08 March 2009

4 great talks for International Women's Day

To celebrate March 8, International Women's Day, we suggest these four TEDTalks gems from some amazing speakers -- artists, scientists and economists who think deeply about the role of women.

Author and activist Isabel Allende discusses women, creativity, feminism -- and the power of passionate thinkers and doers:

The former Finance Minister of Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, talks about one key opportunity to grow African economies -- by investing in women and the businesses they start:

(For more, watch Jacqueline Novogratz >>)

Scientist Nalini Nadkarni explores the world of the forest canopy -- and shares her findings with the world below, through dance, art and bold partnerships. She's working to inspire the next generation of women scientists:

The wonderful Nellie McKay sings "Mother of Pearl" (with the immortal first line "Feminists don't have a sense of humor") and "If I Had You" from her sparkling set at TED2008:

Find these four and many more astonishing women (including the legendary primatologist Jane Goodall, oceanographers Sylvia Earle and Tierney Thys, games theorist Brenda Laurel, Zipcar inventor Robin Chase ... ) on TED.com >>

Posted by Emily McManus | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

21 November 2007

AIDS overestimates

The New York Times reported yesterday that the UN's agency on AIDS dramatically overestimated its count of current and new infections:

The agency, Unaids, will lower the number of people it believes are infected worldwide, to 33.2 million from the 39.5 million it estimated late last year.

Much of the difference comes from new reporting methods in some African countries and in India -- an idea dovetailing with the work of economist Emily Oster. Oster's 2007 TEDTalk takes a critical look at global AIDS figures -- and how they drive the world's approaches to stemming the disease.

On his blog, Emeka Okafor writes, "The AIDS industry should be called to account." But these revised numbers, though lower than before, are still high. We must not lose our sense of urgency on AIDS in Africa and throughout the world.

Posted by TED Staff | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

16 August 2007

Emily Oster: Cable television is good for women in India

University of Chicago economist Emily Oster went on stage at TED2007 to say that most of what we know about AIDS in Africa is wrong -- and proceeded to show data and graphs to make her case (watch the video of her speech -- or read the summary). Now she's applied her atypical lens to the effect of the introduction of cable television on gender attitudes in rural India, coming up again with surprising results.

In a recent draft paper (full text in PDF) that she wrote with Robert Jensen of Brown University after a three-year study, she argues that "the introduction of cable television is associated with improvements in women's status" and finds "significant increases in reported autonomy, decreases in the reported acceptability of beating and decreases in reported son preferences", this last point being about sex-selective abortions (rural families prefer boys). They also found "increases in female school enrollment and decreases in fertility (primarily via increased birth spacing)."

The effects are large, the two researchers argue, "equivalent in some cases to about five years of education" within the surveyed population.

These changes are "accomplished despite there being little or no direct targeted appeals" such as public-service announcements. Which brings Oster and Jensen to speculate that "it may be that cable television, with programming that features lifestyle both in urban areas and in other countries, is an effective form of persuasion, because people emulate what they perceive to be desirable behavior and attitudes".

Posted by Bruno Giussani | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

12 July 2007

Everything we know about AIDS in Africa is wrong: Emily Oster on TED.com

Emily Oster, a University of Chicago economist, looks at the stats on AIDS in Africa -- and comes up with a stunning conclusion: Everything we know about AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is wrong. We look for root causes such as poverty and poor health care -- but we also need to factor in, say, the price of coffee, and the routes of long-haul truckers. In short, she says, there is a lot we don't know; and our assumptions about what we do know may keep us from finding the best way to stop the disease. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 15:45.)

New: Download this talk in high resolution (480p)

Watch Emily Oster's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.

Read more about Emily Oster on TED.com.

Posted by TED Staff | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)