In most of the world, women and girls are especially vulnerable to climate change. In many countries, they have less access to financial resources and high-quality education. As a result, they are more exposed to storms, droughts and other effects of climate change. But according to recent research, women and girls are more than victims: they are also key to solving the problem.

[English translation] Six months ago, Aline Marques started to see more of the sunlight. Instead of working the nights in São Paulo, she now wakes up early, goes to school, is greeted by her classmates and gets hugged at work. Aline says her new routine is "pure happiness"—and by happiness she means not being humiliated, threatened or beaten.

Program brings university students into prisons to tutor inmates, expanding opportunities and defying stereotypes in the country with the world’s largest incarcerated population.

[English translation] -- How was the reaction when you told your wife? -- Wow, she was devastated. At the time, she didn’t say anything. She was speechless. I was only able to talk to her again the following week, already in jail. -- Are you religious? Did you look for help or did you already have it? -- I already had, I was evangelical. But I didn’t ask anyone for help. It’s very difficult to ask for help. If I said, "I'm a thief," it would be easier. Not a pedophile, because the pedophile is already stigmatized. He's a criminal. He is not a patient, he is a criminal.

A multi-billion dollar project would build a gas pipeline through the property of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. But the nuns are fighting in court and on their grounds, where they have built a chapel.

[English translation] There is a South African proverb that says that when a great man dies, he does not go alone. It means that the death of someone important carries other souls that protect the deceased and serve as a "cushion" for his or her passage. If that is the case, Nelson Mandela took with him the spirit of an entire nation—if not a great part of the planet.

According to experts, small actions such as exposing children to non-stereotypical characters found in books and movies, or dividing housework equally at home, can redefine behavior patterns for this and the next generation, and broaden women’s access to resources and opportunities.

In 2014, a group of researchers interviewed 5,900 Bolivian and Ecuadorian teenagers to understand the relationship between adolescents’ sexual behavior and their views on gender equality. The results showed that boys and girls who value gender equality use contraception more often and describe their sexual experiences more positively.

Eliminating the wage gap could also benefit the world economy in many ways. A study published in 2017 by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research showed that bringing all U.S. women workers’ earnings to the same level as those of men in equivalent positions would boost that country’s GDP by 2.8 percent.