Where's the best place on earth to be a woman? These maps try to help you figure it out.
Way to go, world! And, also ... keep going.
I hadn't heard of the United Nations' Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) until this report came my way. It came out in 1979, and since then, all but five countries in the world have signed on to it.
I live in the United States, which is one of those that hasn't gotten with the program just yet. The others — for those keeping score at home — are Iran, Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia.
This report surprised me, and I thought I knew about gender equality in the world. Check out these maps, and then go on over to their site to explore some more.
For one thing, more countries are at least saying the right thing when it comes to equality.
See all that green? Those are places where the constitution makes some provision for gender equality.
But then it gets dicier.
Here's the constitutional guarantee of primary education for girls. (The green is where it's free.)
But when you look at secondary education, suddenly, there's a lot more red.
Now, you might be seeing this and thinking, "Wait just a minute! I know that girls go to high school in Canada for free!" These maps show what is reflected in the countries' constitutions, not what is necessarily practiced on the ground. Those red areas simply do not mention educating young ladies in their constitutions, but many of them do provide secondary education for girls and boys.
Of course, this is all assuming that the girls aren't busy running their own households and having babies. School takes a good amount of free time.
In many countries, the minimum age when girls can get married is younger than it is for boys. This results in fewer girls completing a secondary education, a higher maternal mortality, and a greater risk of domestic abuse.
And how young, exactly, are we talking about here? Although nearly all countries have 18 years as the minimum age for people to marry, those laws are superseded by parental permission and religious or customary law.
When you take all of the possible exceptions into account, many countries effectively have no minimum age for marriage for girls.
File this under crazy things I learned today: In the United States, certain states have no minimum age for marriage with judicial and parental consent. And I know you're about to make a redneck joke here, but note that Alabama is not one of them. Delaware is though. There are also several U.S. states (ahem, Massachusetts) where the age of marital consent for girls is younger than it is for boys.
There's one area in which women get more benefits than men do: parental leave.
Most countries guarantee some amount of paid leave for mothers after the birth of a baby. Look how blessedly little red is on that map. And sorry, mamas in Papua New Guinea and Suriname. I'm right with you.
But for dads? Not so much. If you're a dad in Azerbaijan, have fun with your little bundle of joy. But if you're across the border in Iran or Georgia? No leave for you!
Just a note here, because it's confusing to look at, but dark green in the "paid leave for moms" map is "52 weeks or more." However, in the "paid leave for dads" map, it's "14 weeks or more," or equivalent to the light green, blue, and dark green on the moms map.
The truth is, as a planet, we're making real progress on treating humans equally, but ... reports like this one help us see where we are, how far we've come, and how far we still have to go.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.