Owning It

A yoga class for girls and young mothers in the slum of Kariobangi.  Mothers bring their kids to class.

'When we were doing yoga, they forgot their differences'

Catherine Njeri discovered yoga at a time of crisis in Kenya, when a disputed presidential election threw the country in turmoil. She found yoga fostered rare moments of calm in camps for displaced survivors. Now years on, she helps others learn to teach it through the Africa Yoga Project.

'When we were doing yoga, they forgot their differences'
working mothers unions

My career left no room for motherhood — now I advocate for working moms

My career left no room for motherhood — now I advocate for working moms
Khady Sy Savane in her boutique, Mia Dreams, in the Goutte D'Or section of Paris. Many of her designs incorporate African wax print fabrics with names like "your foot my foot."

This designer combines African fabrics with Paris couture

This designer combines African fabrics with Paris couture
Virginia Raggi, 5-Star Movement candidate for Rome's mayor, casts her vote at a polling station in Rome, Italy, on June 19, 2016.

After emperors and popes, Rome opts for first woman mayor

After emperors and popes, Rome opts for first woman mayor
Brazil's Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha, interim President Michel Temer, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles are seen during the first ministerial meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, May 13, 2016.

Here's why Brazil’s new cabinet is all men

Here's why Brazil’s new cabinet is all men
Six of GM's "Damsels of Design," photographed circa 1955. From left: Suzanne Vanderbilt, Ruth Glennie, Marjorie Ford Pohlman, Harley Earl, Jeanette Linder, Sandra Logyear, Peggy Sauer.

The 'Damsels of Design,' women who changed automotive history

They were brought in to provide a "feminine touch," but they were really designing for everyone.

The 'Damsels of Design,' women who changed automotive history
Martine Warren, a scientific advisor to the Bank of Canada, demonstrates how to view a security feature on the new polymer Canadian 100 dollar bill to reveal hidden numbers when pointed at a single point light source in Toronto November 14, 2011.

Canada to beat US in getting a Canadian woman on its banknotes

As in the United States, there are so many amazing candidates, including Canada's Rosa Parks. the author of "Anne of Green Gables" and sort of a Paul Revere in reverse.

Canada to beat US in getting a Canadian woman on its banknotes
Yanti

The food shop is tiny, but it represents something big for her: freedom

In Indonesia, a growing number of women are speaking up to report violence and finding the economic means to get out of abusive marriages.

The food shop is tiny, but it represents something big for her: freedom
Air India's all women crew celebrating the proud moment before their longest flight, Delhi - San Francisco, take-off.

For Women's Day, Air India operates the longest flight ever crewed by only women

Air India's all-woman flights are aimed at encouraging young girls who have dreams of getting into the skies.

For Women's Day, Air India operates the longest flight ever crewed by only women
Sabina family

The face of Target (and others) in Bangladesh, at 400 pieces an hour

A "Made in Bangladesh" tag on clothing typically also means "made by women," because they make up 80 percent of the country's garment-factory workforce. Many of them send the money they earn back to villages in the countryside.

The face of Target (and others) in Bangladesh, at 400 pieces an hour
Vickie Remoe

It’s not just Kesha. Women face demands for transactional sex all over the world.

Vickie Remoe says she left her career as a TV host in Sierra Leone after being propositioned one time too many.

It’s not just Kesha. Women face demands for transactional sex all over the world.
Despite being experienced and well-educated, women of color still get way less funding on average than their white male counterparts.

Female entrepreneurs of color have a hard time getting the money men to open their wallets

Despite being the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, women of color have a hard time raising capital to support their ventures.

Female entrepreneurs of color have a hard time getting the money men to open their wallets
Miatta reads

Once a refugee, she's opened one of Liberia's few bookstores, where children can read about themselves

It's hard to learn to read when your country has been torn apart by war and disease. It's even harder when children's books come from far away. But Wayétu Moore, whose family fled Liberia's civil war when she was five, is setting out to change the odds for kids in Liberia and other countries with low literacy.

Once a refugee, she's opened one of Liberia's few bookstores, where children can read about themselves
Muthoni Ndonga, outside a Java House in Nairobi, Kenya.

Muthoni the Drummer Queen rules Kenya's music scene

Her parents hoped she'd be an economist. And in a way, that's what Muthoni the Drummer Queen became. Just in the music world...

Muthoni the Drummer Queen rules Kenya's music scene
Market women 16:9

Ghana’s market women were once so powerful they were targeted by the military

More than 90 percent of Ghanains shop at the West African nation's many open-air women. And that means, in most cases, buying from women, who dominate the trading business. But that power came at a price a generation ago, when the market women were blamed for an economic crisis and their livelihoods destoyed.

Ghana’s market women were once so powerful they were targeted by the military
leadharyana

This bank hired its first female employee, and now women line up to open accounts

Sreeja Singh Berwal wound up in conservative northern India through an arranged marriage. Her education and job skills landed her a job at a bank, and now women are flocking to open accounts with her. But she remains the bank's only female employee.

This bank hired its first female employee, and now women line up to open accounts
sojka bag she made it

In Prague, two new mothers harnessed the power of play and started a business

Two mothers in the Czech Republic are making handbags and cases that are locally sourced.

In Prague, two new mothers harnessed the power of play and started a business