Female

The firm’s share price has risen 80% under Allison Kirkby’s leadership – but pressure remains for her to deliver further growthIf timing is everything, then Allison Kirkby may have judged it perfectly.Since becoming BT’s first female chief executive more than two years ago the company’s share price has climbed 80%, an investor-pleasing turnaround that has seen Kirkby well-rewarded with a pay and bonus package of £5.6m last year, the largest for a boss of the telecoms company in well over a decade. However, there are questions over how much credit Kirkby can take for the apparent revival of the business. Continue reading...

Kelsey Pfendler set out to become first US woman, youngest woman and fastest woman to solo over 2,400-mile journeyA Grand Canyon river-rafting guide who aimed to become the first US woman to row solo across the mid-Pacific has completed a record-breaking journey from California to Hawaii.Hundreds of people gathered to cheer on Kelsey Pfendler as she pulled into a Honolulu harbor on Friday night on her 21ft rowboat, Lily, after nearly a month-and-a-half at sea, local media reported.Guardian staff contributed Continue reading...

PM hopeful tells meeting of women’s parliamentary Labour party that any staff who undermine female members of his team will be sackedUK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham has said he will to end the culture of briefing against female ministers, promising Labour MPs he will sack any staff who undermine women in his team.Speaking at the meeting of the women’s parliamentary Labour party in Westminster, Burnham also strongly criticised descriptions of him as “the first female Labour PM” in the Spectator. Continue reading...

Justices voted to overturn judgements issued by lower courts in favor of trans students who sued after being barred from competing in West Virginia and IdahoUS supreme court decisions – live updatesThe US supreme court has upheld laws in two conservative states excluding transgender girls and women from competing in female sports in a far-reaching ruling certain to impact trans rights throughout the US.The court’s nine justices voted to overturn previous judgements issued by lower courts in favor of two trans students who had sued after being barred from competing in West Virginia and Idaho respectively. Continue reading...

• NASA's Roman Space Telescope arrived in Florida between June 20 and June 26, 2026, marking a key milestone in its deployment process. • Researchers have developed a new non-surgical treatment for knee osteoarthritis, offering a potential alternative to invasive procedures for pain relief. • Archaeologists discovered a cave in the Rising Star system containing skeletons that appear exclusively female, suggesting the Dinaledi Chamber may be the first known sex-specific burial site created by a non-modern human species.

One woman says she found man in her room at WA fly-in, fly-out accommodation while another states she was ‘howled’ at, federal court toldFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAndrew Forrest’s Fortescue is facing a class action lawsuit from female workers over allegations of systemic sexual harassment, violence and retaliation at the iron ore miner’s remote work sites.The lawsuit, filed in the federal court in Victoria on Thursday, includes an allegation that a woman was pulled into a dark alley where a man “tried to stick his tongue down my throat”. Continue reading...

• A new report from UCLA’s Entertainment and Media Research Initiative reveals that representation for women and minority groups in streaming films dropped significantly in 2025. • The findings indicate a sharp reversal of recent gains in diversity and inclusion within the streaming sector of the entertainment industry. • This decline is critical as it highlights a regression in Hollywood's efforts to ensure equitable visibility for underrepresented demographics on screen.

Drivers suspended as prosecutors investigate group said to have been used to share and comment on CCTV imagesA group of tram drivers in Milan have been suspended from their jobs amid an investigation into a WhatsApp group in which they allegedly exchanged sexist and vulgar comments about images of female passengers.Milan prosecutors placed at least one employee of ATM, the city’s public transport firm, under investigation on Tuesday for allegedly accessing an IT system without authorisation and for hacking a CCTV system to obtain images of female passengers. Continue reading...

General secretary of TUC calls Reform proposal ‘a smokescreen for slashing women’s rights’UK politics live – latest updatesA law proposed by Nigel Farage to “strengthen women’s rights” could cost female workers money by removing equal pay for work of equal value, unions have said.A proposal, made by Reform UK days before the Makerfield byelection, to introduce a Women and Motherhood Protection Act that it says will restore equality before the law has been described as “shameless and deceptive”. Continue reading...

Jermiah Copeland had admitted killing Angelina Resendiz, attacking another sailor and illegally recording anotherSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA member of the US navy has been ordered to spend 44 years in federal prison after admitting that he fatally strangled a fellow sailor in his barracks room, violently squeezed the neck of a second woman onboard an aircraft carrier and illegally made secret video recordings of a third, including while they were being intimate.Meanwhile, the family of the petty officer whom Jermiah Copeland acknowledged murdering, Angelina Resendiz, has called for reforms within the armed forces meant to better protect women serving in the military. Continue reading...

Lt Lily-Mae Fisher, Lt Cmdr Chris Grayson and Petty Officer Owen Green died during Royal Navy training exerciseBritain’s only serving female naval commando has been named as one of the three people who died in a helicopter crash during a military training exercise in Devon on Wednesday.The victims have been named by the Ministry of Defence as Lt Lily-Mae Fisher, 31, Lt Cmdr Chris Gayson, 42, and Petty Officer Owen Green, 24. Continue reading...

Researchers observed unavailable female dolphins – those that were older, or with calves – did not show the same avoidant behaviourGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFemale dolphins identify males by their unique calls and keep track of their past behaviour, choosing to avoid the most aggressive males during mating season, new research suggests.Bottlenose dolphin society is complex, and male and female dolphins often know each other for decades, said Prof Stephanie King, an expert in animal behaviour at the University of Bristol. Continue reading...

About 20 students report anonymous late-night phone calls from men who ‘intimidated, demeaned and belittled’ themThe University of Manchester has launched an investigation after about 20 female medical students complained of receiving anonymous phone calls in the middle of the night from male callers who intimidated and sexually harassed them.The calls have been going on for at least three years, according to Charlotte Buttercase, a final-year medical student and one of those targeted. Continue reading...

Tracey Emin among creators on display at Making Her Mark, a project by Penzance, Worcester and Kirkcaldy galleriesLike many regional galleries, the collection at Penlee House in Cornwall tends to be dominated by male artists, a legacy of the inequality faced by female creators over centuries.But from Thursday, thanks to a collaboration between galleries, visitors to the site in Penzance will be able to view work by some of the Britain’s great female artists. Continue reading...

Hedge fund tycoon faces questions in court over sexual harassment allegations that have left his career in tattersFacing a litany of questions over sexual harassment allegations that have left his career in tatters, hedge fund tycoon Crispin Odey told a court he does not remember cornering a female employee after a boozy lunch and saying to her “I could attack you now”.The 67-year-old made the comments during his first day in the witness box, as part of a three-week court case which Odey hopes will overturn the City regulator’s decision to ban him from the UK’s financial services industry. Continue reading...

Show in part a rediscovery of more than 40 mostly forgotten women who plied their trade in the Low CountriesJudith Leyster, an artist of the Dutch golden age, was thought to be about 21 when she painted her self-portrait in 1630. In the picture she presented to the world, Leyster exudes cheerful confidence. Clad in shimmering silks and a stiffly starched lace collar, she leans back in her chair, palette and brushes in hand, a painting by her side.This work, completed in the year she was admitted to a painters’ guild in Haarlem, proclaimed her arrival as an established artist. It was one of the first self-portraits by an artist in the Dutch republic, a device most male painters did not adopt until years later. Continue reading...

Spain's international feature film 'Sirat' has earned a historic Best Sound nomination at the 2026 Oscars, featuring the first all-female sound team in Academy Awards history. ABC News reports the team's achievement in a male-dominated category, highlighting their innovative work on the film directed by an emerging Spanish filmmaker. The nomination underscores growing diversity in technical Oscars fields, potentially influencing future sound design inclusivity. Industry experts predict the team could win, breaking barriers ahead of the March ceremony.

Spain's international feature Sirat achieves a milestone with its all-female sound team nominated for Best Sound at the 2026 Oscars, marking the first time women have dominated this male-led category. ABC News reports director Linsey Davis highlighting the team's innovative techniques that propelled the film's authentic audio landscape. The nomination underscores growing diversity in technical Oscars fields amid industry pushes for inclusion. Experts predict potential wins could inspire more female-led crews in future sound design.