All Perspectives
Monitor grapples with gender balance in sourcingWomen have a lot to say 鈥� across business, politics, economics, education 鈥� you name it. But are their voices always heard?
How to be a philanthropist while you鈥檙e on the jobA majority of employees say they want to work for an organization that encourages giving and volunteering. Here are five philanthropic options offered by corporate America.
Difference MakerIn a rough part of the US capital, an endeavor to unlock children鈥檚 potentialWashington can be a contrast between a center of power and needy neighborhoods. Robin Berkley is leading one group鈥檚 efforts to level the playing field for young people in one of these communities.
A legacy worth defendingThere is a discovery that was made in the 20th century that is often overlooked. It is the legacy of nonviolence left by Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela.
Readers RespondReaders write: History of China, Middle East players, feminizing of words, small feature, big impactLetters to the editor for the Aug. 13, 2018 weekly magazine.
Difference MakerThe man behind many enhancements enjoyed by visitors at Golden Gate parklandsNational parks wouldn鈥檛 be the same without the help of partner organizations. One of the most exemplary such groups is in the San Francisco Bay Area, led by Greg Moore.
From one book lover to many othersOur Monitor Facebook book group is utterly vibrant 鈥� enthusiastic readers sharing book tips with one another, asking and answering book questions of all kinds.聽
Readers RespondReaders write: China鈥檚 role in the world, insight into agriculture in the US, finding the Cartagena reef, covering new groundLetters to the editor for the Aug. 6, 2018 weekly magazine.
Points of ProgressMillennials are driving a re-sale clothing boomFor a cash-strapped generation that also cares about sustainability issues, taboos are disappearing around previously owned items.聽Online retailers and peer-to-peer marketplace apps are helping to drive a burgeoning market expected to double in size by 2022.
In Honduras, troubled youth trade gangs for sportsMany people's lives in Honduras changed for the better in 2011 through the founding of Skate Brothers, a nonprofit skating club that aims to help young people get out of gangs by providing a safe environment for them to practice skateboarding and other sports.聽
Points of Progress'Deck parks' restore community ties in neighborhoods divided by highwaysAcross the United States, some cities are聽building parks above the roadways in an effort聽to reconnect communities, often low-income neighborhoods, that had been splintered decades ago when new freeways were rammed through in the name of progress.
Readers RespondReader writes: The Monitor and musical historyA letter to the editor for the July 30, 2018 weekly magazine.
The marches that have shaped AmericaA wave of progressive movements, driven by decades of swelling unrest among women and minority groups, crested in 1968. It was a show of activism, both peaceful and violent, that the nation hasn鈥檛 seen since.聽At least, not until now.
Difference MakerOne woman鈥檚 plan to reform a bail system that disadvantages poor defendantsToo frequently, bail doesn't work the way it was intended. Robin Steinberg has launched an initiative that is drawing attention to this often-overlooked issue, with a plan to bail out 160,000 people in the US.
Points of ProgressIn Rwanda, agricultural reforms boost food security and slash povertyIn the nearly 25 years following its genocide, the East African nation has emerged as a leader in the Green Revolution that is lifting millions of people out of poverty by聽providing聽farmers with resources and training and allowing women to inherit land.
When the CEO lives around the cornerWhen I traveled to Wausau, Wis., where the unemployment rate is a full percentage point below the national rate, I admit a few preconceptions crept in.聽What I didn鈥檛 expect to find was the power that comes when the biggest employers are locally owned.
Readers RespondReaders write: Story behind a maple syrup bottle, Changing technology for research, Top book releases, Puerto Ricans after MariaLetters to the editor for the July 23, 2018 weekly magazine.
The poets who bring us something moreFrom literary prizes to at-work book clubs to poetry slams, Clevelanders are uniquely leveraging the written and spoken word as a tool for progress. To some, it offers a voice. To others, it offers a mirror for introspection.
Difference MakerWhy ancient farming practices have resurged in a storied part of Mexico CityLucio Usobiaga is the main person behind the resurgence. His efforts show how an area that has evolved from its beginnings can make a return 鈥� and do so in an innovative way that benefits a range of people.
Points of ProgressHow humpback whales made a global comebackAs international whaling ramped up around the turn of the 20th century so did efforts by governments, activists, and the public to stop the practice. By 2016, more than half of the species' 14 population segments were no longer considered endangered.
