Women's issues are top of mind, with International Women's Day on March 8th and the the 57th Session the main focus of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women now underway in New York, with about 700 related events taking place March 4-15.

Kicking off CSW, UN Women executive director Michelle Bachelet today formally convened the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (follow on Twitter at #CSW57). The recent gang-rape and murder of a student in Delhi and the One Billion Rising campaign drew global attention, Bachelet notes: "2012 demonstrated that this [violence] is a terrible reality for many women every day. I'm an optimistic woman and I believe it's clear that we can't continue in the 21st century with this terrible violation of women's human rights."

More than 6,000 UN officials, NGO workers and women's rights activists are expected in New York to debate and create action around the issues, lobbying behind the efforts to counter the work of rightwing groups and countries such as Iran, Russia and the Holy See who are already calling for “removal of key lines of this year's draft document that relate to reproductive health and rights, and those that suggest governments take responsibility for tackling gender violence,” notes the Guardian.Continue reading...

“Word of mouth” may be considered the most powerful way to sell your product. But according to Toronto digital marketing consultant Sean Moffit, “word of mom” is even more potent, the Toronto Star reports. A 2010 survey by BlogHer and iVillage found that mom bloggers “are most likely to write about brands and … three-quarters of active online women rely on blogs for product information.”

Many moms started blogs in the weeks and months after their child is born in order to reach out during a time of life that can be difficult and lonely. Some, the Star reports, are finding it to have been an excellent business decision.Continue reading...