EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA
[bs-title]One extreme or the other[/bs-title][bs-content]Angela Merkel's tenure as German chancellor, which started in 2005, hasn't necessarily ushered in an era of gender diversity in Germany. In fact, there are just three female CEOs among Germany's 160 publicly-traded companies. The scarcity of women in leadership positions other than chancellor have produced a gaping hole in society: “Since 2005, little girls can decide: Do I become a hairdresser—or chancellor?” says feminist Alice Schwarzer.[/bs-content][bs-link link="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/world/europe/angela-merkel-germany-election.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fworld&action=click&contentCollection=world®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront" source="New York Times"][bs-seperator]
[bs-title]Survival of the fittest?[/bs-title][bs-content]A new plastic £10 note featuring a portrait of author Jane Austen went into circulation in the U.K. yesterday. Austen is only the third woman, apart from the Queen, to appear on British banknotes (nurse Florence Nightingale and prison reformer Elizabeth Fry came before her). The new note is replacing a tenner featuring Charles Darwin. [/bs-content][bs-link link="http://fortune.com/2017/09/14/jane-austen-uk-ten-pound-note/" source="Fortune"][bs-seperator]
[bs-title]Home at last[/bs-title][bs-content]More than 100 Chibok girls freed by Boko Haram have been reunited with their families. The girls were kidnapped by the Nigerian Islamist extremist group in 2014, and while they were released in May, they've spent the past four months in government custody, undergoing psycho-social therapy. The government says they are "fully rehabilitated" and has promised to sponsor their education.[/bs-content][bs-link link="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41272573" source="BBC"]
THE AMERICAS
[bs-title]Charming the Chancellor[/bs-title][bs-content]Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg went on a charm offensive in Germany yesterday, telling the country’s automakers that the social network has no plans to compete with them. “I come with very good news. We’re the only company in Silicon Valley that’s not building a car,” Sandberg said at the opening ceremony of the Frankfurt motor show.[/bs-content][bs-link link="http://fortune.com/2017/09/14/facebook-sheryl-sandberg-frankfurt-motor-show" source="Fortune"][bs-seperator]
[bs-title]Class act[/bs-title][bs-content]A class action lawsuit was filed yesterday on behalf of all women employed by Google in California over the last four years. The suit, which included three named plaintiffs, provides the most detailed accounts yet of gender discrimination and pay disparities at the company: Female Googlers say the tech giant denied them promotions and forced them into less prestigious jobs despite being as qualified as male candidates. A spokeswoman contested the allegations. [/bs-content][bs-link link="http://fortune.com/2017/09/14/lawsuit-google-discrimination-women/" source="Fortune"]
ASIA-PACIFIC
[bs-title]Underexposed[/bs-title][bs-content]Tokyo-based camera company Nikon is taking heat for not enlisting a single woman to help promote its new camera. All 32 of the photographers from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East that are testing the camera and sharing their stories on Nikon's website are men. In response to outrage, Nikon issued a non-apology apology. “Unfortunately, the female photographers we had invited for this meet were unable to attend, and we acknowledge that we had not put enough of a focus on this area,” the company said.[/bs-content][bs-link link="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/technology/nikon-female-photographers.html?_r=0" source="New York Times"][bs-seperator]
[bs-title]Some support system[/bs-title][bs-content]India native Sunayana Dumala was living in the U.S. with her husband when he was killed in a hate-crime in February. On top of losing her husband, she also faced the threat of deportation since her visa status was tied to his. She's managed to obtain a 12-month employment authorization document—giving her the time she needs to apply for her own visa—but it's unclear if she'll be able to stay long-term.[/bs-content][bs-link link="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/us/widow-deported-indian-kansas.html?_r=0" source="New York Times"][bs-seperator]
[bs-title]A taxing campaign[/bs-title][bs-content]There are some concerns that the charmed campaign of New Zealand opposition leader Jacinda Ardern may be over after she made a U-turn on tax policy. Labour's Ardern had vowed to not release a tax plan ahead of the September 23 election, but under pressure from rival Prime Minister Bill English, she relented, promising that she would make no changes to the tax system until 2021. [/bs-content][bs-link link="http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/2111205/new-zealand-opposition-leader-jacinda-ardern-forced-tax-policy" source="South China Morning Post"]
IN BRIEF
[bs-title size="small"]'Mama Rosie' cares for Cape Town's AIDS orphans[/bs-title][bs-link link="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/health/cnn-hero-rosie-mashale/index.html" source="CNN"]
[bs-title size="small"]Donatella Versace: "My brother was the king, and my whole world had crashed around me”[/bs-title][bs-link link="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/sep/14/interview-donatella-versace-my-brothers-death-made-me-strong" source="Guardian"]
[bs-title size="small"]How cycling is keeping the fight for women’s rights moving in Saudi Arabia[/bs-title][bs-link link="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/11/cycling-womens-rights-saudi-arabia-spokes-hub-gender-inclusive-community" source="Guardian"]
[bs-title size="small"]Jane Fonda will walk in one of Paris’s biggest runway shows in years[/bs-title][bs-link link="https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/loreal-paris-is-going-to-stage-the-biggest-runway-show.html" source="The Cut"]
PARTING WORDS
[bs-quote link="http://www.elle.com/culture/music/a12241221/judi-dench-lethal-bizzle-rapping/" author="—Judi Dench, rapping the lyrics to a song by London grime artist Lethal Bizzle, whose trademark catchphrase is 'Stay Dench.'"]"I don't need any occasion/to celebrate."[/bs-quote]