under a nationwide multimedia recruitment campaign titled "Scout Me In."

The name change comes amid strained relations between the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America.

Girl Scout leaders said they were blindsided by the move and they are gearing up an aggressive campaign to recruit and retain girls as members.

Among the initiatives is creation of numerous new badges that girls can earn, focusing on outdoor activities and on science, engineering, technology and math. The organisation is expanding corporate partnerships in both those areas, and developing a Girl Scout Network Page on LinkedIn to support career advancement for former Girl Scouts.

"Girl Scouts is the premier leadership development organisation for girls," said Sylvia Acevedo, the Girl Scouts' CEO. "We are, and will remain, the first choice for girls and parents who want to provide their girls opportunities to build new skills ... and grow into happy, successful, civically engaged adults."

The Girl Scouts and the BSA are among several major youth organisations in the US experiencing sharp drops in membership in recent years. Reasons include competition from sports leagues, a perception by some families that they are old-fashioned and busy family schedules.

The Boy Scouts say current youth participation is about 2.3 million, down from 2.6 million in 2013 and more than 4 million when the group was at its most popular.

The Girl Scouts say they have about 1.76 million girls and more than 780,000 adult members, down from just over 2 million youth members and about 800,000 adult members in 2014.

The overall impact of the BSA's policy change on Girl Scouts membership won't be known any time soon. But one regional leader, Fiona Cummings of Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois, believes the BSA's decision to admit girls is among the factors that have shrunk her council's youth membership by more than 500 girls so far this year.

She said relations with the Boy Scouts in her region used to be collaborative and now are "very chilly".

"How do you manage these strategic tensions?" she asked. "We both need to increase our membership numbers."

Mr Surbaugh said BSA's national leadership respected the Girl Scouts' program and hoped both organisations could gain strength.

"If the best fit for your girl is the Girl Scouts, that's fantastic," he said. "If it's not them, it might be us."
Associated Press contributed to this report
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Boy Scouts removing the word 'boy' from their name

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The Boy Scouts of America's flagship programme is allowing girls to enter its ranks for the first time in more than a century - and it will change its name to match. The new name for its Boy Scouts programme, which is run for 11 to 17-year-olds, will be Scouts BSA from next February.

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Millicent Fawcett: Suffragist honoured with first statue of woman in Parliament Square

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Millicent Fawcett: Suffragist honoured with first statue of woman in Parliament Square

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Less than 3% of statues in the UK are of women. Why has Millicent Fawcett now got one?

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MARCH FOR OUR LIVES CAMPAIGN: ANTI-GUN PROTESTS AROUND THE WORLD

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MARCH FOR OUR LIVES CAMPAIGN: ANTI-GUN PROTESTS AROUND THE WORLD

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Hundreds of thousands of students joined the pro-gun control March for Our Lives rallies across the US in one of the largest expressions of popular opposition in the modern era.

Events have been taking place at more than 800 locations around the world - including London, Sydney, Tokyo, Mumbai, plus hundreds of places in the US.

In Washington, as the number of young, diverse and impassioned protesters swelled along Pennsylvania Avenue, many carried signs reading "We are the change", "No more silence" and "Keep NRA money out of politics".

Malia Fuller, 15, from Haymarket, Virginia. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/The Guardian

Organizers said they hoped their protest would be one of the biggest in the capital since the Vietnam era, and it was clear they had been careful to create a diverse, inclusive group of speakers.

Along with survivors from the attack in Parkland, Florida, who have galvanized the new push for gun reform, speakers included young victims of gun violence from around America. They sang, they chanted, and they challenged their parents' generation to be effective in eliminating gun violence from society.

Edna Chavez, 17, from Manual Arts high school in Los Angeles, took the stage with a raised fist and spoke powerfully about her brother, who was killed by gun violence. "I have learned to duck from bullets before I learned to read." She led the crowd to chant his name, "Ricardo! Ricardo!"

Trevon Bosley, a high school student from Chicago whose brother was killed, said: "I'm here to speak for those youth who fear they may be shot while going to the gas station, the movies, the bus stop, to church or even to and from school. I'm here to speak for those Chicago youth who feel their voices have been silenced for far too long."

Yolanda Renee King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King, told the crowd: "I have a dream that enough is enough. And that this should be a gun-free world, period."

She then asked the crowd to repeat back her words: "Spread the word, have you heard? All across the nation. We are going to be a great generation."

She led the chant three times, encouraging the crowd to repeat her words "so the whole world can hear".

Shortly before the end of the event, Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez - who had been a leading voice immediately after the attack on her school - took to the stage for six minutes and 20 seconds, much of that in silence. She said it was the amount of time it took a school shooter to kill 17 people at her school in Florida last month.

As the students gathered, Donald Trump was whisked by motorcade to his West Palm Beach golf club. Trump later tweeted support for "the victims of the horrible attack in France yesterday" but did not mention the rallies on Twitter. A White House statement read: "We applaud the many courageous young Americans exercising their first amendment rights today. Keeping our children safe is a top priority of the president's, which is why he urged Congress to pass the Fix NICS and STOP School Violence Acts, and signed them into law."

The administration also drew attention to some minor reforms the president has called for, including a move by the justice department on Friday to ban bump stocks, the accessory that allows rifles to mimic the rapid fire of automatic weapons.

The NRA stayed silent on the student gatherings. But outside the FBI headquarters in Washington, about 30 gun-rights supporters staged a counter-demonstration in front of the FBI headquarters, standing quietly with signs such as "Armed victims live longer" and "Stop violating civil rights".

Veteran civil rights leader John Lewis said the protests reminded him of the early days of the civil rights era. "I think it's amazing," Lewis said. "They will be the leaders of the 21st century."

In one of the first speeches, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas senior Delaney Tarr told the crowd of the students' demands, including background checks and a ban on assault weapons. "When you give us an inch, that bump stocks ban, we will take a mile," she said. "We are not here for breadcrumbs, we are here to lead."

Earlier, the Guardian spoke to Cassie Pearce, 17, who had ridden in her school bus for 10 hours from Manchester, Vermont, with dozens of her classmates. Clutching a sign that read "I should be writing my college essay, not my will", Pearce said: "I'm here because enough is enough. We have a right to be heard. We don't want to be killed in school."

In a meeting with lawmakers in the aftermath of Parkland, the president had signalled support for stronger background checks on gun purchases and raising the minimum age for buying high-powered rifles. But the NRA staunchly opposed these measures and Trump appears to have abandoned the proposals.

A group of student journalists from the Stoneman Douglas newspaper, the Eagle Eye, were invited to guest-edit the Guardian's US website this weekend. Eleven students covered the rally in Washington, interviewing other survivors of gun violence from Stoneman Douglas and elsewhere.

Parkland student Jordan Khayyami, 15, said: "I think that legislatures should be aware that the next generation of voters is right in front of them so if they don't want to promote change then we will vote for change."

The scenes of thousands of students on the streets was overwhelming to many of the victims of gun violence who attended the Washington rally. "I did not expect this. I'm still astounded," said Mark Barden, whose seven-year-old son Daniel was one of the 20 children murdered at Sandy Hook in 2012. "To me, it looks like our entire nation is finally on board."

Barden has spent five years pushing for stricter gun control laws, first with the support of Barack Obama's White House, then continuing when gun control again dropped off the national agenda.

Sakeenah Dasti, 16, Amanah Dasti, 11, and Ruqaiyah Dasti, 17, from Gaithersburg, Maryland. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/The Guardian

While the day was focused on the youth, Sir Paul McCartney stood in solidarity with marchers in New York's Central Park and referred to John Lennon's fatal shooting outside his apartment building in 1980. "One of my best friends was killed by gun violence right around here, so it's important to me not just to march today but to take action tomorrow and to have these people to have their voices heard," he told CNN.

There were, however, a number of counter-protests in some cities. AP reported that in Salt Lake City, Utah, about 500 pro-gun marchers walked to the state capitol building, though they were far outnumbered by an estimated 15,000 gun control marchers there.

While classmates are rallying in Washington, thousands more Stoneman Douglas survivors, their families and supporters were among tens of thousands gathering in Parkland, Florida, the scene of last month's shooting.

More than 20,000 attended to listen to the speeches from the amphitheater at Pine Trails Park before walking the mile south to Stoneman Douglas high school.

"Parkland is a family. And when our family is hurting, we all come together," said Liam Kiernan, a 15-year-old Parkland 10th-grader. "We become stronger because we feel we're all one person."

Max Schachter, the father of Alex, a 14-year-old Stoneman Douglas marching band musician, broke down in tears as he recalled how his son enjoyed playing basketball with his older brother and teaching his little sister "to become a better trombone player". Schachter said that on 13 February he was like any other parent, wanting his children to be happy and get good grades. Then the Valentine's Day shooting happened.

"Since the day that changed my life, I will not stop fighting for change," he said.
Additional reporting by staff of the Eagle Eye, Edward Helmore and Richard Luscombe in Parkland, Florida

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March for Our Lives : thousands join anti-gun protests around the world

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Hundreds of thousands of students joined the pro-gun control March for Our Lives rallies across the US in one of the largest expressions of popular opposition in the modern era. Events have been taking place at more than 800 locations around the world - including London, Sydney, Tokyo, Mumbai, plus hundreds of places in the US.

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Right to bear arms?

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With the grown-ups stalling, America's teenagers are taking control of the country's stymied debate over gun laws. Provoked by last week's shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead, they are swarming over social media and taking their protests to state houses, legislatures and even the White House.

Already, the scale and intensity of their campaign to restrict access to the kind of automatic and semi-automatic guns most often used in mass shootings is drawing comparisons with the great anti-Vietnam protests of the Sixties. The movement has attracted money and support from celebrities such as George and Amal Clooney, who gave $500,000 to March for Our Lives, a protest against gun violence being led by Stoneman Douglas students. Marches are being planned in Washington DC and across the US for March 24.

Steven Spielberg and his wife and Oprah Winfrey have matched the Clooneys' donation. Winfrey tweeted: "George and Amal, I couldn't agree with you more. I am joining forces with you and will match your $500,000 donation to March for Our Lives. These inspiring young people remind me of the Freedom Riders of the Sixties who also said we've had ENOUGH and our voices will be heard."

Student Cameron Kasky, aged 17, took on Senator Marco Rubio yesterday. At a town hall debate, Kasky urged Rubio to stop accepting donations from the National Rifle Association. Rubio's response was inadequate and Kasky pressed him, saying: "In the name of 17 people, you cannot ask the NRA to keep their money out of your campaign?" The story went viral, with the world on the side of Kasky. He now has 131,000 Twitter followers.

The most prominent organiser of the protests has been Emma Gonzalez. Last Wednesday she was just another 18-year-old counting down the 110 days to graduation.

But on Saturday she was invited to speak at an anti-gun rally in Fort Lauderdale, and her pugnacious, emotional speech went viral.

"Every single person up here today, all these people should be home grieving," she began. "But instead we are up here standing together because if all our government and President can do is send thoughts and prayers, then it's time for victims to be the change that we need to see."

She attacked President Trump for taking $30 million in campaign funding from the NRA. And she blasted companies for "trying to make caricatures of the teenagers these days, saying that all we are self-involved and trend-obsessed", with the implication that they are not worth listening to. With one 11-minute speech, Gonzalez became the face of the protest.

These protesters are social media- smart - Twitter accounts Never Again MSD has 739,000 followers, and Gonzalez has 296,000 followers. She set the account up two days after the shooting.

On Wednesday Trump spoke to a group of students and parents of those killed at Stoneman Douglas. What was intended to be a discussion of potential policy responses quickly became raw and emotional. Trump proposed arming teachers and other school employees so they can fire back at attackers, and tightening up background checks.

Samuel Zeif, 18, survived the attack on Stoneman Douglas. He texted his family from the school's second floor as he feared he would soon be killed. At the White House he sobbed as he told the President: "Let's never let this happen again - please, please."

On Tuesday, three busloads of students drove 400 miles from Parkland to Florida's capital, Tallahassee, to request tighter gun control from the state.

The few who arrived early saw lawmakers in the Republican-dominated state Capitol rush through a vote refusing even to debate a ban on the sale of assault weapons. Those students in the balcony stood open-mouthed, crying at the vote.

By Wednesday, hundreds more students from schools across Florida arrived to protest. What was planned as a series of orderly meetings in which politicians would engage in discussions with Stoneman Douglas students soon descended into rowdy confrontation.

Teenagers mobbed the door into the office of Governor Rick Scott, a Republican and supporter of gun rights, screaming: "Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!" Elsewhere in the building they shouted at Republicans to "Face us Down" and challenged them on the availability of the AR-15 assault rifle, used by the accused killer, Nikolas Cruz.

The AR-15 was developed for the military with a simple purpose, to inflict as many fatal injuries in as short a period as possible. Yet it has become broadly available and is the weapon most often used in America's mass shootings. It can fire 30 high-velocity bullets without reloading, and each bullet causes devastating physical damage.

ADAM Lanza used an AR-15 to kill 20 primary school children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, and a version of the AR was used by Omar Mateen to kill 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. But such is the power of the NRA and its supporters, they remain easy to buy.

Democrats are pushing to make gun control a central issue in elections later this year. They see it as a political no-win for Republicans, so many of whom, including the President, have taken the NRA's money.

Last April, Trump became the first sitting President since Ronald Reagan to speak at the NRA's annual convention. He told a delirious crowd: "As your President, I will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Never, ever. Freedom is not a gift from government, freedom is a gift from God." He promised he would "never, ever let you down".

He has been true to his word. His administration has discreetly backed two NRA-supported bills to allow Americans to carry concealed firearms from state to state, and to making it easier to buy silencers.

In their initial responses to the Stoneman Douglas murders, Trump and many other Republicans took the standard NRA line after such events, focusing on the mental health of the killer rather than his access to guns.

Cruz suffered from depression and had been undergoing treatment for his mental health. He also played violent video games compulsively, for up to 15 hours a day, and five months ago wrote on someone else's YouTube page: "I'm going to be a professional school shooter."

The focus on Cruz's mental state, however, angered Emma Gonzalez for one. In her speech she said: "We know that they are claiming mental health issues, and I am not a psychologist, but we need to pay attention to the fact that this was not just a mental-health issue.

He would not have harmed that many students with a knife."

Critics on the Right have accused the Left of using the Stoneman Douglas students to sentimentalise the debate and inject unhelpful emotions, turning all the anger on the availability of guns in the United States.

That position has looked increasingly fragile this week. The students' mastery of both traditional and social media has exploded the usual gun debate. Their punchy tweets are a far reaching counter argument.

Carl Hiaasen, the novelist and columnist at the Miami Herald, wrote following the Stoneman Douglas murders: "This is how we live today in America, where any demented soul can get his hands on an AR-15. It is not enough to lecture our kids about wearing seat belts, or not texting while they drive. Now we need to lecture them about what to do when bullets start flying."

But this time the lectures are coming from the kids themselves.

After what they went through last week, the students at Stoneman Douglas are politically untouchable and feeling their power. While many are still too young to vote, to the rising concern of the politicians holding back reforms to America's gun laws, they won't be for much longer.

@delvesbroughton

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Meet the teenagers taking on Trump and the gun lobby

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With the grown-ups stalling, America's teenagers are taking control of the country's stymied debate over gun laws. Provoked by last week's shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead, they are swarming over social media and taking their protests to state houses, legislatures and even the White House.

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Tyra Hemans, a 19-year-old senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, holds signs honoring slain teachers and friends. Zachary Fagenson/Reuters

When 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, it was just the latest in a tragic list of mass shootings, many of them at schools.

Then something different happened: Teens began to speak out. The Stoneman Douglas students held a press conference appealing for gun control. Teens in Washington, D.C., organized a protest in front of the White House, with 17 lying on the ground to symbolize the lives lost. More protests organized by teens are planned for the coming months.

Teens weren't marching in the streets calling for gun control after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. So why are today's teens and young adults - whom I've dubbed "iGen" in my recent book on this generation - speaking out and taking action?

With mass shootings piling up one after another, this is a unique historical moment. But research shows that iGen is also a unique generation - one that may be especially sensitive to gun violence.

Keep me safe

People usually don't think of teenagers as risk-averse. But for iGen, it's been a central tenant of their upbringing and outlook.

During their childhoods, they experienced the rise of the helicopter parent, anti-bullying campaigns and, in some cases, being forced to ride in car seats until age 12.

Their behavior has followed suit. For my book, I conducted analyses of large, multi-decade surveys. I found that today's teens are less likely to get into physical fights and less likely to get into car accidents than teens just 10 years ago. They're less likely to say they like doing dangerous things and aren't as interested in taking risks. Meanwhile, since 2000, rates of teen binge drinking have fallen by half.

With the culture so focused on keeping children safe, many teens seem incredulous that extreme forms of violence against kids can still happen - and yet so many adults are unwilling to address the issue.

"We call on our national and state legislatures to finally act responsibly and reduce the number of these tragic incidents," said Eleanor Nuechterlein and Whitney Bowen, the teen organizers of the D.C. lie-in. "It's essential that we all feel safe in our classrooms."

Treated with kid gloves

In a recent analysis of survey data from 8 million teens since the 1970s, I also found that today's teens tend to delay a number of "adult" milestones. They're less likely than their predecessors to have a driver's license, go out without their parents, date, have sex, and drink alcohol by age 18.

This could mean that, compared to previous generations, they're more likely to think of themselves as children well into their teen years.

As 17-year-old Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg put it, "We're children. You guys are the adults. You need to take some action."

Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

Furthermore, as this generation has matured, they've witnessed stricter age regulations for young people on everything from buying cigarettes (with the age minimum raised to 21 in several states) to driving (with graduated driving laws).

Politicians and parents have been eager to regulate what young people can and can't do. And that's one reason some of the survivors find it difficult to understand why gun purchases aren't as regulated.

"If people can't purchase marijuana or alcohol at the age of 18, why should they be given access to guns?" asked Stoneman Douglas High School junior Lyliah Skinner.

She has a point: The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, is 19. Under Florida's laws, he could legally possess a firearm at age 18. But - because he's under 21 - he couldn't buy alcohol.

Libertarianism - with limits

At the same time, iGen teens - like their millennial predecessors - are highly individualistic. They believe the rights of the individual should trump traditional social rules. For example, I found that they're more supportive of same-sex marriage and legalized marijuana than previous generations were at the same age.

Their political beliefs tend to lean toward libertarianism, a philosophy that favors individual rights over government regulations, including gun regulation. Sure enough, support for protecting gun rights increased among millennials and iGen between 2007 and 2016.

But even a libertarian ideologue would never argue that individual freedom extends to killing others. So perhaps today's teens are realizing that one person's loosely regulated gun rights can lead to another person's death - or the death of 17 of their teachers and classmates.

The teens' demands could be seen as walking this line: They're not asking for wholesale prohibitions on all guns. Instead, they're hoping for reforms supported by most Americans such as restricting the sale of assault weapons and more stringent background checks.

In the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the teens' approach to activism - peaceful protest, a focus on safety and calls for incremental gun regulation - are fitting for this generation.

Perhaps iGen will lead the way to change.

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Why this generation of teens is more likely to care about gun violence

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When 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, it was just the latest in a tragic list of mass shootings, many of them at schools. Then something different happened: Teens began to speak out. The Stoneman Douglas students held a press conference appealing for gun control.

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Maternity leave only for women?

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Pablo Capa plays with his 15-month-old son at his house in Kirkkonummi, Finland. CARLOS MARTÍNEZ

There's a steady drizzle in Helsinki and the temperature is -9ºC. In bad weather, 41-year-old social worker Sami Seppila keeps the children indoors. But as soon as they can, they get out for some fresh air. This is Finland, and if you're capable of dressing your child warmly - not an easy task, Sami jokes - getting out is a blessing. When the rain lets up, they make for a muddy park surrounded by long red brick chimneys, functional Scandinavian houses and a Lutheran cathedral. Sami is alone with his two small children, partly because their mother works late, but mostly because he wants it that way.

Sami is one of 4% of fathers who have chosen to take full advantage of their paternity leave. When his eldest child was born four years ago, he took 11 months off to look after him. Now, with his one-year-old, he is planning to take more. "It's been the best decision of my life," he booms over the noise of nearby pneumatic drill. Understandable, but that doesn't make it any less unusual even in this corner of Scandinavia where life-work balance and childcare issues are always a step ahead of the rest of the world.

It seems that among a population of 5.5 million, fathers like Sami are few and far between. "Things take a long time to change," he says. "The idea that mothers are the ones who stay home is very deeply entrenched in our culture."

This traditional take on post-natal childcare doesn't square with Finland's image as a socially aware country where many women hold positions of responsibility outside the home, and whose secret to success is often said to be its investment in the work-life balance.

Sami Seppila with his two sons.

" I have learned a lot about myself by staying at home," Sami says. "Like how to organize myself better - lots of things that can be applied to the workplace. I've also learned to appreciate what's important in life and that doing this is really fun!"

In theory, Finnish fathers have nine weeks of paternity leave paid at 70% of their salary. The first three weeks can coincide with the mother's maternity leave, but the other six are taken once the mother's 105 days are finished. There are then a further 158 days that the mother and father can share between them.

While 70% of fathers take the first three weeks, this drops to 50% when it comes to the second six and only 4 to 5% of fathers take any of the last 158 days. The reasons for this vary, but it is generally agreed that tradition is still a big factor and companies don't always make it easy. There's also a sense that the system works so well for the mother that it prompts the father to take a back seat.

According to Tanja Auvinen, Director of Equal Opportunities and Employment, "we have studies showing that in male-dominated jobs, attitudes toward paternity leave are antiquated and conservative. The bosses believe that leave is still for mothers."

One of these bosses is the country's president, Sauli Niinistö, 69. He is about to have a baby with Jenni Haukio, 40. " The fact we are expecting a child is a private matter and won't affect official business," he said in a statement. So will he be taking paternity leave? Former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, 76, helped him out by saying that when he was in office this was not an issue, as mothers are chiefly responsible for a child.

Spanish chef Pablo Capo, 41, lives more than 40km from Helsinki in Kirkkonummi, among pine forests and road signs warning about elk crossing areas. It's 3 pm and he is inside his wooden chalet, playing with his 15-month-old toddler. Pablo moved to Finland 14 years ago and had his first child soon after. He is now experiencing fatherhood for a second time with a different partner, and making sure to take his paternity leave. "I wanted to nurture a closer bond between us and teach him Spanish," he explains. "So it's about getting to know him, but also getting to know myself through the experience."

His son could go to daycare but, as Pablo points out, as long as he can take care of him, he is better off at home. He casts his mind back to his own childhood. "Of course I have a relationship with my father, but he was always at work and he would get home exhausted with neither the time nor the enthusiasm to tend to our needs. I am close to him, but not as close as I hope to be to my son," he says, adding that he believes many Finnish fathers put their careers before their children even today.

Still, the Finnish childcare system remains a model for the rest of Europe. In fact, the European Commission has included at least two weeks of paternity leave in its last childcare proposal for member countries. Many don't even have that. Others, like Spain, already have four weeks. Now Finland is going a step further and suggesting that men should take paternity leave whether they want to or not, with the Conservative Prime Minister Juha Sipila agreeing to push the reform through before the 2019 elections.

A group of kids study leaves at the Pikel daycare center in Vantaa, Finland. CARLOS MARTÍNEZ

Former Education Minister and opposition MP Krista Kiuru speaks passionately about the need for fathers to take advantage of the paternity conditions available to them. "Trusting in freedom and goodwill isn't enough," she says in the Finnish capital, where EL PAÍS traveled as part of the Citizens' Europe program, sponsored by the European Parliament. "Fathers need to be forced to stay at home for at least three months." Kiuru's party is proposing a system whereby the mother has three months paid leave, the father has three months paid leave, and finally there is six months that can be shared. But each party has its own take on it - for example, the far right is happy with the law as it is.

In 2013, when their daughter was one, Juhana Tuunanen's wife went back to work and he took four months away from his job at the Foreign Affairs Ministry to be a stay-at-home dad. He would have taken longer if he hadn't been posted to the Finnish Embassy in Madrid. "It was probably the best time of my life," says Juhana who is now back in Helsinki. "It helped me to understand society better. Some of my colleagues from the ministry said, 'Isn't it great that fathers do this kind of thing?' It surprised me a little but that way of thinking is quite common." Now he is back at work, but he is still able to enjoy his daughter - the importance given to a life-work balance means that at 4.30 pm parents are encouraged to go home.

So why do so few men take full advantage of the paternity leave? According to Johanna Narvi, a researcher at the Institute of Health and Wellbeing, "It's not so much the fear of losing their jobs or meeting work expectations as the pile of work they will face [when they return]. When an employer doesn't sort out cover, the father in question has to get on top of his workload before, during or after he comes back."

Pekka Pekkala, 46, knows all about this mostly because he's self-employed. He is a communications consultant and has been on paternity leave for two weeks, sharing the care of his two-week-old baby with his partner. His wife walks ahead with the baby stroller while he talks shop on a bench in the Bear Park in Kallio, Once he hangs up, Pekka says his mind is still very much on his work. "I enjoy what I do, but we also need money, my daughter needs it, so I have to work," he says. "The more I like it, the better it will be for my family and my daughter. But there is no doubt that my family and my daughter are the most important things to me right now."

English version by Heather Galloway.

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"Daddy, why not stay at home if you can?"

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There's a steady drizzle in Helsinki and the temperature is -9ºC. In bad weather, 41-year-old social worker Sami Seppila keeps the children indoors. But as soon as they can, they get out for some fresh air. This is Finland, and if you're capable of dressing your child warmly - not an easy task, Sami jokes - getting out is a blessing.

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FLORIDA STUDENTS TURN SOCIAL MEDIA INTO A WEAPON

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FLORIDA STUDENTS TURN SOCIAL MEDIA INTO A WEAPON

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High schools have dances, they have cafeterias, they have midterm exams and, in the United States, they have shootings.

"Our school is having a shooting," tweeted Heather, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, on the afternoon of Wednesday 14 February. "I'm not even kidding I'm about to die."

Under normal circumstances, social media is a venue for teenagers to engage in the teenage tradition of treating quotidien events as matters of life and death. Our school is having tater tots for lunch I'm not even kidding I'm going to die ... Our school is having sex ed workshops I'm not even kidding I'm going to die ... Our school is having a pep rally I'm not even kidding I'm going to die.

But in the week since Nikolas Cruz walked into Heather's school with an AR-15 and shot 17 people dead, the teenagers whose lives were upended by the shooting have used social media to upend this country's ritualistic response to mass shootings. They have taken to Twitter and Snapchat and Instagram to do what teenagers do so well: make adults and our tolerance for an intolerable status quo look dumb and old.

This is social media at its best. From the Arab Spring to the Ferguson uprising to the shooting in Parkland, social media has been a cudgel for participants in real life events to wield against the ossified frameworks that give shape to our political discourse.

The discourse around mass shootings in the US prior to last week was well and truly ossified. As the Boston Globe illustrated with a front page column, articles about mass shootings can basically be written in advance. We all knew that the "thoughts and prayers" were coming; we all knew that the NRA would lay low, that politicians would invoke mental illness, and we all felt that nothing would ultimately change.

It took teenagers with smartphones and the guileless profanity of youth confronted with injustice to jostle us out of that studied complacency.

The Stoneman students have refused to allow the adult leadership in this country to follow its script of pious platitudes, exposing "thoughts and prayers" as the thoughtless tic that it has become, and advanced a powerful rebuke to those who would condescend to them. Going to school in a country with 88 guns for every 100 people is a matter of life and death, they have argued, and it is those who refuse to face this fact that are behaving like children.

The fervor of these young voices has been a welcome and invigorating jolt for those of us who had become inured to horror. Teenagers on social media are no panacea, however. The very openness of social media platforms that makes it possible for voices in the midst of a mass shooting to find an audience and shift our understanding of events also enables the multitude of bad actors who use the same platforms to sow uncertainty and confusion.

Within hours of the Parkland shooting, Russian bot networks were seeding Twitter with misinformation and divisiveness, the New York Times reported. YouTube's search algorithm is promoting conspiracy mongering videos about students being "crisis actors". The rightwing media is using social media to amplify attacks on schoolchildren.

Opponents of the students' pro-gun-control message have and will continue to attempt to undermine the authenticity of the students' voices. The disgraced political commentator Dinesh D'Souza used his own Twitter account to mock the teenagers' dismay at the failure of a gun control law to pass. InfoWars and Gateway Pundit - far-right websites that traffic in conspiracy theories - tussled on Twitter over whose fake headlines were more fake.

An aide for a Florida state representative emailed a reporter for the Tampa Bay Times a statement claiming that two of the most vocal students were "actors that travel to various crisis when they happen", citing a YouTube video as evidence. The aide has since been fired. That the professional staff of an elected official was susceptible to being duped in such a manner should be a warning to all of us of the power of misinformation to infect our media ecosphere.

Whether the Stoneman students will be able to maintain their authentic voices amid social media's crisis of authenticity remains an open question. But for now, they have taken full advantage of the democratic nature of social media to push our democracy forward. It will be up to the adults to take the next steps and make sure their terrorized Tweets weren't sent in vain.

break the cycle
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Florida students have turned social media into a weapon for good

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High schools have dances, they have cafeterias, they have midterm exams and, in the United States, they have shootings. "Our school is having a shooting," tweeted Heather, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, on the afternoon of Wednesday 14 February. "I'm not even kidding I'm about to die."

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MEN-WOMEN INEQUALITY

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"I ALWAYS wanted to be a mum," says Meghan, a British woman with two children. She wanted a career, too, and worked hard for it, earning a degree in economics and accounting, and taking professional exams. At a big accounting firm in London, she managed junior employees. When her daughter was born she faced a choice between her career and being the mother she wanted to be. After her boss refused her a flexible work schedule, she quit. Six years later she is a childminder, earning a fraction of her former salary. Now divorced, she says that a professional role in accountancy would have been financially better for her family. But finding one with hours that worked for a single parent seemed impossible.

Stories like this sum up the "motherhood penalty" to women's careers. It is the main reason why the pay gap between men and women in rich countries is no longer narrowing. Employers view long hours as a sign of commitment and leadership potential. But from scarce, pricey child care to short school days, the world is organised for families with a parent at home-and that is usually the mother.

In the rich and middle-income countries that make up the OECD, the median wage of a woman working full-time is 85% that of a man. This is not, as many assume, because employers pay a woman less than they would have paid a man in her place. Data from 25 countries collected by Korn Ferry, a consultancy, show that women earn 98% as much as men who do the same job for the same employer. The real reason is twofold. Women outnumber men in positions with lower salaries and little chance of promotion. And men and women are segregated between occupations and industries; those where women predominate pay less.

Just a fifth of senior executives in G7 countries are female. Across the European Union supervisors are more likely to be male, even when most of their underlings are female. Nearly 70% of working women in the EU are in occupations where at least 60% of workers are female. The top four jobs done by American women-teacher, nurse, secretary and health aide-are all at least 80% female.

Occupations dominated by women have lower status and pay. Primary teachers in the OECD earn 81% of the average for graduate jobs. Nurses earn less than police officers; cleaners less than caretakers. Women's lower earnings mean that after divorcing or being widowed, they often end up poor. And skewed workforces can be a problem for firms-and for society. BHP Billiton, a mining company, has found that sites with more women are run more safely. Heavily male police forces and female nursing corps are unlikely to have the best mix of skills, experience and priorities to deal with crime victims and patients of the opposite sex. One theory for why boys do worse than girls in school is the shortage of male academic role models.

The gender pay gap would shrink if men moved into female-dominated jobs and vice versa. But in America such workplace gender integration stalled about a decade ago after steadily increasing for more than two decades. A study of 12 European countries concluded that between 1995 and 2010 the share of female workers in most occupations changed little. A similar pattern has been found in Australia.

Two roads diverge

Men and women are free to study what they want, and discrimination at work has been banned for decades. But there is plenty of evidence that workplace segregation, and men's and women's differing career paths, cannot be explained away as a matter of differing preferences.

Research in Canada has compared reactions to ads for the same jobs that used stereotypically masculine words (leader, competitive and so on) or feminine ones (such as support, interpersonal and understand). Women found the "masculine" jobs less appealing, but not because they felt they would be unable to do them. They read the words as a signal of a male-dominated workplace, where they would not belong.

Stereotypes that discourage men from female-dominated jobs are at least as ingrained. Florence Nightingale, who established the principles of modern nursing in the 1890s, believed that men's "hard and horny" hands made them unsuitable for the job, "however gentle their hearts". Some American nursing schools started admitting men only in 1981, after a Supreme Court ruling.

A plethora of programmes and campaigns encourage girls into science and engineering. And they now have role models aplenty. But campaigns to get boys into teaching and nursing are few and far between. Men who become nurses often stumble into the job. Marius Malmo at the Stavanger University Hospital in Norway explains that, after he failed to get into the police academy, a policeman offered friendly advice: nursing, he said, used the same "people skills". He decided to try it for a year before reapplying to the police, but loved nursing and stayed. He says he likes intensive care and operating theatres, because they are "where the action is".

Neither choice of field nor lack of ambition can explain why the share of women shrinks higher up the career ladder, even in industries that women dominate. The proportion of business and management degrees earned by women has grown steadily, but that of women in managerial and senior jobs has not kept pace. In America about half of college degrees in business awarded since 2000 have gone to women, but the share of senior executives who are female has remained stuck at one in five.

Women used to be less likely to ask for promotion. No longer: a survey by McKinsey in 2016 found that women in corporate America asked at the same rate as men. It also found that women and men were promoted at similar rates, except at the lowest rungs of the career ladder, where women lagged behind. A possible reason is that managers are reluctant to promote women who are starting families, or are likely to do so soon.

It so happens that the opportunity for the critical first promotion often coincides with wanting to start a family. Data from Britain show that the age at which women's pay starts to fall behind men's tracks the age at which they typically have their first child (see chart). Claudia Goldin of Harvard University has found a similar pattern for college-educated American women.

A survey earlier this year of America, Australia, Britain, France, Germany and Scandinavian countries by The Economist and YouGov, a pollster, gauged how children affected working hours. Of women with children at home, 44-75% had scaled back after becoming mothers, by working fewer hours or switching to a less demanding job, such as one requiring less travel or overtime. Only 13-37% of fathers said they had done so, of whom more than half said their partner had also scaled back.

When women give priority to caring for toddlers they fall behind. A recent American study put the motherhood penalty-the average by which women's future wages fall-at 4% per child, and 10% for the highest-earning, most skilled white women. A British mother's wages fall by 2% for each year she is out of the workforce, and by 4% if she has good school-leaving qualifications. Jennifer Young, an American mother with a degree in mechanical engineering, had been out of the workforce for 13 years when Cummins, an engineering firm, offered her a re-entry internship in engineering last year. She had been sure that a part-time or administrative job was her only possible route back to work.

Some new mothers leave their jobs because they prefer to be their children's main carers. But they are also influenced by censorious attitudes. In many countries the common opinion is that having a working mother is harmful for pre-school children. Germans call a working mother of small children a Rabenmutter (raven-mother). When Anna, an academic in Berlin, returned to work full-time her nine-month-old daughter was the youngest child the nursery had ever taken. "They had no idea what to do with her," she says. A German father says his mother-in-law lamented that putting their toddlers in child care would turn them into "drug-dealers".

Often, the high cost of child care makes the decision to leave work a forced one. In America full-time child care costs 85% of the median rent. And even where it is subsidised, mothers often go part-time because the school day ends long before the working one. But part-time jobs are usually a career dead-end.

Many women switch to jobs requiring less education or experience. Nearly a third of working women in Britain say they are overqualified for their jobs, compared with less than a quarter of men. In America only 15% of women with graduate degrees in science and engineering, which are in short supply, were employed in their specialism in 2011, compared with 31% of men. And nearly a fifth were out of the labour force, a share twice as high as among similarly qualified men.

That men are typically paid more than women who are at a similar stage in their working lives helps explain why it is usually the mother who sacrifices her career for the sake of the children. But there are other reasons, too. New fathers are usually further along in their careers than new mothers are, for the simple reason that most men are older than their wives.

Skewed perceptions within households may also play a part. Although men are doing more child care than their fathers did, our survey suggests that they may overestimate how much (see article). And they seem not to realise how much motherhood harms their partner's career. Those men who go beyond changing nappies or dropping children off at school can feel painfully conspicuous. Tim Rutherford-Johnson, a British man who cared full-time for his children when they were small, says that in the playground he used to announce right away that he was a stay-at-home father. "I felt as if there was a big question-mark over my head," he says.

Government policies also play a role in men's and women's decisions about how to combine parenthood and jobs. They do more than raise or lower the cost of working for women. They shape men's and women's expectations for their own and each others' careers-and companies' decisions about whom to hire and promote.

Many countries have offered paid maternity leave for decades. When it lasts a year or less, it boosts women's employment. In America, the only rich country without legal entitlement to maternity leave, a quarter of women return to work within ten days of giving birth. But many never return because they cannot bear the thought of leaving a newborn in child care, or because paying for it would wipe out all or most of what they earn.

When maternity leave is longer than a year, it reduces women's overall participation in the workforce and widens the gender pay gap, says Olivier Thévenon of the OECD. Long periods away from work can make skills rusty. And too-generous arrangements can backfire. A German woman has the right to return to her job after three years' maternity leave. In many countries mothers of young children are harder than other employees to fire. The difficulty of covering for such long absences, and the fear that the occasional unsackable mother will slack when she returns to work, may put firms off hiring or promoting young women, even though such discrimination is illegal.

In the 1970s the Scandinavian countries were the first to offer parental leave, to be shared as parents wish. But few men took it. Making the pay more generous and earmarking some of it for fathers helped. In Sweden and Norway, which replace 80-100% of earnings, about 90% of fathers now take parental leave. In Germany a two-month bonus for fathers who take some of the shared parental leave increased take-up by new fathers from 21% to 34% between 2008 and 2014.

If no parental leave is reserved for fathers, couples usually decide that the mother should take all of it, partly because she has stayed at home post-partum and therefore knows the ropes. That decision can shape a couple's future, says Jeremy Davies of the Fatherhood Institute, a charity, as it confirms the mother as the parenting expert. Then it is easier to relegate her career to second place. In Sweden, which increased the parental leave earmarked for fathers from two months to three in 2016, one study estimated that every month of leave a father took boosted his partner's salary four years later by 7%.

Although a growing number of countries are expanding paternity leave, few cover two-thirds of earnings, the level recommended by the OECD. In Britain, where some parental leave can be shared but paternity pay is low, many men give up the idea of taking a career break when they realise just how much it would cost, says Mr Davies. "So progressive couples end up like families in the 1950s."

Seemingly gender-neutral policies for parents may be used by fathers and mothers in different ways. After American universities expanded parental leave for fathers, for example, some male academics used their leave to write books rather than to do child care, thus enhancing their promotion prospects.

Children do not stop needing to be looked after when they start to walk. Among OECD countries, greater public provision of child care and education for children aged under five is strongly correlated with higher employment rates for mothers of young children. One ten-country study concluded that halving the price of child care increases the total number of hours worked by mothers by 7-10%.

In Germany a legal right to a place for children in kindergarten from the age of three, introduced in 1996, led a third of mothers who could not otherwise afford kindergarten to start working, though mostly part-time. The extra taxes they paid covered about 60% of the policy's cost-and that is without taking account of the likelihood that they would earn more for the rest of their lives, too. In Britain, by contrast, the government's offer of up to 30 hours of free care for three- and four-year-olds had only a modest effect on how much mothers worked, possibly because the hours on offer are too few and cannot always be taken when suits parents best. Nurseries were paid too little for those hours, which probably reduced quality and put some parents off.

To help mothers, help fathers too

Even with wisely designed maternity policies, generous child care and Scandinavian rates of paternity leave, women will not catch up with men at work without a broader shift towards flexible working. That would also help men to be better fathers. Fewer now aspire to be just a breadwinner. Research by the Diversity Council of Australia found that more than a third of young fathers had seriously considered leaving their organisation because it would not let them work flexibly. Though Australian men ask for flexible working less often than women they are much more likely to be rejected. In Britain nearly half of young fathers say they would like to shift to a less stressful job, the better to balance work and family. But they are twice as likely as women to think that doing so would harm their careers.

"Even Google is against me," exclaims a Dutch father at a gathering about paternal leave, which is just two days in the Netherlands. When he searched for advice on combining fatherhood with work, the search engine asked if he had meant "motherhood and work". As men's and women's aspirations converge, the responses to the two queries will look increasingly similar.
Correction (October 11th, 2017): This article originally stated that after Britain expanded parental leave, some male academics used the time to write books. In fact it was American universities that expanded parental leave-with the same results.
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline "The gender gap"

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"I ALWAYS wanted to be a mum," says Meghan, a British woman with two children. She wanted a career, too, and worked hard for it, earning a degree in economics and accounting, and taking professional exams. At a big accounting firm in London, she managed junior employees.

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WOMEN FIGHT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

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Oprah Winfrey used her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes to convey a powerful message to women: Time's up.

Winfrey received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2018 Golden Globes, which honors "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment." In her speech, Winfrey referenced the #TIMESUP movement, which has defined the award show this year. The movement is meant to push for changes for women's rights in the wake of numerous women coming forward to report sexual misconduct by powerful men in Hollywood and beyond.

Here's Winfrey's speech in full:
In 1964, I was a little girl sitting on the linoleum floor of my mother's house in Milwaukee, watching Anne Bancroft present the Oscar for Best Actor at the 36th Academy Awards. She opened the envelope and said five words that literally made history - "The winner is Sidney Poitier." Up to the stage came the most elegant man I ever remembered. His tie was white, his skin was black - and he was being celebrated. I'd never seen a Black man being selected and celebrated like that. I tried many, many times to explain what a moment like that means to a little girl, a kid watching from the cheap seats as my mom came through the door bone-tired from cleaning other people's houses. But all I can do is quote and say that the explanation in Sidney's performance in "Lilies of the Field," Amen, Amen. Amen, Amen.
Also Read: Recy Taylor: Here's the Story of the Woman Oprah Praised at the Golden Globes
In 1982, Sidney received the Cecil B. DeMille Award right here at the Golden Globes, and it is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first Black woman to be given this same award. It is an honor - it is an honor and it is a privilege to share the evening with all of them and also with the incredible men and women who have inspired me, who challenged me, who sustained me and made my journey to this stage possible. Dennis Swanson, who took a chance on me for A.M. Chicago. Quincy Jones, who saw me on the show and said to Steven Spielberg, "She's Sophia in 'The Color Purple.'" Gayle, who's been the very definition of a friend, and Stedman, who's been my rock. I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. We know the press is under siege these days. We also know it's the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice. To tyrants and victims, and secrets and lies. I want to say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these complicated times, which brings me to this. What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I'm especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories that we tell, and this year we became the story. But it's not just a story affecting the entertainment industry. It's one that transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics, or workplace.
Also Read: People Keep Being Stunned by Oprah at the Golden Globes
So I want to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue. They're the women whose names we'll never know. They are domestic workers and farm workers. They are working in factories and they work in restaurants and they're in academia, engineering, medicine, and science. They're part of the world of tech and politics and business. They're our athletes in the Olympics and they're our soldiers in the military. There's someone else, Recy Taylor, a name I know and I think you should know, too. In 1944, Recy Taylor was a young wife and mother walking home from a church service she'd attended in Abbeville, Alabama, when she was abducted by six armed white men, raped, and left blindfolded by the side of the road coming home from church. They threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone, but her story was reported to the NAACP where a young worker by the name of Rosa Parks became the lead investigator on her case. And together, they sought justice.
Also Read: Kerry Washington Gives Perfect Explanation for Women Not Boycotting Golden Globes
But justice wasn't an option in the era of Jim Crow. The men who tried to destroy her were never persecuted. Recy Taylor died 10 days ago, just shy of her 98th birthday. She lived, as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men. For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up. Their time is up. And I just hope - I just hope that Recy Taylor died knowing that her truth, like the truth of so many other women who were tormented in those years, and even now tormented, goes marching on. It was somewhere in Rosa Parks' heart almost 11 years later , when she made the decision to stay seated on that bus in Montgomery, and it's here with every woman who chooses to say, "Me Too." And every man - every man who chooses to listen. In my career, what I've always tried my best to do, whether on television or through film, is to say something about how men and women really behave. To say we experience shame, how we love and how we rage, how we fail, how we retreat, persevere, and how we overcome. I've interviewed and portrayed people who've withstood some of the ugliest things life can throw at you, but the one quality all of them seem to share is an ability to maintain hope for a brighter morning, even during our darkest nights.
Also Read: Debra Messing Calls Out E! on E!'s Red Carpet Show for Catt Sadler Equal Pay Dispute
So I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room , and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say "Me Too" again. Thank you.
Golden Globes: 5 Actresses Who Brought Activists to the Show (Photos)

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Read Oprah's Full Golden Globes #MeToo, #TIMESUP Speech

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Oprah Winfrey used her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes to convey a powerful message to women: Time's up. Winfrey received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2018 Golden Globes, which honors "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment." In her speech, Winfrey referenced the #TIMESUP movement, which has defined the award show this year.

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SPANISH WOMEN PLAN WALKOUT TO GET MEN DOING CHORES

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SPANISH WOMEN PLAN WALKOUT TO GET MEN DOING CHORES

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MEN-WOMEN INEQUALITY

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Spanish women are to hold their first national one-day strike to demand more recognition from men for the contribution they make in the workplace, and at home providing childcare and performing household chores.

The Commission for March 8, an organisation of feminist groups that has called for the stoppage next Thursday, urged women to take a stand against Spain's macho culture by demanding equal salaries and tougher action against domestic violence. In Spain last year 99 women died at the hands of their partners.

The stoppage is being backed by two of the main unions, the Workers' Commissions and the General Workers Union, which are pressing for equal pay and have urged their members to join the action for two hours. It has been timed...

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Spanish women plan walkout to get men doing chores

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Spanish women are to hold their first national one-day strike to demand more recognition from men for the contribution they make in the workplace, and at home providing childcare and performing household chores.The Commission for March 8, an organisation of feminist groups that has called for the

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THESE SCHOOLS WANT TO WIPE AWAY GENDER STEREOTYPES FROM ANN EARLY AGE

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THESE SCHOOLS WANT TO WIPE AWAY GENDER STEREOTYPES FROM ANN EARLY AGE

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GENDER STEREOTYPES

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Story highlights

From the moment a child is born, its gender pretty much determines how they will dress, which toys they'll be given and ultimately how they are meant to behave within society.

But some schools in Sweden are trying to strip away such gender norms.

There's nothing obviously out of the ordinary at Sweden's gender-neutral preschools at first glance.

There are no designated areas to play with dolls or building blocks. The toys have been strategically jumbled to create an environment for girls and boys to play together.

These two preschools in Sweden - Nicolaigarden and Egalia (meaning 'equality' in Latin) - go to great lengths to de-emphasize gender. Children are given the freedom to challenge and cross gender boundaries.

Rather than encourage children to do particular things, the teachers are careful not to box children based on their gender or subtly discourage them from doing certain things.

The school has removed the terms "girl" and "boy" completely. Instead they make a deliberate effort to call each child by their first name or the gender-neutral pronoun "hen".

But is it necessary to intervene at such a young age, and what are the long-term effects?

Removing the 'gender straitjacket'

A new global study found that young girls and boys are outfitted with "gender straitjackets" by the age of 10, resulting in lifelong negative consequences.

The Global Early Adolescent Study analyzed how gender is learned, enforced and reinforced among early adolescents in 15 countries.

It concluded that culturally-enforced gender stereotypes - which are linked to an increased risk of mental and physical health problems - are firmly rooted between the ages of 10 and 14. The study found these stereotypes leave girls at greater risk of exposure to physical and sexual violence, child marriage, and HIV. For boys, the risks can include substance abuse and suicide.

In Sweden, which is ranked as the fourth-most equal country in the world when it comes to gender, the government has made a concerted effort to emphasize equality in the Education Act.

Following a new amendment introduced in 1998 requiring all schools to work against gender stereotyping, Lotta Rajalin set up her first gender-neutral preschool for one to five-year-olds in Stockholm's Old Town.

The gender-neutral policies at Rajalin's schools ensure that stories, songs and dramatizations are screened or re-scripted to include non-nuclear families (single parents or same-sex couples) and heroines sweeping princes off their feet.

Teachers opt for non-traditional plot twists to ensure that they're not reinforcing gender stereotypes.

How to be a gender-neutral teacher

Perhaps the most important distinction in these preschools is the way the teachers treat each child.

To help identify any unconscious bias they have when dealing with girls and boys, the teachers filmed themselves interacting with children and took note of how they responded to the different sexes.

"After we had been filming and observing each other, we understood that it's not the children we have to change, it's ourselves," Rajalin tells CNN.

They discovered they used different tones of voice when talking to girls or boys, and tolerated rowdiness in boys while discouraging it in girls. Similarly, they found themselves to be more likely to comfort a crying girl, while they would tell a crying boy to brush it off.

"When you change yourself and your thinking and your expectations, you will see new things and you will see that it's better for children's development," she says.

Rajalin believes gender stereotypes limit the opportunities available to a child. Her gender-neutral teaching methods stem from what she calls "the whole life spectra" or "circle of opportunity." This circle is often divided into two semi-circles - one for boys and one for girls.

Through gender-neutral teaching, Rajalin hopes to open up this circle of opportunities for all children to define themselves.

"We try to take away the barriers which stop both girls and boys doing what they want to do," she says.

"We want all children to have the same opportunities to feel, to express themselves, to like what color they like, to play the sport they're in, and so on. We don't want to limit them."

Following a small, structured observation of children at one of Rajalin's preschools, Ben Kenward, a researcher in psychology at Uppsala University in Sweden and Oxford Brookes University in England, found these children had a reduced tendency to be influenced by gender stereotypes, compared to a control group of children from a typical Swedish preschool.

"The [gender neutral] pedagogy is having some of the effects that it's intended to have, and if you're committed to giving these young children the same opportunities ... then our study suggests that this kind of pedagogy is a good tool."

'Brainwashing children'

However, these gender-neutral policies have generated much criticism over the years.

Swedish psychiatrist and author David Eberhard considers calling boys and girls "hen" to be "intellectually dishonest" as it is being "blind to biological differences."

"This is the kind of brainwash that works when the kids are small and in the short run they adapt to this, but what happens when they go to normal school and they find out they were living in a sect?" he tells CNN.

"This is a sort of a religious sect to say there's no differences between men and women, it has nothing to do with science."

Eberhard explained that he does not oppose boys choosing to play with dolls, but he draws the line at calling a girl or boy "it" or "hen".

Rajalin believes a lot of criticism is misguided, as people do not fully understand what they are trying to do. "We are not trying to say girls should be boys or boys should be girls, we just want every person to have the right to be the person they are, regardless of gender," she says.

Harmless 'experiment'

While Eberhard's views are strong, he says gender-neutral schooling is unlikely to have any negative long-term effects on young children.

"I suppose that they [the children] are so sure about their identity that it doesn't matter," he says. "But, as individuals, you may very well have young kids of different sexes that become very frustrated or confused."

He believes Sweden would be better off solving the problem of gender inequality in the real world.

Rajalin, however, believes adopting gender-neutral methods and exposing children to teachers of various different ethnicities, religions, sexes and sexual orientations, will better prepare them for the nuances of the real world. It will boost their self-confidence and set them up to be more successful in life, she says.

Psychology professor Philip Hwang from the University of Gothenburg is not convinced. He thinks Rajalin's gender-neutral preschools are harmless but overrated.

"I don't really see any harm in it, but I think it pleases the parents more than it changes the children," he tells CNN.

He says he has met a couple of parents that really believe sending their children to gender-neutral preschool will have lasting effects and that they will grow up in a gender-neutral society.

"It's a statement more than something that has actual effect on children's long-term development with regard to gender issues," he says.

"It takes generations to change norms and values like this."

Even Kenward, who is optimistic that the gender-neutral pedagogy is creating equal opportunities for children of both genders, is unsure what the long-term effects will be.

"It's an open question what happens to these children when they move into primary school," he says. "My guess is it [gender neutral pedagogy] could continue to influence their behavior potentially, not in a very strong way necessarily. But it may have some lasting effects."

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These schools want to wipe away gender stereotypes from an early age | CNN

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From the moment a child is born, its gender pretty much determines how they will dress, which toys they'll be given and ultimately how they are meant to behave within society. But some schools in Sweden are trying to strip away such gender norms. There's nothing obviously out of the ordinary at Sweden's gender-neutral preschools at first glance.

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MEN-WOMEN INEQUALLITY

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Story highlights

In June, Whitney Tomlinson felt nauseated at work. She was pregnant at the time and was experiencing the condition commonly, and misleadingly, known as morning sickness. Hormone-induced nausea doesn't know what time of day it is.

Tomlinson, a 30-year-old single mother and packer at a Walmart Distribution Center in Atlanta, told her supervisor that she wasn't feeling well. In response, he explained that in order for him to give her a break, she would need a note from her doctor. So off to her doctor she went.

The doctor didn't identify any worrisome pregnancy complications but did suggest that Tomlinson avoid heavy lifting while at work and wrote a note suggesting as much. Tomlinson didn't think this would be much of a problem, as she often got help with heavy lifting, including before becoming pregnant.

Upon her return to work that afternoon, Tomlinson handed her supervisor the note. He read it and then told her to take it to human resources. She would be getting a break, yes, but it wasn't the one she had hoped for. It also wasn't legal, according to a new complaint filed on Tomlinson's behalf with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"They told me I had to apply for an unpaid leave from the job," she said. "I was surprised, and I was angry. I was curious what was wrong and what I had done." She'd seen many other employees come into work with lifting restrictions and be temporarily reassigned to less physically demanding tasks. Why wouldn't they do the same for her?

Tomlinson said her supervisors told her she was a "liability" because of her "restrictions" and asked her to call a third-party claims management service.

Walmart's human resources told Tomlinson that she was not permitted to return to work until after she gave birth and that she would need to apply for a formal unpaid leave of absence to avoid losing her job in the long run. That news put her in a precarious financial and emotional state during her pregnancy, an already vulnerable time for most women.

"I had to get help and make do with what I could," Tomlinson said of life during her pregnancy. A "very stressful, very emotional" time.

It was also an angry time. Through a conversation with her doctor and a few follow-up searches on the internet, Tomlinson learned that Walmart's treatment of her wasn't just unkind, it was a form of discrimination. She read stories about women like her, whose employers had failed to make what she and her lawyers consider to be simple accommodations for them during their pregnancies. Some of them had filed or taken part in lawsuits. Some of them had won.

She contacted the family rights advocacy group A Better Balance and asked, "Is this fair? Is this right?" Tomlinson recalled. A Better Balance has since joined up with two other legal rights groups to file a discrimination charge against Walmart with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tomlinson's behalf.

Walmart, which the website 247wallst.com found to be the largest non-government employer in 22 states, has a history of pregnancy discrimination claims. In 2002, the EEOC found that the company rejected an applicant because she was pregnant; Walmart did not respond to a question about the case.

In recent years, A Better Balance, working with other legal rights groups, has filed five pregnancy discrimination charges with the EEOC against Walmart, two of which have turned into class-action lawsuits and have been filed in federal court.

"I felt some relief learning that I was not the only one Walmart has treated like this. Now, I want to push for a change for women in the future," said Tomlinson, who is now back working at the distribution center.

In a statement provided by Randy Hargrove, a spokesman for Walmart, the company said "our pregnancy policy goes well beyond federal and most state laws. ... We take each individual situation seriously and we'll work with our pregnant associates to make sure we provide reasonable accommodations when they are requested." In the case of Tomlinson, Hargrove added, there was not "a job available that met Ms. Tomlinson's requested accommodations" and concluded that "We remain open to resolving the matter with her."

"It's ridiculous that they could not find a job for Ms. Tomlinson," said Elizabeth Gedmark, senior staff attorney and director of the southern office for A Better Balance. "She was very flexible and willing to move stores. They were able to find work for her colleagues in similar situations, so they, as a huge company, certainly could have for her."

Gedmark said the EEOC is currently investigating the claims.

Despite legal protections, pregnancy discrimination claims still widespread

In 1978, Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. This made discrimination based on pregnancy- and childbirth-related medical conditions illegal. In 2008, amendments were made to the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring employers to provide necessary accommodations to pregnant women with certain pregnancy-related conditions that could qualify as disabilities.

In recent years, activists have worked to expand the definition of disability in this context. Now, many pregnancy-related conditions might qualify, including things like nausea, fatigue and even carpal tunnel syndrome, but only when it meets the legal definition of an impairment that "substantially limits a major life activity," according to the ADA.

Gedmark said Walmart's treatment of Tomlinson was a violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act but not of the American with Disabilities Act. "She needed restrictions to prevent problems before they started," she explained. "She shouldn't have to wait for complications to arise in order to get legal protections. It's an unreasonable requirement of any pregnant woman woman and her health."

There's also been a movement among states to pass laws granting pregnant employees the right to reasonable accommodations while on the job. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have such laws, 17 of which were passed in the past five years, according to the National Women's Law Center.

Despite these advances, pregnancy discrimination remains widespread. Between 2010 and 2015, nearly 31,000 pregnancy discrimination charges were filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families. In 2017, $15 million in settlements were paid out for pregnancy discrimination charges filed with the EEOC, a similar figure to the amount paid in previous years. Research from 2014 shows that beyond the 31,000 pregnancy discrimination charges, a far larger number of women were denied requests for simple accommodations such as more frequent breaks, time off for prenatal visits or less physically demanding duties.

Women from all economic classes are subject to such pregnancy discrimination, but low-income women tend to pay a higher price. This is particularly the case for the many working class women who perform physically demanding jobs, which can often require more accommodations during pregnancy. When these accommodations aren't met, these women can face a difficult choice.

On one hand, they have to consider their livelihood. Only 6% of low-wage workers have access to paid maternity leave, and they need the money they make while pregnant to help them take a few unpaid weeks or months off to take care of their babies.

On the other hand, they need to consider their, and their fetuses', well-being. Working in physically and emotionally stressful conditions can i ncrease the likelihood of pregnancy complications, according to the March of Dimes. For black and Latina women, both of whom make up a large percentage of workers in a number of physically demanding and low-wage jobs, the consequences can be severe. Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women, and Latina women experience higher rates of preterm birth than white women, which can lead to a number of health complications for their babies.

Laws and culture still make women unwelcome in the workplace

Even as they've expanded in recent years, the laws protecting pregnant women at work are patchwork and continue to leave out a lot of women, Gedmark said. Discriminating against pregnant women is clearly illegal. But whether a business has to accommodate pregnant women, by giving them a stool to sit on or allowing them more water breaks, remains unclear.

Different states have different standards for what kinds of accommodations pregnant workers are legally entitled to receive. Furthermore, the definition of what can be considered a pregnancy-related disability, and therefore requires accommodations, remains elusive among lawmakers on the federal level, as well as in states that lack clear protections.

The passing of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, proposed federal legislation first introduced in 2012, would help eliminate some of this confusion, Gedmark said.

"It would add a lot of clarity. Instead of this web of laws, there would be a very clear standard," Gedmark explained. "If a pregnant woman needs an accommodation and the company can accommodate her, absent any undue hardship, they have to. Ultimately, this would be best for workers and best for companies, who would avoid turnover costs."

But unfortunately, passing the law isn't enough. Routine, and illegal, discrimination and failure to accommodate pregnant women has persisted even with existing protections and will continue until the culture surrounding women at work changes.

"It's amazing what people are still doing, despite the fact that pregnancy discrimination has been illegal for decades," said Joan Williams, founding director of the Center for Work-Life Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. "One of the things that has become clear to me in reading all these pregnancy discrimination cases over the years is employers, in these blue-collar jobs ... didn't really want these gals working for them in the first place. So they wait until they get pregnant and force them to leave."

Although, according to Williams, no research has been done on the link between sexual harassment and pregnancy and maternal discrimination, she says both stem from the same chronic, and epidemic, hostility to women's bodies in the workplace. By simply having a job, a woman's biology can easily become a liability, to her supervisors and colleagues and, ultimately, herself.

"When a man has to leave work due, say, to severe nausea incident to chemotherapy, it is something the employer has to live with: It's seen as the cost of hiring human beings. If a woman has to leave work, say, due to severe nausea incident to pregnancy, she is seen as demanding special treatment," Williams said. "Men are still the measure of what is seen as the inevitable cost of hiring human beings. Anything related to women alone is seen as somehow extra."

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Much of the debate surrounding sexual harassment focuses on the gray areas, pointing out how hard it is to prove the difference between harmless flirting and an abuse of power. While an important point, this critique has the potential to distract us from the larger problem at hand.

This is the failure, by many, to see a woman at work and viscerally and intellectually understand that she is there to do her job. It's why women are sexually harassed at work, it's why women are discriminated against for being pregnant at work, and it's what needs to change.

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human resources and personnel management

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Fired for being pregnant: Another kind of discrimination women face at work | CNN

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In June, Whitney Tomlinson felt nauseated at work. She was pregnant at the time and was experiencing the condition commonly, and misleadingly, known as morning sickness. Hormone-induced nausea doesn't know what time of day it is. Tomlinson, a 30-year-old single mother and packer at a Walmart Distribution Center in Atlanta, told her supervisor that she wasn't feeling well.

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WELFARE STATE?

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Twitter / @sanchezcastejon
TENS of thousands of retirees have taken to the streets of Spain calling on the government to raise pensions in line with inflation after an increase of just 0.25% this year.
Protestors have turned out in their droves in all the main cities including Madrid and Barcelona.

In the capital they gathered at the gates of the national parliament shouting, "Thieves, thieves!" and carried placards describing this year's increase as 'miserable.'

Organisers of the demonstrations, including some of biggest worker unions in the country, have called on parliament to stop blocking changes to the pensions law.

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Pensioners protest in Spain for increases in line with inflation

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Twitter / @sanchezcastejon TENS of thousands of retirees have taken to the streets of Spain calling on the government to raise pensions in line with inflation after an increase of just 0.25% this year. Protestors have turned out in their droves in all the main cities including Madrid and Barcelona.

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UNDERSTANDING DISABILITES

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As with most of the famous figures whose passing now hits us via a news alert on our phones, I never met Stephen Hawking. In the vastness of the entire universe, you could say I was one speck and he was another. And yet I thought of him as a continual presence in my life, who - perhaps paradoxically, in the light of his illness, not to mention of his work on time - would always be there, somehow.

Growing up disabled in Britain, I didn't have many role models. There are hardly any statues of disabled leaders, no great lives with chronic disability documented in the history books. As a child, it's easy to believe that disabled people have never really existed, and that when they did, it was as cripples to be pitied or burdens on society. In Hawking, we had a figure - brilliant, witty, kind - who confounded the negative stereotypes and the low expectations so often forced on those of us with a disability.

He wasn't without faults (accusations of sexism were notable). He was also afforded opportunities - from wealth to healthcare to being non-disabled throughout school - that clearly enabled his success, opportunities too few young disabled people, facing cuts to multiple strands of support, enjoy today. But his groundbreaking research, as well as tireless commitment to the NHS and concern over Brexit, established him as someone who, though physically stripped of his voice, should be listened to.

In the rush to eulogise a figure such as Hawking the risk is that the media coverage either fails to acknowledge his disability - and to ignore him being a disabled person is as regressive as a white person saying they "don't see colour" - or falls into condescending cliches and objectification. Within hours of the news of his death breaking, I saw headlines that reflected the (often well-intentioned) negative attitudes that so often plague discussions of disabled people: ones of "inspiration", "overcoming disability" and references to "tragedy". BBC Radio 5 Live asked listeners if Hawking had "inspired" them - a question unlikely to be posed about non-disabled academics. The Daily Mail referred to his "total disability" while at the other end of the spectrum, John Humphrys used Radio 4's tribute segment to ask: "Did the science community cut him a lot of slack because he was so desperately disabled?"

To reduce a world-famous academic's existence to one of tragedy and pluck doesn't respect the reality of a disabled life

Even the Guardian's obituary mentioned how "despite his terrible physical circumstance, he almost always remained positive about life", as if it was a surprise that a world-renowned scientist with a loving family could ever find happiness. Cartoonists illustrated him in heaven - a place Hawking did not believe existed - standing up, as if finally free from his wheelchair (an invention, much like his voice synthesiser, that actually empowered him to engage with society). Even sentiments such as "He didn't let his disability define him" - as Marsha de Cordova, shadow disabilities minister (and herself disabled) tweeted - verge on repeating the ingrained belief that disability is an inherently negative thing: a part of identity that, unlike race or sexuality, should be played down.

This is not to say that Hawking's disability didn't help shape him. The thought that he had a sharply limited life expectancy - it was originally believed he would die within two years of his motor neurone disease diagnosis - by all accounts inspired Hawking to enjoy the present, and spurred on his hunger for scientific discovery. But to reduce a world-famous academic's existence to one of tragedy and pluck respects neither the reality of a disabled life nor the love, success, humour and fulfilment that clearly marked Hawking's. It is reminiscent of the countless "inspirational" memes and posters that throughout his life featured Hawking's image - often using his body as inspiration for non-disabled people ("If he can succeed, so can you!") or criticising "lesser" disabled people ("The only disability is a bad attitude"). Hawking, like all of us, deserves more than lazy, ableist tropes.

Amid all the tributes to Hawking's contribution to scientific discovery, I would like to remember what he contributed - perhaps unknowingly - to many disabled people: a sense of pride, encouragement and hope. This was a genius who gained the world's respect from his wheelchair. Hawking's achievements alone will not have begun to overturn deep-seated prejudice, but he has played a significant part in shifting the misconceptions that still routinely mark too many disabled people's lives. Hawking's lesser-known lesson is one I hope others growing up disabled will be left with: we can all reach for the stars.

* Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist
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Hawking won the world's respect - and gave disabled people like me hope | Frances Ryan

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As with most of the famous figures whose passing now hits us via a news alert on our phones, I never met Stephen Hawking. In the vastness of the entire universe, you could say I was one speck and he was another.

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SMOKING. FRANCE WILL RAISE THE PRICE OF CIGARETTES

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SMOKING. FRANCE WILL RAISE THE PRICE OF CIGARETTES

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HEALTH ISSUES

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France will raise the price of cigarettes to 10 euros (£8.79) a pack within three years, the health minister said on Thursday, confirming a strategy that will push tobacco costs to among the highest in Europe.

At present, a packet of 20 cigarettes costs roughly seven euros (£6.15) in France, well below the roughly 10 euros charged in Britain and Ireland.

"France is one of the slowest learners in the world on smoking," the minister, Agnes Buzyn, said. "Big price rises will be needed to have an impact on public health."

Buzyn told RTL radio station that smoking rates in Britain had dropped from around 30 percent to 20 percent over the past decade as the government pursued a policy of hefty price hikes, while the smoking rate was still around 30 percent in France.

The new government of centrist President Emmanuel Macron has announced several high-profile healthcare targets including the extension of compulsory vaccination, fuller public cover of the costs of dental care and eye glasses, and tobacco tax hikes.

World Health Organisation figures say the number of French smokers is roughly 50 percent higher than in Britain, where 19 percent of adults, or about one in five, smoke.

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France reveals plan to end the country's smoking habit

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France will raise the price of cigarettes to 10 euros (£8.79) a pack within three years, the health minister said on Thursday, confirming a strategy that will push tobacco costs to among the highest in Europe. At present, a packet of 20 cigarettes costs roughly seven euros (£6.15) in France, well below the roughly 10 euros charged in Britain and Ireland.

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HEALTH ISSUES

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A bartender pours a beer in a Madrid restaurant. Bernardo Perez

Raúl Rodrigo is a lifelong Real Madrid fan. But now, the 40-year-old former quantity surveyor turned barkeep has even more reason to cheer his side on. When the team loses in the Champions League, he will take around €300 in an evening, with the bar emptying within minutes of the final whistle. But when they win, he'll make more than three times that amount.

Raúl's is one of around 280,000 bars throughout Spain: that's one for every 165 people, the highest ratio in the European Union. The World Health Organization (WHO) has just announced that Spain enjoys the best life-expectancy and health in the EU, but that rising alcohol consumption, along with smoking and obesity, are growing problems. The country's National Drug Plan says that alcohol use comes in at around 11.2 liters per head a year, twice the global average (6.2) and higher than Europe's (10.9). But Spain's figures also show that 31 percent of the population says it never drinks.

Beer is Spaniards' favorite tipple, which is drunk by 50 percent of the population; then spirits (28 percent), and wine (20 percent).

"Spain has always been an alcoholic society," says Eusebio Megías, a psychiatrist and director of the Spanish Foundation against Drug Addiction. "The way we drink is different, and has more to do with diet and the Mediterranean lifestyle. But that doesn't mean we don't drink to excess. It's just that society and the individual don't see it as a danger. Alcohol is only perceived as a problem when it impacts on safety, such as traffic accidents, or public order, but never as a health issue."

It's certainly true that alcohol runs through the veins of Spanish society, and is a part of its DNA: wine has always been present at meals, with young children traditionally allowed a sip or two mixed with lemonade, and gin was even given to young girls to help with period pain. Traffic police used to be seen enjoying a morning coffee and brandy in roadside restaurants before heading out on duty, while the country's cultural history is awash with boozy writers. And today, many restaurants offer customers who will already have got through a couple of beers and half a bottle of wine a shot of some powerful spirit at the end of the meal, on the house.

Not that Spaniards are alcohol dependent - at least not officially. According to the National Drug Plan, just 0.4 percent of the population are registered as alcoholics. "The tip of the iceberg," says Francisco Camarelles, the coordinator of a campaign set up by doctors to help educate people about the dangers of booze. It says there are at least 1.5 million people in Spain who, quite simply, drink too much and as such are putting their health at risk.

Camarelles says the problem is that most people are unaware of the dangers. When asked how much they drink, most people tell their doctor "the normal amount." When broken down, this turns out to be above recommended levels. "Some people are so surprised when they are told how much they drink that they reduce the amount immediately," says Camarelles, who admits to a tipple himself: "Beer, wine, a long drink if the occasion demands it. This isn't about panicking people, it's about informing them so they can make decisions," he says, adding that he has just returned from Russia, where he lost count of the number of office workers he saw stumbling around drunk.

"When do you know you're drinking too much? When you drink more than your doctor," jokes Fernando Caudevilla, a member of Energy Control, an organization that works to educate people about responsible drug and alcohol use. Caudevilla argues that alcohol is not necessarily dangerous: "Only beyond a certain point," adding: "It's not a moral issue, it's scientific evidence."

Marta, a journalist aged 50 with two teenage children, is aware of the science. After a lengthy period of heavy drinking "to get over a breakup and to deal with anxiety," she now describes herself as a "hedonistic" drinker. "I drink, alone, or with people, because I like it. When I drink I feel more confident, more clever, more attractive. We need to get rid of the stigma associated with alcohol. I don't want my children to be alcoholics, but I'd like them to enjoy it if they want to. It's a pleasure I'm not going to give up."

Meanwhile, over at Raúl's bar, it's a quiet evening. Two years ago, he was about to close the place for lack of customers. But things have picked up, and he's riding the crisis out. But he can't wait for the Champions League to get going, and is praying Real Madrid to go all the way to the final.

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Raúl Rodrigo is a lifelong Real Madrid fan. But now, the 40-year-old former quantity surveyor turned barkeep has even more reason to cheer his side on. When the team loses in the Champions League, he will take around €300 in an evening, with the bar emptying within minutes of the final whistle.

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In the wake of hurricanes, mass shootings and the shadow of a nuclear war, the world's richest man wants you to take heart.

The world, he says, is actually getting better.

In an editorial in Time, Bill Gates notes many trends - ranging from the rates of child mortality to the number of countries now offering protections for gays and lesbians - are heading in a positive direction. We just don't hear much about them, because of the focus on negative news.

"These events - as awful as they are - have happened in the context of a bigger, positive trend," Gates writes. "On the whole, the world is getting better."

Among the developments he points to are:

A drastic decrease in child mortality rates for children under five. They're down by half since 1990, saving the lives of 122 million children.

A dramatic decline in the proportion of the world population that lives in extreme poverty, from more than a third of the population in 1990 to about one-tenth today.

A huge increase in the number of children who attend primary school worldwide; more than 90% now do.

Laws that protect gay people are now in place in 100 countries

A rising number of women worldwide are being elected to public office.

Gates blames the media for spreading the widespread feeling of pessimism. People are more likely to read bad news, which encourages news organizations to focus on the negative stuff, he argues.

In addition to having Gates write an editorial, Time asked him to guest edit its latest issue. He used the opportunity to fill the magazine with positive stories. The issue includes essays from some of Gates' friends who also feel optimistic about the future.

In his essay for the magazine, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett asserts Americans' standard of living will continue to rise "for many generations to come." Biogen vice president Samantha Budd Haeberlein writes in her piece that her company is close to a cure for Alzheimer's.

Meanwhile, U2 front man Bono says in his essay he believes more men are starting to understand that they need to join the fight against misogyny and violence against women.

"Men can't step back and leave it to women alone - to the Merkels and Malalas - to clean up the mess we've made and are still making," he says.
Read more: * May tackles new Brexit Rebellion
* Philip Hammond and Mark Carney are in China to secure £1 billion of trade deals
* Facebook admits that social media can be bad for you Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2018. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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Bill Gates: Trust me, the world is really getting better, not worse

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In the wake of hurricanes, mass shootings and the shadow of a nuclear war, the world's richest man wants you to take heart. The world, he says, is actually getting better. In an editorial in Time, Bill Gates notes many trends - ranging from the rates of child mortality to the number of countries now offering protections for gays and lesbians - are heading in a positive direction.

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Let's Begin...

The basic idea of human rights is that each one of us, no matter who we are or where we are born, is entitled to the same basic rights and freedoms. That may sound straightforward enough, but it gets incredibly complicated as soon as anyone tries to put the idea into practice. What exactly are the basic human rights? Who gets to pick them? Who enforces them-and how? Benedetta Berti explores the subtleties of human rights.

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What are the universal human rights? - Benedetta Berti

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The basic idea of human rights is that each one of us, no matter who we are or where we are born, is entitled to the same basic rights and freedoms. That may sound straightforward enough, but it gets incredibly complicated as soon as anyone tries to put the idea into practice.

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Adults are supposed to take care of children - not only keep them safe, but make them feel safe. Schools are essentially an extension of the home, in that sense, providing sanctuaries of learning, of nurturing and care. But after years of attacks by people with weapons of war, students cannot feel safe and are demanding that adults end years of complaisance and act. They are not asking for their schools to become armed garrisons. Rather, they want those weapons to be brought under control. And unlike too many adults, the young people leading Wednesday's walkout at schools around the country - inspired by angry, motivated students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people were killed by a former student with an assault weapon - have had the courage to take on the industry responsible for blocking every reasonable measure to limit access to guns, including those that make it all too easy to commit mass murder.

As Stoneman Douglas junior Florence Yared said in front of the Florida State Capitol late last month, "You adults have failed us by not creating a safer place for your children to go to school. So we, the next generation, will not fail our own kids. We will make this change happen. If not today, then tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, next year. Take it from us. You created a mess for us, but we will make this world safer for our children."

With Wednesday's demonstration, and their March for Our Lives movement on March 24 in Washington, young voices are being heard. How will the nation's adults respond? Hopefully, by amplifying their demand: Never again.

"No kid should be afraid to go to school, no kid should be afraid to walk outside, and no kid should have to worry about being shot. Now that's why I'm marching."
- Alfonso Calderón, Junior
"The 'children' you pissed off will not forget this in the voting booth. Don't doubt the power of the younger generation, because we are a force to be reckoned with."
-Aly Sheehy, Senior
"Maybe the adults have gotten used to saying 'it is what it is,' but if us students have learned anything, it's that if you don't study, you will fail. And in this case if you actively do nothing, people continually end up dead, so it's time to start doing something. We are going to be the kids you read about in textbooks. Not because we're going to be another statistic about mass shooting in America, but because...we are going to be the last mass shooting."
- Emma González, Senior
"High schools shouldn't be hashtags every other day"
-Jaclyn Corin, Junior
"More prayer, Jesus, god, and compassion won't bring back the victims that sadly lost their lives. It won't bring back the sense of security that my fellow peers and I lost. The only way to get that back is through gun control starting now."
-Jose Iglesias, Senior
"The children will become leaders as the leaders have become children."
-Madison Leal, Junior
"We march for Parkland, Newtown, Chicago, St. Louis, Columbine, and every other town in America affected by gun violence."
-Nikhita Nookala, Senior
"On March 24th, #IWillMarch so no child ever has to worry about texting their parents a final "I love you.'"
-Alex Wind, Junior
"Our trauma isn't going away, but neither are we. We will fight everyday because we have to, because change is the only thing that makes any of this bearable."
-Leonor Munoz, Senior
"The fact that some of the students at Stoneman Douglas high school ... are showing more maturity and political action than many of our elected officials is a testament to how disgusting and broken our political system is right now in America. But we're trying to fix that."
-David Hogg, Senior
"Our nation's leaders are baffled and surprised that a bunch of 17 year olds are planning a nationwide movement but haven't even blinked that we'll also be able to purchase weapons of war in the same year."
-Adam Alhanti, Junior
"The faces you see all over the media are not the only members of this movement. If you are willing to help to make a change, you are also a member. Simple as that."
-Morgan Williams, Junior
"We may be young but our voices are louder than you can imagine."
-Sarah Chadwick, Junior
"I blame the government for what happened and the people that are sending prayers and condolences but aren't doing anything. It's just heartbreaking to know that the people that are representing you are failing you."
-Lina Crisostomo, Junior
"This isn't red versus blue. This is life or death. And we refuse to ever allow any other student or human being to endure what we endured."
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Adults are supposed to take care of children - not only keep them safe, but make them feel safe. Schools are essentially an extension of the home, in that sense, providing sanctuaries of learning, of nurturing and care.

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FINNS ARE HAPPY BECAUSE EVERY CITIZEN IS EQUAL 

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FINNS ARE HAPPY BECAUSE EVERY CITIZEN IS EQUAL 

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The most important thing for me is the nature here. We have four beautiful and different seasons, and currently we are heading towards spring after a dark winter. The sun feels warm and people are enjoying the beautiful frosty days outdoors. I would describe my home town Rovaniemi as a winter town, where the weather is enjoyed both by the locals and visitors. When you see the sky full of stars or manage to catch the northern lights, it gives you a magical feeling.

The most important thing for me is the nature here. We have four beautiful and different seasons, and currently we are heading towards spring after a dark winter. The sun feels warm and people are enjoying the beautiful frosty days outdoors. I would describe my home town Rovaniemi as a winter town, where the weather is enjoyed both by the locals and visitors. When you see the sky full of stars or manage to catch the northern lights, it gives you a magical feeling.

Nature provides us with multiple ways to enjoy it during the seasons. In the winter people go outside skiing or ice fishing and they enjoy berry and mushroom picking during the late summer and autumn. Autumn is also a popular time for hunting. Going outdoors to a forest or on a frozen lake creates a massive feeling of happiness. You find yourself in totally quiet surroundings where you can feel the environment with all your senses and it is wonderful.

I would also say that though we are a small nation we have a very rich language. There are many dialects in Finland and it is great to hear them spoken. Finland is a bilingual country and Swedish is spoken as the main language in some parts of the country. As Finnish is a small language we start to learn other languages quite early at school which from my point of view is a very good thing. Like in any country, we have problems - big and small ones. But, in the end, there are many things that are good here. It is the people, the nature, freedom and many other things that make Finland a lovable place to live in.

'People are happy with what they have': Sabrina Logeais, 40, Lentiira

I am originally from France and I've been living in east Finland for 20 years in a small village . Shops are around a 30-45 min drive away, and buses are only available during school timewith one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I think it's the culture and the way of living close to nature that makes Finland the happiest country. People respect each other and are happy with what they have and don't think about what they could have. We also enjoy simple things like nature, saunas, family, and silence. We help others when they need it. In my village, I bought a building that was owned by the town and some of villagers helped me paint it. We often have long cold winters and there are a lot of mosquitoes in the summer but it could be worse.

'There's a culture of trust and a lack of corruption': Melissa Georgiou, Helsinki

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Melissa's son Milo plays in the snow. Photograph: Melissa Georgiou

There are a few main factors that make Finns so happy and it's not the grey Helsinki weather. Although even when the skies are grey, the air is clean. There's a culture of trust and a lack of corruption. It doesn't matter how much wealth you have, everyone expects to pay their taxes. These are very high but so are the benefits in return. People aren't worried about their basic needs not being met. Finland has also struck the right balance between learning and play in their education system. Learning is of ultimate value but so is play. Both are offered by the education system in equal measure.

'I never have the need to prove myself or justify my actions because of my gender': Hanna Pajulammi,37, Jyväskylä

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Hanna's daughter enjoying the summer weather in Finland Photograph: Hanna Pajulammi

We Finns are happy because of high taxes. Of course I'd like to keep more of my income, but it makes it easier for people to live stress free. Because of our healthcare, getting sick won't necessarily mean bankruptcy. Every single citizen is entitled to equal and world class quality treatment for next to nothing. Daycare is free for many, and only a fraction of the real cost to families with high incomes. Our gender equality is nowhere near perfect, but still very good compared to other countries. As a doctor I never have the need to prove myself or justify my actions because of my gender. So combining career and family life is very much possible. We have a fair amount of paid annual leave, and I'm taking five days right now to ski with my family in Lapland. Five days surrounded by beautiful and clean arctic nature. Not too bad, huh?

'Every citizen is equal': Eerika Roos-Kulvik, Helsinki

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Eerika Roos-Kulvik and her daughter forming a heart with their arms while snowboarding Photograph: Eerika Roos-Kulvik

It's about so many things. We don't have serious terrorism, gun violence, pollution or homeless people living on the streets. Our country is safe and you can trust the police and the law. Everything works and people mostly play by the rules. We are quite honest and we don't do small talk - we tell it how it is. We have complete access to the internet and every citizen is equal; we have free healthcare, free education from elementary to university and Finland is one of the world's safest places to give birth or to be born.

It doesn't matter what your background is; anyone can be anything if they just work hard for their dreams. And if you fall, our social security system will catch you. Or at least it is designed to do so. We love our clean nature and believe in fresh air.Babies nap outside in sub-zero temperatures, and our kids are taught to ski and skate at an early age. Finland was the first country in

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'Finns are happy because every citizen is equal': readers on living in Finland

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The most important thing for me is the nature here. We have four beautiful and different seasons, and currently we are heading towards spring after a dark winter. The sun feels warm and people are enjoying the beautiful frosty days outdoors.