Problem 1

Gender remains a key issue in workforce diversity throughout the world.Women now hold powerful positions in many companiesall over the world. However, the "gender gap is yet to be closed when it comes to salary issues, working conditions, and political power," (Rowntree, Lewis, Price, and Wyckoff, Diversity Amid Globalization, 3rd ed., Pearson, 2006,p. 121). "Women are as educated as men, but still only earn about80 cents for every dollar that men earn. Although the gap is shrinking, corporate America's'glass ceiling'still makes it extraordinary difficult for women to advance to top managerial positions and pay scales," (Rowntree, p. 121). In the United States, "men are three times more likely than women to be high wage earners ($75,000 or more). Even more daunting is the fact that women head the vast majority of poorer single-parent families in the United States; more than 40 percent of these women are unwed mothers," (Rowntree, p. 121).

Research one woman who has made a difference in worldeconomic, political, or culturalissues. Answer the following questions:

1. Who is this woman?

2. What country is she from?

3. How has she made a difference in economic, political, or cultural issues?

Directions:

1. Write at least 150 words describing the woman you researched in a word document.

2. Make sure to cite your source in your journal article.

Tip:

1. Check out these websites (and others) for more information:

Glass Ceiling Information

Glass Ceiling for Hispanics, African Americans and Asians

Problem 2

Find a unique or unusual custom from a different culturefrom one of the chapters we are studying this week. You have a lot of cultures to choose from with the many countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southwest Asia, and North Africa.

Directions:

1. Write at least 150 words describing the custom you researched in a Word Document.

2. Label your work "Week 2Assignment."

3. Make sure to cite your source(s) in your assignment.

Problem 3

Global Tragedy: Human Trafficking

An Electronic Journal of the U.S. Department of State Volume 8, Number 2, June 2003

In our 21st century world, where freedom and democracy are spreading to every continent, it is appalling and morally unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children are exploited, abused, and enslaved by peddlers in human misery.

Trafficking touches many countries across the globe, including my own. An estimated 800,000 to 900,000 people are trafficked every year. Nearly 20,000 of these victims enter the United States. The transnational character of this crime means that countries of origin, transit, and destination must work in partnership to prevent trafficking, protect its victims, and prosecute those who are responsible for trafficking.

Using force, fraud and corruption, coercion and other horrible means, traffickers prey on the powerless, the desperate, and the vulnerable. Girls as young as 5 are sold into prostitution; boys as young as 11 are being strong-armed into militias to serve as child soldiers or to perform forced labor for the combatants.

The United States stands prepared to help countries that demonstrate a determined commitment to strengthen their domestic capacities for combating trafficking. Working together, we can help the victims of trafficking escape bondage and allow them to live in dignity and freedom. Working in partnership, we can spare countless thousands the pain that others have suffered.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell

Adapted from his remarks upon the release of the 2003 Trafficking in Persons Reporton June 11, 2003.

Around the world, diverse organizations have joined governments in the campaign to eradicate human trafficking, working together to thwart criminal organizations that seek profit from enslavement. Whether in the courts, in the media, or in targeted local campaigns, law enforcement officers and human rights activists are finding ways to rescue victims from indentured servitude, forced prostitution, and child labor. At the same time, organizations and governments are conducting broad educational campaigns to prevent other innocents from falling prey to this 21st century form of slavery.

In this publication we highlight what these activists are doing to promote human potential and protect human dignity against the horrifying practice of human trafficking.

U.S. Department of State: Human Trafficking

How can you help? Check out these websites:

Locate an organization for the Prevention ofHuman Trafficking near you: Human Trafficking Meeting

A Web Resource for Combatting Human Trafficking: Human Trafficking Organization

Your Assignment

Research a country that has a significant human trafficking problem. Write 150 words about the human trafficking atrocities of that country in a Word document. Remember to cite your source(s)

Click on any of the countries in this website to reveal human trafficking statistics.

Problem 4