1000 WORDS: Farmer and Child

A woman in Nepal works as a farmer, with financial support from the Women's Fund Tewa. From the Economica slideshow "Women's Wealth."

BOOKS: Summer Schoolin'

Image via Flickr/Margolove

I have forever been an obsessive reader, I graduated with a BA in English, and I read for fun all the time. But for some reason the past few months, I've had a hard time reading anything more demanding than a graphic novel or more difficult than a seventh-grade reading level. (Not knocking those, either: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is highly recommended, and I'm always a fan of revisiting Judy Blume!) I'm going to chalk it up to it being the summertime, and me falling victim to the Beach Read ethos that seems to float about from July to September. But I'm starting to feel a little more inspired, so I went searching for alternatives to the regular Summer reads.

1000 WORDS: A-B-C

Global Fund for Women

Children in a community center in Morocco learn the basics of reading and writing; from the Changing Conditions slideshow in Economica.

When Home and Work are Separated by Hundreds of Miles

Photographer Arianna Sanesi submitted a photo essay to Economica that's really gotten under my skin. Arianna's photo essay, "Ludmilla's Story," captures a Ukrainian woman named Ludmilla who returns home from working as an elder caregiver in Italy to see her family in the Ukraine for the first time in three years.

Can you imagine going three years without seeing your family? This is one of those sacrifices that women around the world make all the time. I'll often complain about a 30 minute commute, or how hard it is to visit parents or friends who live in other parts of the country. "I haven't seen them in months!" I'll complain. Of course, Ludmilla's sacrifice is for her family. She sends a portion of her earnings back home every month, and some of the money she sends back was used to help pay for her daughter's wedding. It's a difficult position to be in--one many middle class American women (like me) will likely never face.

Apparently the trend of hiring migrant careworkers is growing in Italy, where families have the resources to pay for carework, and no time to take on the job themselves. Apparently the Ukrainian immigrant population in Italy is growing exponentially as a result of this demand--Ukraine was particularly hurt by the economic crisis, and the country's current inflation rate is nearing 17%. This seems to be just another iteration of that classic economic concept of supply and demand--Ukraine has the supply of unemployed women caregivers, and Italy has the demand for this kind of skilled labor. But the emotional and personal impact of this harsh economic reality is still mind boggling.

Economica: Women and the Global Economy [The International Museum of Women]
Ludmilla's Story [Economica]

1000 WORDS: One Child

A snapshot from Economica's "Womb Economics" slideshow, in the Family and Fertility section, about how women in China have contributed to the country's rapid economic growth, and what sacrifices they have made in the process. (Photo credit: Mimi Kuo-Deemer)

1000 Words: The Business of Women

Photo Credit: Hazel Thompson

A young Arab woman in Qatar goes shopping in a modern mall while wearing a traditional hijab, from the Economica slideshow The Business of Women, in the Business Leadership section.