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Take a stand and join the conversation with the #InvestInWomen hashtag. Here are five key areas that need our joint action to ensure women are not left behind:
Investing in women: A human rights issue
Time is running out. Gender equality remains the greatest human rights challenge. Investing in women is a human rights imperative and cornerstone for building inclusive societies. Progress for women benefits us all.

Ending poverty

The COVID pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, climate disasters, and economic turmoil have pushed an extra 75 million people into severe poverty, since 2020. This could lead to more than 342 million women and girls living below the poverty line by 2030, making immediate action crucial.
Implementing gender-responsive financing
Due to conflicts and rising fuel and food prices, recent estimates suggest that 75 per cent of countries will curb public spending by 2025. Austerity negatively impacts women and crowds out public spending on essential public services and social protection.
Shifting to a green and caring economy
The current economic system exacerbates poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation, disproportionately affecting women and marginalized groups. Advocates for alternative economic models propose a shift towards a green and caring economy that amplifies women's voices.
Supporting feminist change-makers
Feminist organizations are leading efforts to tackle women's poverty and inequality. However, they are running on empty, receiving a meagre 0.13 per cent of total official development assistance.

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International Women's Day 2024: 'Invest in women: Accelerate progress' | UN Women - Headquarters

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In a world facing multiple crises that are putting immense pressure on communities, achieving gender equality is more vital than ever. Ensuring women's and girls' rights across all aspects of life is the only way to achieve prosperous and just economies, and a healthy planet for future generations.

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LGBTQ+ rights | World news | The Guardian

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James Johnson is 'pretty confident' Fifa will let players wear armbands about LGBTQ+ and First Nation rights at the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand

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An election is due this year with a change in government looking likely with the ruling Conservative Party trailing the Opposition Labour Party in opinion polls

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68250071

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The chart below shows opinion polls conducted for the next United Kingdom general election. The trend lines are local regressions (LOESS).

Poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order. The highest percentage figure in each poll is displayed in bold, and its background is shaded in the leading party's colour. The "lead" column shows the percentage point difference between the two parties with the highest figures. When a poll result is a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded and displayed in bold.

Most opinion polls do not cover Northern Ireland, which has different major political parties from the rest of the United Kingdom. This distinction is made in the table below in the area column, where "GB" means Great Britain, the island which is made up of England, Scotland and Wales, and excludes Northern Ireland, and "UK" means United Kingdom, which includes Northern Ireland. Plaid Cymru only stand candidates in Wales and the SNP only stand candidates in Scotland. The parties with the greatest numbers of votes in the 2019 general election are listed here. Other parties are listed in the "Others" column.

"Green" in these tables refers to the three green parties in the United Kingdom, namely the Green Party of England and Wales, the Scottish Greens, and the Green Party Northern Ireland. The three parties are independent of each other, with each contesting elections only in its own region. Polls of Great Britain typically show the combined support of the Green Party of England and Wales and the Scottish Greens. Polls of the United Kingdom typically show the combined support of these two parties and the Green Party Northern Ireland.

The polling company ComRes was acquired by Savanta in July 2019. It was rebranded as Savanta ComRes in November 2019 and as Savanta in December 2022. In August 2023 the market research company Omnisis rebranded its public polling arm as We Think. In October 2023, the Norstat group acquired Panelbase. None of these organisational changes entailed changes in methodology.

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Opinion polling for the next United Kingdom general election - Wikipedia

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The chart below shows opinion polls conducted for the next United Kingdom general election. The trend lines are local regressions (LOESS). Poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order. The highest percentage figure in each poll is displayed in bold, and its background is shaded in the leading party's colour.

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/02/08/countryside-isnt-racist-culture-report/

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Show caption
The Ireland team stand by their bench as the Israel team stand on the court for the national anthems. Photograph: Oksana Dzadan/Sportsfile/Getty Images

Ireland's women's basketball team refused to shake hands with their Israeli opponents on Thursday, amid outrage over accusations of antisemitism, as the two countries faced off at a EuroBasket qualifier.

Minutes before the match was set to start, Basketball Ireland said on social media that its players had decided to do away with the usual pre-match courtesies, linking the decision to earlier comments made by Israeli player Dor Saar.

In an interview published on Tuesday by the Israeli Basketball Association, Saar addressed the upcoming match with Ireland. "It's known that they are quite antisemitic and it's no secret, and maybe that's why a strong game is expected," she said. "We talk about it among ourselves. We know they don't love us and we will leave everything on the field always and in this game especially."

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Basketball Ireland described the comments as "inflammatory and wholly inaccurate", and said it had reported them to the body that governs basketball in Europe.

"Basketball Ireland informed Fiba Europe yesterday that as a direct result of recent comments made by Israeli players and coaching staff - including inflammatory and wholly inaccurate accusations of antisemitism, published on official Israeli federation channels - that our players will not be partaking in traditional pre-match arrangements with our upcoming opponents," it said.

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Basketball

Player accused Irish rivals before match of being antisemitic

Ireland said comments were 'inflammatory and inaccurate'

It added that it fully supported the players' decision to shun courtesies such as the exchanging of gifts and handshakes before and after Thursday's game. The players also lined up for the national anthem by their bench, rather than centre court.

In recent weeks the women's team had been wrestling with calls to boycott the match, which had been originally slated to be played in Israel in November but was postponed and moved to Riga after Basketball Ireland requested a neutral venue. Several high-profile sporting figures had backed the call, with pressure on the players ramping up after the Israel Basketball Association shared photos from a practice session that included a visit by soldiers from the Israeli Defence Force.

The players before the match in Riga. Photograph: Oksana Dzadan/Sportsfile/Getty Images

Basketball Ireland said late last month that it had raised "strong concerns" about the fixtures with Israel to Fiba Europe and that it had floated the possibility of forfeiting the games. The organisation said it had been told, however, that it could face up to €180,000 in fines and face expulsion from EuroBasket this year and in 2027 for doing so.

The head of Basketball Ireland, John Feehan, said the penalties would be a ruinous blow to the team. "Not only would we be out of international competition for the next five years but it would probably take us another five years to get back to where we are now, so in real terms we'd lose a generation of players," he told Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ.

Several players, however, opted not to travel to Riga for Thursday's encounter. Israel won the match, which was played behind closed doors amid security concerns, beating Ireland 87-57.

Following the loss, Ireland's head coach, James Weldon, praised his players over their "incredible maturity in how they handled a very pressured week".

He sought to sidestep questions over the pre-match formalities. "I would prefer to be talking about basketball and not this, we didn't engage in the pre-match activities as a direct result of those unwarranted and unacceptable comments from the Israeli camp about our players," he said in a statement. "It was hugely disappointing, we came here for a game of basketball, we wanted to win, but didn't come out on the right side of the result on this occasion."

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Irish women's basketball team refused to shake hands with Israel

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Ireland's women's basketball team refused to shake hands with their Israeli opponents on Thursday, amid outrage over accusations of antisemitism

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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rishi-sunak-scraps-a-levels-b2424362.html

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In 2021-2022, 4.5 million children ( 29% of all Uk children) were in poverty.

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In recent years, the world has made remarkable strides advancing development. Yet hundreds of millions of people still live in extreme poverty. Children are disproportionately affected. Despite comprising one third of the global population, they represent half of those struggling to survive on less than $2.15 a day. An estimated 333 million children live in extreme poverty.

Children who grow up impoverished often lack the food, sanitation, shelter, health care and education they need to survive and thrive. Across the world, about 1 billion children are "multidimensionally" poor, meaning they lack necessities as basic as nutritious food or clean water.

The consequences are grave. Worldwide, the poorest children are twice as likely to die in childhood than their wealthier peers. For those growing up through humanitarian emergencies, the risks of deprivation and exclusion surge. Compounding crises - from the impacts of climate-related disasters, conflicts and COVID-19 - have stalled progress for the most vulnerable children. Even in the world's richest countries, one in seven children still live in poverty.

No matter where they are, children who grow up impoverished suffer from poor living standards, develop fewer skills for the workforce, and earn lower wages as adults. But only a limited number of Governments have set the elimination of child poverty as a national priority.

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Children are more likely to live in poverty than adults. They're also more vulnerable to its effects.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68215168.amp

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In the UK, divorce was extremely uncommon before 1914, with just one divorce in every 450 marriages in the first decade of the 20th Century. Now, more than 100,000 couples in the UK get divorced every year, and in the US, around half of marriages end in divorce.

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https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/children-young-people-statistics

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https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68137046

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Children’s commissioner supports ‘phone for under-16s’ idea

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Brianna Ghey’s mum Esther has said children under 16 should not be able to access social media apps.

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Rise in shoplifting in Suffolk explained by cost-of-living crisis, say experts

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https://thefintechtimes.com/brands-and-banks-must-do-more-to-support-borrowers-during-cost-of-living-crisis-urges-fuse/https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/24100589.shoplifting-rise-explained-cost-of-living-crisis/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-68205413

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The Office for National Statistics recently released crime data for the 12 months ending in September 2023, which can be compared with the figures released for the previous year.

For almost every type of crime, there has been a drop. Indeed, the only crimes which have seen a rise were those dubbed 'miscellaneous crimes', which rose by 12%, possession of a weapon, which rose by 1%, non-residential burglaries, which rose by 5%, and shoplifting.

Shoplifting saw the biggest increase by a wide margin, growing by 20% in 12 months.

This figure is broken down further into specific areas. East Suffolk saw the biggest rise in shoplifting cases at 43%. The next was Ipswich at 15%, while West Suffolk saw a rise of 13%.

Those who work with people grappling with the rising cost of living feel that this could account for the jump in shoplifting crimes.

"It hasn't eased," said Major Alan Hill. Major Hill is the leader of the Salvation Army in Woodbridge, which operates a food bank in New Street. "We're still doing 60 to 80 food parcels a week. We expected it to drop after Christmas, but it hasn't dropped that much.

"If all other crime is going down, then what is the thing that is driving people to shoplift? It's the fact they need food."

Meanwhile, Nicky Willshire is the chief officer at Ipswich Citizens' Advice.

Over the past year Citizens Advice Ipswich has seen increases in food bank applications of just under 50%, four times as many fuel voucher requests and a doubling of clients supported to apply for charitable support from local grant-giving trusts.

The organisation's 2023 performance review also showed for the first time ever that 'Charitable Support and Food Banks' was the biggest issue that brought clients to the service.

Like Major Hill, Ms Willshire is unsurprised at the rise in shoplifting figures and feels that they are likely explained by the rising costs of living.

"The cost of living is as dire as it ever has been," she said. "We are still helping copious numbers of people with food bank referrals and fuel voucher payments and everything else, every day of the week.

"We've got so many people who are running on empty who have basically got negative budgets. You've got families who are working but because interest rates have gone up, every month is more of a struggle.

"The fact that people have given up talking about it has not made it go away."

Last week it was revealed Suffolk Constabulary was ranked fifth for the lowest levels of recorded crime in the country.

Deputy Chief Constable Rob Jones said: "Our analysis does show the majority of knife related, weapon and violent crime is being committed by those known to one another and often those previously known to the police, maybe through drug activity.

"Meanwhile, the shoplifting figure is not something I am surprised at with the cost of living still a big issue and concern for many people.

"However, it is a crime whatever the value of the item stolen and can result in a criminal conviction, which can have a serious impact on someone's life.

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Rise in shoplifting in Suffolk explained by cost-of-living crisis, say experts

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The latest crime data for Suffolk suggests that the cost-of-living crisis is still hitting people hard - with one expert saying that the situation...

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1st Russians are fined or jailed over rainbow-colored items after LGBTQ+ ‘movement’ is outlawed

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Russian media and rights groups say the first publicly known cases have emerged of Russian authorities penalizing people under a court ruling that outlawed LGBTQ+ activism as extremism

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Nightclub closures: Cash-strapped clubbers make their nights out count

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A hangover from a heady night out in a dark, sweaty club complete with cheap drinks and a sticky dancefloor was once the staple of a student weekend.

But as the UK's largest nightclub operator becomes the latest casualty in the cost-of-living crisis, we look at how the night-time economy has changed.

Pryzm and Atik clubs, which stood on many high streets, closed earlier this month after owner Rekom UK said rising costs had hit young people hard.

Despite this, people still have money for what Parklife festival founder and club owner Sacha Lord calls the "big moments".

Glastonbury Festival tickets sold out in less than an hour when they went on sale last November - despite the £360 price tag.

Concerts have also had a bumper year, with artists like Taylor Swift pulling in the crowds.

The Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which has become a stunning outdoor venue over the summer months, now draws huge crowds and has international artists clamouring to perform there.

None of these show any signs of being affected by the undeniable squeeze on everyone's wages.

Could it be that young people are cutting back on mid-week nights out to save for these concert tickets and festival experiences?

Mr Lord, who is Greater Manchester's night-time economy adviser and the man behind popular Manchester club The Warehouse Project, believes so.

"People are going out less, but they are being very picky when they are going out." he said.

"So where there are festivals, where you can see lots of different artists, people still want to go out for these big moments.

"People like Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, some of the ticket prices are extortionate, but people are still going to these big events."

He said the closure of student nights showed young people were feeling the bite of the cost-of-living crisis, adding: "The students are still partying, but they will buy a bottle in the supermarket and have a house party instead."

Mr Lord said the Rekom closures were "the tip of the iceberg" and he expected to see more closures in the hospitality sector over the coming months.

All may not be lost on the high street, however.

Businessman John O'Donoghue, who is soon to open a branch of his Home nightclub in Leeds, says he is in for the long haul, investing in the city for the next 15 to 20 years.

"People are going out less often, but when they do it's important that they have a really good experience," he said.

"I don't think anybody underestimates the challenges with food prices and energy prices going up. But hospitality is an important part of people's lives, and it's important that people do have that opportunity to go out and have a good time."

His club will be similar to one of the same name in Lincoln, and will take over the former Cargo site in The Light.

It will have a restaurant on the ground floor, targeted at the daytime and early evening market, and a club environment downstairs for late nights.

Mr O'Donoghue said: "The reality is we live differently to how we lived 20 years ago, the pull on our disposable income has changed. If you think about broadband, gym memberships, take-out coffees - all those things weren't on the horizon back then."

Students in Leeds - such as Leeds Beckett first year Niamh Kelly, 19 - said they tended to go out on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when bars and clubs held more affordable student nights.

But the cost of entry and similarities between the venues can put them off.

Her friend Erin Hawksworth, also 19, said: "Drinks have become so expensive, sometimes you can get a double for £5 but sometimes it can be a tenner.

"Everyone is playing the same music now, everyone is playing exactly the same thing and you just hear the same thing every time you go to the club."

Lucy Elder added: "It is so expensive, I would be happy to have two weeks off clubbing and save up for a festival." They all agreed the cost of going to a festival was often similar to a holiday.

Matthew Bannister, 19, who is studying music production at Leeds Beckett, said he used to go to Pryzm as it was a "cheap night out" - but generally, buying drinks at clubs was not affordable.

"We always have to pre-drink before, we never buy drinks out because it's too expensive," he said.

"I probably go out a bit less than some people might have done in previous years I guess. I go out about twice a week, mostly on Fridays and Saturdays."

Pryzm clubs in Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Watford closed last week, as did Atik clubs in Dartford, Romford, Windsor and Wrexham.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

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Nightclub closures: Cash-strapped clubbers make their nights out count

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As nightclub chains close their doors, experts believe revellers are becoming more choosy.

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https://www.cashfloat.co.uk/blog/money-saving/nhs-staff-best-payday/#:~:text=Many%20NHS%20hospital%20workers%20are,are%20earning%20six%20figure%20sums.

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There are many nurses and lower-level NHS workers who are being underpaid - so why are so many NHS staff receiving huge salaries? Cashfloat explores.

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https://youtu.be/tXx5usO4v2E?si=yKJQ6qNQorxS6bWQ

A documentary being released about the illegal women’s World Cup of 1971.