The 2009 Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything found that women make up half of the workforce in the United States for the first time, with important cultural and social changes.  In her analysis of the report, Gloria Steinem notes that not “everything has changed,” as the title of the report suggests. Rather, the increase in women workers can be attributed to the loss of jobs amongst American men employed in traditionally male fields, such as construction and manufacturing, with larger salaries. Therefore, women are still being paid less than men while their increasing needs in both the home and the workplace (including childcare, healthcare, and discrimination) remain unmet. Gloria Steinem concludes that equality in practice has yet to be achieved.

In the United States, the Obama administration’s proposed 2009 healthcare bill has launched a renewed national debate on abortion. The anti-choice movement asserts that the proposed reforms will allow federal tax subsidies to be paid to private insurance companies that cover elective abortions, and are lobbying for an amendment preventing the use of federal funds on any insurance plan that covers abortion. Pro-choice activists maintain that not only do these measures disproportionately affect poor women but also could result in a loss of coverage among insurance policies that currently cover abortions.

Aung Sang Suu Kyi remains politically active despite her continued political house arrest in Yangon, Myanmar.  A Yangon court rejected Suu Kyi’s appeal against her extended house arrest, which she has been placed under for the last 14 of 20 years.  Suu Kyi was however, granted permission by the military government to discuss sanctions imposed by the west with top American, British and Australian diplomats on October 14, 2009. She is known as “The Lady” in Myanmar and is considered the true leader of the country by the population.

According to UNICEF 80,000 Indian women die during either delivery or pregnancy due to preventable causes.  An attempt to meet the fifth MDG (to improve maternal health) without attaining MDG 3 (equality and empowerment of women) is thought to be more detrimental than helpful.  Activists and experts are calling for a revision of policies that forced the traditional birth attendant or ‘dai’ out of the delivery room and focused on “institutionalizing” deliveries.  India’s healthcare system and heavily rural population does not support the modern changes put in place by the UN and WHO.

Women are increasingly taking on dangerous jobs once thought to be for men only in the Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia to feed their families.  These jobs include pushing carts, working as porters and cleaning stores.  The location is dangerous because there are regular confrontations between the government and two combative Islamist groups.  Women are often forced to leave their children at home and work in this increasingly militant and dangerous environment to support their families.  While many of these women are widows, there are also non-widows who must work to provide for their families.