Improvement in health remains a challenge for all. However, the problem is more acute for women. There is a disparity between women and men in their ability to gain access to health care appropriate to them. Furthermore, the low status of women in less developed countries has been identified as a major obstacle to development. If women are to gain better access to health services they must be given the opportunity to work in partnership with men at all levels of the health sector, including the highest levels of policy-making. Together they must ensure that women's specific needs are...

The Commonwealth is far from achieving gender equality when it comes to women in political decision-making roles. Although Commonwealth Africa has some of the best-performing countries in this context, on average women's representation is still only 23.3 per cent. Elections are a critical process through which political leadership can be accessed. However, for gender inclusiveness to become a reality, it is necessary to specifically address the hurdles to women's participation in all three stages of the electoral cycle, the pre-electoral, electoral and the post-electoral periods. A...

Major data limitations arise within the realm of assessing services trade restrictiveness measures among Commonwealth countries, many of which overwhelmingly depend on this sector for growth and jobs. Quantifying the Barriers to Services Trade in the Commonwealth focuses on addressing policy barriers within services sectors in Kenya and Rwanda, including commercial banking, distribution and road transportation, which are key enablers of trade. Our findings suggest many policy barriers are crosscutting issues, rather than sector specific. Moreover, there is a degree of regulatory...