SMALL CHANGE

A better bot

Women standing for public office often find themselves the target of online abuse and sexism. But during New Zealand’s general election, ParityBOT, a social media bot, sent out hundreds of positive tweets to counter every negative one levelled against over 260 female parliamentary candidates. The pre-written tweets had statements such as “great women like you are running to make NZ a better place”.

Happy hobbies

Brush off your knitting needles or scuba gear – a study by University College London suggests having a hobby can reduce, and maybe even prevent, depression. The English Longitudinal Study on Aging noted that having a hobby reduced the risk of developing depression by almost a third, while people with depression who took up a hobby had a 272% higher chance of recovery.

Keeping the peace

Get women round the table as part of peace talks, and the peace they agree is

64% more likely to hold. Research by the Council on Foreign Relations found that armistices are much stronger when women are included in the process, as they’re better able to collaborate across lines, are seen as honest, have access to critical information, and bring stability to post-conflict recovery and rebuilding.