German Cabinet approves gender quota bill for company boards

A new bill, if approved, is expected to bring further restrictions on online freedom of expression and media freedom in Turkey.

In what is set to be a landmark agreement for gender equality, the EU is to vote on legislation where companies will face mandatory quotas to ensure women have at least 40 percent of seats on corporate boards. Annette Young talks to Carlien Scheele from the European Institute for Gender Studies on what it means for businesses across the European bloc. Also as the Taliban continues to ban schooling for girls aged over 11, we meet the Afghan people risking all to ensure girls receive an education. Plus the story of Viola Smith, the first female professional jazz drummer who fought for greater recognition of women in the industry.

The European Parliament has approved a bill prohibiting the sale of new CO2-emitting cars by 2035, part of plans to cut net emissions by 55% by 2030. The move highlights Poland's lack of electric charging facilities.

Google is set to pay $US118 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused it of systematically underpaying women. But will other companies take note? Annette Young talks to author and gender equality consultant, Gill Whitty-Collins. Also as the bloody war continues in Ukraine, we head to a school in Kosovo that's training Ukrainian women to clear deadly Russian landmines that now dot the landscape. Plus a goal for equality on the football field with Italy giving the go-ahead for a women's professional league.

The entertainer had molested a 16-year-old in 1975 at the Playboy Mansion, according to a Los Angeles County jury. The victim, who is now 64, was awarded financial compensation.

The French president has reshuffled his cabinet after losing an absolute majority in parliamentary elections last month. Some had to leave after losing their seats, others are facing different problems.

As the social affairs, youth, family, seniors and equality minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Aminata Toure has pledged to fight for more diversity in politics. She's the first Black member of a German state government.

Lawmakers voted 267-157 to protect same-sex and interracial marriages amid concerns that the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade could jeopardize other rights.

Hungary's far-right ruling party has proposed weakening the European Parliament and the EU's political integration. The passed resolution said democracy in the bloc was at a "dead end."

The pandemic and a weak economic recovery have pushed back progress on closing the gender gap around the world. Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, says that issues including family care policies, an increasingly digital economy, and ongoing struggles in certain industries have all been setbacks for women. The WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2022 now projects it will take 132 years to reach gender parity.

The law would provide whistleblowers with more legal security following pressure from the European Union to comply with a 2019 EU directive, but civil society organizations are criticizing the new bill as insufficient.

Germany's federal government has agreed on a package of new measures, most of which will be up to the discretion of individual states, to combat the spread of the coronavirus in the cooler winter months.