The surprising thing that happens when women get into the boardroom and other must-read gender stories of the week

A weekly digest of stories about how the gender gap plays out around the world – in business, health, education and politics.

Is power becoming more female?

Almost 80% of Indian women face public harassment in cities.

This surprising thing happens when you put more women in the boardroom.

We need to talk about girls’ rights in East Asia.

Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female president. (BBC)

Young Muslim American women try to succeed in politics. (Washington Post)

What the future holds for Afghan women. (Al Jazeera)

Working Moms Equal Pay Day (another) wake-up call. (CIO)

Half of the sexist harassment of women on Twitter comes from other women. (Business Insider)

Up to 240,000 try DIY abortions in response to strict Texas laws. (Business Insider)

The vulnerability of Palestinian women in Israel. (Al Jazeera)

Meet the ten year-old Palestinian journalist. (AJ+)

Outcry follows gang rape in Brazil, raises alarms about sexual violence. (NPR)

How to fight rape: Call your rapist ’brother‘, use a whistle, or stay home (and other ludicrous advice). (Quartz)

A female James Bond is exactly what the franchise needs right now. (Quartz)

Do women drivers need bigger parking spaces, painted pink? Someone in China thinks so. (China.org)

Statistics of the week:
Unlocking the economic potential of gender parity

US$1.5 trillion to US$2 trillion: the cost of improving access to education, family planning, maternal health, financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and assistance with unpaid care to increase gender parity and unlock women's economic potential.

US$12 trillion in 2025 would be added to annual gross domestic product in 2025; 11% higher than business-as-usual.

Realising gender equality's $US12 trillion opportunity.
McKinsey Global Institute, May 2016

Quote of the week

“Let us be brave: we have heard of men shaking in their trousers, but who ever heard of a woman shaking in her skirt?”

Lillian Ngoyi
South Africa’s "mother of the black resistance" and president of the women’s league of the African National Congress.