On the 2nd Annual Ada Lovelace Day, here's a quick round-up of women's news from around the globe:
* A new book by Columbia University Professor Jane Waldfogel claims that, despite widespread belief that Britain's welfare programs are broken, the U.K. is actually eclipsing the U.S. in successfully fighting poverty. Waldfogel told the Guardian: "It's just not right. Progress in the United States stalled in 2000 and then child poverty rises again. The gloom and doom about the state of children and families in Britain is not justified by the data."
Britain leads in war on poverty, according to US academic
*A new law for the Iraq parliament mandates a one-fourth majority of its seats for female politicians. As the final results of the March 7 election trickle in this week, some female candidates are questioning whether the new quota will really advance women in Iraqi politics: "As long as there is a quota, people perceive women as gap-fillers and not deserving members of parliament," Maysoun al Damlouji told the Christian Science Monitor. "The perception of a man is as an individual, but for women it's as a bloc. So if one woman failed, it's as if the entire womanhood has failed."
Iraq election increases women in parliament – regardless of vote count [The Christian Science Monitor]
