Article here. Excerpt:

'Next week single mother Angela Downey will mark her daughter's 12th birthday with a rare treat – a chocolate sponge cake with cream and strawberries. Just like the past four years, there won't be any presents.

Since being moved off the single parent payment onto the lesser Newstart allowance in 2009, Ms Downey said it has been all but impossible to support her three teenage children.
...
The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey prepared by Melbourne University revealed the poverty rate for children living with a single parent has risen 15 per cent since 2001.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A new survey shows that 78 per cent of women believe a recent European Union ruling against gender-based pricing for insurance policies is unfair.
...
Only 22 per cent of women questioned by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk agreed that the move was fair. By comparison, 74 per cent of men supported the ruling – which may result in lower insurance premiums for male customers.

Almost two thirds of women felt that men should pay higher premiums for car insurance, as data shows that they are more likely to be involved in accidents.

The European ruling comes into effect on 21st December 2012. Estimates from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate that women under 25 could see a 25 per cent increase in motor insurance costs … while men could expect premiums to reduce by just 10 per cent.

Article here. Excerpt:

'In the 1950s, nearly every man in his prime working years was in the labor force, a category that includes both those who are employed and those actively applying for jobs. The "participation rate" for men ages 25 to 54 stood at 97.7% in early 1956, but drifted downward to a post-war record low of 88.4% at the end of 2012. (It ticked up very slightly at the start of this year to 88.6%.)

So where have all the men workers gone?

Some went into prison. Others are on disability. And still others can't find jobs and have simply given up looking.

The trend is particularly pronounced among the less educated. As the job market shifted away from blue-collar positions that required only a high-school degree to more skilled labor, many men were left behind, labor analysts say. It's harder these days to find well-paying jobs in manufacturing, production and other fields traditionally dominated by men without college diplomas.

Article here. Excerpt:

'I was listening to a debate in one of the morning breakfast shows in one of the FM radio stations this past week and wondered if really the boy child has a place left for him in this society. Women were calling and confessing how they would really wish their husbands were dead.

It reminded me of how hard it has become for male job seekers to get jobs this days be it from male or female employers something that was echoed by one of my lecturers at Egerton University. It is worrying that the society has focused more on the girl child and forgotten the boy child.
...
It should not be forgotten that the controversial Kiambu County cabinet nominees were rejected for being gender biased. Surprisingly, this time round it was not women who were discriminated against, it was men. Only two out of eight nominees were men.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Title IX is leading Missouri State to enact changes that could take effect as soon as the fall of 2014: the addition of two women’s sports.

MSU operates under “Prong One”, known as “proportionality,” to comply with Title IX. In other words, the school must carry the same proportion of male and female student-athletes as the proportion of full-time male and female students in the undergraduate student body.

Missouri State’s 2012-13 undergraduate enrollment was 56.7 female. To comply with Title IX, MSU’s proportion of female student-athletes must be within 1 percent in either direction of that number.

Article here. Excerpt:

'PORT HURON, Mich. -- A Michigan woman accused of faking a sexual assault was ordered to stand trial on charges of making a false report of rape and tampering with evidence Tuesday after a doctor said her purported bruises faded after he wiped them with gauze.

Sara Ylen accused two men of sexual assault at her Lexington home last September, saying she was taking a nap when she was bound and raped. But authorities say the attack didn't happen.

Ylen is also accused of lying about having cancer in a separate case in Sanilac County. She's charged with fraud for allegedly tricking an insurance company and sympathetic supporters. A probable cause hearing is set for July 9.'

Article here. Excerpt:

Story here. Excerpt:

'(Reuters) - Norway's parliament voted overwhelmingly on Friday to conscript women into its armed forces, becoming the first European and first NATO country to make military service compulsory for both genders.

"Rights and duties should be the same for all," said Labor lawmaker Laila Gustavsen, a supporter of the bill. "The armed forces need access to the best resources, regardless of gender, and right now mostly men are recruited."
...
Women already serve in the military, but do so of their own volition. They make up a tenth of the armed forces, according to the ministry of defense.

The change is not expected to force women to serve against their will but should help improve the gender balance.

All young people can be conscripted in theory, but since the end of the Cold War the Norwegian armed forces have become more selective in choosing conscripts as their needs have changed.

Those who do not want to serve can often find a reason, such as university studies, to avoid the draft.

Article here. Excerpt:

'A military analyst says the plan to allow women in front-line combat units could subject them to a future draft, and Congress should start paying attention.

Women are currently exempt from the draft because they are not involved in direct ground combat, says Center for Military Readiness president Elaine Donnelly, citing a 1981 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

"It is most unfortunate that Congress is allowing the Obama administration to lay the legal groundwork for selective service obligations to be imposed on unsuspecting civilian women on the same basis as men," says Donnelly. "This would include a future draft."'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A professor from Virginia will spend the upcoming academic year teaching courses on gender at the Air Force Academy to combat sexual assaults.
...
Neither course is required of students. But so many have registered for the lone section of "Men and Masculinity" that the academy is considering adding another, said Col. Gary Packard, head of the academy's Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership.
...
"There's a lot of theory in the first part" of the class, he said. "The second part includes discussion of men's issues: work, mental health, physical health, relationships, sexuality, violence, and contemporary topics like the prison problem, pornography and prostitution."
As part of their coursework, Kilmartin will assign his students to journal about gender stereotypes they observe in their everyday lives.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The difference between the male and female jobless rates in Sweden increased last year, with a higher number of men now unemployed, revealed figures from Eurostat.

There are currently 33,000 more unemployed males than females in Sweden; however, the situation across the rest of Europe does not mirror that of the Scandinavian country.
...
Furthermore, in Norway, where unemployment is also higher amongst males than females, women receive generous parental allowances and are given the opportunity to keep their jobs after pregnancy.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia faith-healing believer charged with murder after a second son died of pneumonia has been granted bail, but her husband must stay in jail.

Link here. Excerpt:

'Chief Economist Heidi Crebo-Rediker will deliver an address entitled “Pushing Forward Gender Driven Growth” on Monday, June 24, from 12:00-2:00 p.m. in the C. Fred Bergsten Conference Center at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, 1750 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036.

This event is open to the press but by invitation only to the general public.
...
In her address, Chief Economist Crebo-Rediker will highlight cutting edge work on the issue in both advanced and emerging economies. She will argue for the importance of elevating and mainstreaming this work through the efforts of the U.S. government, multilateral and other institutions.'

Story here. Note that two male relatives are killed in domestic murders, yet neither the headline nor the lead paragraph mentions that the victims are males. Excerpt:

'KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri woman and her daughter confessed to fatally poisoning two relatives with antifreeze and attempting to kill a third over a 14-month period, according to court documents.

Article here. (Review previous MANN item here.) Excerpt:

'This evening, the White House announced a new nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to Belgium:

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

· Denise Bauer – Ambassador to Belgium, Department of State

The announcement comes only weeks after the current ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman, was accused of soliciting underage prostitutes. As the New York Post reported recently:

WASHINGTON — A State Department whistleblower has accused high-ranking staff of a massive coverup — including keeping a lid on findings that members of then-Secretary Hillary Clinton’s security detail and the Belgian ambassador solicited prostitutes.