Where a women’s tax is canceled, and businesswomen’s decisions valued

Women leaders’ problem-solving helps make their businesses more resilient

In a small study of entrepreneurs in especially climate-vulnerable parts of Kenya and Senegal, women managers were more likely to enact decisions to safeguard a business instead of addressing short-term needs. For example, they would grow an additional or a different crop, instead of shedding employees.

According to the research, these strategies can reduce vulnerability to climate change and boost income stability.

For governments and donors, investing in more women-led businesses could “offer strategic means to address climate justice concerns,” the authors wrote.

Sylvain Cherkaoui/AP/File

Mariama Sonko and colleagues examine rice, March 7, 2024, in Niaguis, Senegal. They train fellow women farmers in agroecology.

Small- and medium-sized businesses provide 80% of all job opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa and generate as much as 40% of some countries’ gross domestic product. At 24%, African women have the highest rates of entrepreneurship in the world by some estimates.
Sources: The Conversation , MIT Sloan , International Finance Corporation

Indigenous people gain self-governance in Colombia

Colombia’s new legal framework puts it on the cutting edge for Indigenous rights in Latin America, advocates say.

In the making since 2018, the decree gives Indigenous communities direct control over their land. It enables them to operate as local governments with public budgets and administrative power.

In other Amazon nations such as Brazil, Indigenous groups are often only given land grants, or rights of ownership. That often leaves communities to navigate overlapping jurisdictions, because Indigenous groups’ borders may stretch across multiple states or municipalities.

Advocates say they hope the system agreed to in May will push other countries to follow suit, and celebrated it as a win for Amazonian forests crucial to combating climate change.

Ivan Valencia/AP

Members of Indigenous groups gather in Bogotá, Colombia, to demand the government uphold its agreements for their regions, April 2, 2025.

Sources: The Associated Press , Rainforest Foundation Norway

Cost-sharing program keeps community solar projects alive in Massachusetts

Solar developers typically pay for expensive upgrades to the grid which are necessary to connect to a new solar project. But such plans often die early because of the cost. Now, a “build in advance, pay later” structure means ratepayers are helping out via their future electricity bills. Representing customers’ interests, the state’s attorney general’s office is one of the stakeholders who worked on the plan over six years, influencing a shift of some of the cost back to developers.

The plan will increase ratepayers’ bills in the short term, said Kate Tohme, of developer New Leaf Energy. However, “once the grid is modernized and we get distributed energy interconnected, it’s going to drastically decrease our electricity costs” by bringing renewable energy and batteries online.

Business Wire/AP/File

A 1,020-panel solar array and 1 MW energy storage system serve Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts.

Source: Canary Media

Malta will provide free period products at all 58 middle and secondary schools

The Mediterranean country aims to eliminate stigma, normalize discussions on menstrual health, and ensure inclusive access. As part of Malta’s 2022 plan to promote gender equality, the value-added tax for menstrual products will be eliminated.

In the 2024 index by the European Institute for Gender Equality, Malta ranks 13th out of 27 countries. The nation’s equality commission, in its comments on the index, noted improvement over several years in the division of labor at home: 78% of women and 63% of men reported doing daily cooking and housework.
Sources: Times of Malta , National Commission for the Promotion of Equalit

Seoul, South Korea, combats isolation among adults of all ages

Since 2021, support centers run by the city have sought to improve the quality of life for single-person households and offered counseling and classes such as pet care, cooking, and exercise. Residents can build connections through watching movies, volunteering, or dining out. About 152,000 people used the centers between 2022 and 2024.

Some 39% of Seoul’s 9.6 million residents live alone. As the proportion of people living alone has grown globally, researchers have recognized the benefits of supportive social networks. In a citywide survey of one-person households from April 2025, people ranked eating a balanced diet, dealing with household chores and health emergencies, and social isolation among the challenges.
Sources: The Korea Herald , Seoul Single-Person Household Portal