Monday, March 5, 2012

Interesting Article: "The best and worst places to be a woman" by Sarah Morrison


When more than half of the world's population wakes up on Thursday – the 101st International Women's Day – it will be hard to know whether to celebrate or give in to despair. A British woman will face the prospect of at least 14 more general elections before women equal men in the Commons. But a woman in Qatar will be six times more likely to go to university than the man next door.
The global gender gap defies simple solutions. Eighty-five per cent of countries have improved conditions for women over the past six years, according to the World Economic Forum, but in economic and political terms there is still a long way to go.
"From London to Lahore," says Oxfam, "inequality between men and women persists." Here The Independent on Sunday explores the best places to be a woman today.

1. Best place to be a woman: Iceland
Iceland has the greatest equality between men and women, taking into account politics, education, employment and health indicators. The UK comes in at 16th place, down one since 2010. The worst is Yemen, and the most dangerous is Afghanistan.

2. Best place to be a politician: Rwanda
Rwanda is the only nation in which females make up the majority of parliamentarians. Women hold 45 out of 80 seats. The UK comes in at 45th place, behind Pakistan and United Arab Emirates. The worst countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, Oman and Belize, have no women in parliament.

3. Best place to be a mother: Norway
Norway is the world's best place to be a mother, with low risks of maternal mortality – one in 7,600 – and skilled help at nearly all births. The UK is ranked 13th. The worst is Afghanistan, where a woman is at least 200 times more likely to die during childbirth than from bombs or bullets.

4. Best place to read and write: Lesotho
Literacy rates among women in Lesotho exceed those of men, with 95 per cent of women able to read and write, compared with 83 per cent of men. The UK is ranked 21st. The worst country is Ethiopia, where only 18 per cent of women can read and write, compared with 42 per cent of men.

5. Best place to be head of state: Sri Lanka
Women have run Sri Lanka for 23 years. The UK comes in at seventh place, while dozens of countries, including Spain and Sweden, have never had a female head of government.

6. Best place to be a woman in the arts: Sweden
The Swedish Arts Council has launched initiatives to improve gender equality in the arts. The Swedish Film Institute mandates that film grants be distributed evenly between men and women and there are quotas for women in film production. In the UK, only 6 per cent of film directors and 12 per cent of screenwriters are women.

7. Best place to be a top dog: Thailand
Thailand has the greatest percentage of women in senior management (45 per cent). The UK did not rank in the top 20 countries, with 23 per cent of senior management made up of women. The lowest is Japan, where 8 per cent of senior management positions are held by women.

8. Best place to give birth: Greece
Greece is the world's safest place to give birth, with a one in 31,800 risk of dying in childbirth. The UK is in 13th position, but the worst place to have a baby is thought to be the world's newest country, South Sudan. There are fewer than 20 midwives in the whole country.

9. Best place for economic participation: Bahamas
The Bahamas holds the top spot globally for economic participation and opportunity for women. The UK ranks 33rd. The Bahamas has closed its gender gap by 91 per cent in the past six years, while the lowest-ranking country, Yemen, has closed only 32 per cent of its economic gender gap in the same period.

10. Best place to be a journalist: Caribbean
The Caribbean is the region with the highest proportion of TV, print and radio news stories reported by women (45 per cent). The worst region is Africa, with 30 per cent of stories reported by women. Europe comes in at 35 per cent. In the UK, about 9 per cent of national newspaper editors are women.

11. Best place for the right to choose: Sweden
Sweden permits women to have abortions without restrictions for the first 18 weeks of pregnancy and there are no mandatory consent requirements. El Salvador, the Philippines and Nicaragua are among the worst because of a ban on all abortions. British women can have an abortion up to 24 weeks; two doctors have to give consent.

12. Best place for labour force participation: Burundi
Burundi in sub-Saharan Africa ranks first for labour force participation and is the only country where the female labour force participation rate (92 per cent) is higher than that of men (88 per cent). The UK is ranked 47th. The worst country is Pakistan, where the labour force is made up of four times as many men as women.

13. Best place to earn money: Luxembourg
Luxembourg shares the top spot (with Norway) for estimated earned income. When income is capped at $40,000, women and men are as likely to earn the same amount. The UK is ranked 23rd, while the lowest female earners are in Saudi Arabia, where women earn $7,157 to men's $36,727.

14. Best place to go to university: Qatar
In Qatar six women are enrolled in tertiary education for every man. Questions remain as to whether their investment in education has led to the integration of women into the economy. The UK is ranked 38th. The worst country is Chad, where three times as many men are enrolled as women.

15. Best place to live long: Japan
Women in Japan can expect to live longest (87), beating men by seven years. Female life expectancy is shortest in Lesotho (48), but only two years less than men. Life expectancy in the UK has reached its highest recorded level for men (78) and women (82). It has the smallest gender gap, four years, of any country in the EU.

16. Best place to be a lady of leisure: Denmark
Women in Denmark have more time for leisure, spending only 57 more minutes each day on unpaid work than men, the lowest in the OECD. British women spend two hours more per day doing unpaid work than men. Mexican women have it hardest, spending four hours 21 minutes more on unpaid work than men.

17. Best place to be an athlete: US
Five of the top 10 highest-paid female sporting athletes in 2011 were from the US. The worst country, Saudi Arabia, has never sent a female athlete to the Olympics and bans girls from sports in state schools. Sponsorship of British women's sport came to 0.5 per cent of the market between January 2010 and August 2011.

18. Best place to leave your husband: Guam
The Micronesian island of Guam has the highest divorce rate in the world, and Guatemala has the lowest. The number of divorces in England and Wales in 2010 increased by 4.9 per cent since 2009.

19. Best place to drive a car: India
New Delhi is the best place for women wanting to break into the male-dominated world of taxi drivers. An NGO in the country's capital launched an initiative to train women in the first radio-taxi service run only by women. The worst country is Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world to ban women from driving.

20. Best place for high-skilled jobs: Jamaica
Jamaica has the highest ratio of women in high-skilled jobs, such as legislators, senior officials and managers. Almost 60 per cent of these roles are filled by women. The UK is ranked 35th in the global survey, with Yemen coming last. Women there take up only 2 per cent of high-skilled jobs.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Weeks 2 and 3

I can't believe we are already on our 3rd week of Girls Life! We have started talking about leadership. The girls practiced their teamwork by playing Minute to Win it Games as a team. They earned points by working together to complete different tasks in under a minute. They were also tested on how well they got to know their teammates. 


Defying Gravity

Defying Gravity

Dizzy Mummy

Dizzy Mummy

Dizzy Mummy

Daniella as a MUMMY!




Wednesday groups turn at Dizzy Mummy

Defying Gravity

Getting ready for Defying Gravity 

Keep up the Balloons Girls! 

M+M sorting contest! 

Uh Oh Emma dropped her M+Ms! 

Team Work! 

Last Sunday the Girls practiced their dance moves in ZUMBA! This upbeat class used a lot of Latin music help the girls get a great cardio and core workout!
Having Fun :-) 

Being Silly! 

"I can't hear you!"

This Sunday will be our Strength and Core workshop! Can't wait. See everyone at 3:30 in your closed toe shoes and comfy clothes!

Fun Video about Purim! Girl POWER!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Spring 2012 Kick Off!

The first week of the Spring Season of Girls Life was a huge SUCCESS! We had 3 amazing events last week with 19 girls. The program has more then doubled in size since December. The changes we have made make the program more interested to girls, as well as more accessable to girls that live farther away and have busy schedules. The girls spliting up the age groups has made it easier to facilitate discussions and makes the girls feel more comfortable in their enviroment! Stay tuned for updates each week about all the FUN things we are doing!

Saturday Feburary 11th, we had our Girls Only Sleepover! Highlights included :
-          Fun Games
-          Making Ice Cream
-          A Talent Show
-          A Tin Foil Fashion Show
-          Girl Time- Hair wraps, facials, and nails 
-          And so MUCH MORE!

Check out the pictures-
 
Save the Date:
There will be ANOTHER sleepover on March 24th.


In our first weekday meeting, the girls started to make life size portraits of themselves. They outlined their bodies and began filling the space with their interests, hobbies, and unique traits. We will finish them off this week, then hang them up and let everyone guess whose belongs to whom.
 
On Sunday we had our first fitness class- Fitness 101 Fun. We did lounges, squats, jump rope, and a really fun obstacle course. The girls were very supportive of each other. There was actually a complaint that our cheers were TOO LOUD! Next week’s class is ZUMBA! Get ready to shake it!!







There are still a few spots available! Sign up TODAY!!
Carlye@lfjcc.com (858) 362-1351





Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Sleep Over at the JCC

On Saturday Febuary 11th Girls Life will be hosting a GIRLS ONLY sleepover for the whole community! Activities will include:
  •  scavenger hunt
  • spa session
  • dessert making
  • movies
  • FUN!

This is a perfect oppertunity to see all the wonderful things Girls Life has to offer!!! RSVP TODAY!!! carlye@lfjcc.com or 858-362-1351


Check out the FACEBOOK EVENT!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Spring 2012 Schedule- 2 Groups

There has been such an overwhelming response from the community that Girls Life will have 2 groups:
Group 1 will be the 13/14 year olds! (Meeting times Tuesdays 4:30-6pm and Sundays 3:30-5)
Group 2 will be 11/12 year olds! (Meeting times: Wednesday 4:00-5:30pm and Sunday 3:30-5pm)
We are so excited about the growth in the community!


There is still a few spaces left in each group so SIGN UP TODAY!! carlye@lfjcc.com 858-362-1351