Economy & Labor Archives

The Brutality of Sugar: Debt, Child Marriage and Hysterectomies

Women working on India’s sugarcane farms are having expensive and medically unnecessary hysterectomies so they can work uninterrupted - a practice that keeps sugar flowing to Coke, Pepsi and Cadbury, but leaves its victims with…

by Qadri Inzamam, Megha Rajagopalan

This story was produced and published in collaboration with The New York Times.

Nearly Three Decades of Data on Women in Construction is Missing — Here’s How That Could Change

The government stopped collecting data on diversity in the construction industry nearly three decades ago — that could soon change.

by Hanisha Harjani

Gaza’s Widows Are Fighting for Their Families’ Lives

Women in Gaza ‘have to find ways to survive’ as the humanitarian crisis grows.

by Ruwaida Amer, Neha Wadekar

Co-published with Foreign Policy

Homelessness Spikes Among California Women

Data shows 60,000 unhoused women in the state, among them domestic violence survivors, pregnant women and mothers.

by Sarah McClure

Co-published with The Guardian

The Middle East Has a ‘Sextortion’ Problem

The region’s social stigmas are deterring women from reporting online sexual abuse.

by Hashed Mozqer

Co-published with Foreign Policy

Can the Climate Tech Revolution Avoid Leaving Women Behind?

Tech is dominated by men. Only a small percentage of solar and wind workers are female – but there are places where women shine in the clean tech world.

by Katharine Gammon

Co-published with The Guardian.

African fashion is booming. It could create millions of jobs for women.

African fashion is booming as the continent’s middle class expands. It could create millions of jobs for women.

by Louise Donovan

This article was republished from a Fuller Project newsletter on November 6, 2023. Subscribe here.

Women workers at high risk from automation

In Kenya’s tea plantations, labor activists say thirty thousand women have lost their jobs as a result of automation — they represent a broader global trend, with experts saying women are more likely than men…

by Muktadir Rashid, Allan Olingo

Co-published with Foreign Policy

Silicon Valley VCs Invest Almost Exclusively in Companies Founded by Men. Could a new California law change that?

California would become the first state to require venture capital firms disclose the race and gender of the founders of the companies they fund, under a bill currently awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.

by Hanisha Harjani

Co-published with The Guardian

The women workers who are subsidizing global public health

Millions of community health workers, like the famous ASHA workers of India, form the cost-effective backbone of rural health programs around the world but are often unpaid — meaning millions of unpaid or underpaid women…

by Shreya Raman, Maher Sattar

Co-published with Foreign Policy

She escaped her husband’s physical violence – but economic ties kept them connected for years

The financial system has become a new frontier in the fight against intimate partner violence.

by Carly Stern

Co-published with The Guardian

Debt ceiling deal leaves older women at risk of losing benefits

750,000 people aged 50-54 are expected to lose food stamp benefits because of spending caps. Most of them will be women.

by Maher Sattar

This Q&A was republished from a Fuller Project newsletter on June 12, 2023. Subscribe here.

Will California crack down on cash apps that trap women in debt?

Cash advance apps promise women financial freedom, but often leave them trapped in a cycle of debt.

by Monica Campbell, Aaron Glantz

Co-published with the Los Angeles Times

“This is ours” – Somaliland women smell success as frankincense business takes off

Somaliland's female frankincense workers have set up their own cooperative to take back control after years of low pay and harsh conditions.

by Rachel Fobar

Co-published with The Guardian

India’s solar power push delivers an unexpected bonus – empowering rural women

India’s push for solar delivers unexpected gains for women in the country’s rural areas.

by Disha Shetty

Co-published with Scroll

Living on the Edge: how the “benefits cliff” holds women back

Economists call the dilemma the “benefits cliff”: get a new job or a promotion, and a rise in income beyond a certain threshold can disqualify people from benefits which they rely on to survive.

by Bunny McFadden

Co-published with The Guardian