Taking a “glass half full” perspective, there is no question that we, as a global community  have made great strides toward gender equality—especially over the past several decades. I don't think that's recognized as much as it should be. It’s also true, however, that discriminations against women in the workplace, terrible practices like female infanticide, laws favoring men, and violence against women—just to name a few—are still problems that haunt us in the modern era.

The current issue of Perspectives "Women in the Lead!" examines the links between women's equality and development, what role women are playing in politics and at the peace table, and looks at where the global community has made progress and where it has fallen short.

As editor, I was intrigued by putting together this issue because I can relate to the topic in a personal way. At another level though, I wish this issue didn't have to exist at all. 

Since women represent half of the world’s population, one shouldn’t even have to make the case that women need to be better treated and better represented than they are. That should be an accepted fact.  Alas, the reality remains that women can’t really be in the lead when, in many cases, they don’t even have a place at the table. Nonetheless, it is interesting to contemplate what our world might look like if women had more of a role in shaping the world’s economic and social policies. In this issue, we do look at women—especially at the local level—who have been at the forefront of everything from peace negotiations to turning businesses around to being a cohesive force for their communities.

There are many incredible women doing incredible things, but how can societies change the social norms and attitudes towards women that prevent their advancement?

How can men and women work together to advance gender equity?

We invite you to share your thoughts on these questions--or add any other insights you may have on the topic--by contributing a comment to our new Community Space page for this issue. 
- Zarrin Caldwell, Perspectives Editor

OneWorld's "treeless" magazine, Perspectives, aims to provide readers with background and context on the global issues of today, offering diverse viewpoints and showing everyone how they can be more involved with the issues they care about. The latest issue can be read online or downloaded at http://us.oneworld.net/section/us/perspectives/7/women and you can subscribe (for free!) at http://us.oneworld.net/bulkmail/singlelist/subscribe/107.