5 h. ago What could be putting young women off marriage? It really isn’t that much of a mystery | Naoise Dolan

Survey data suggests more and more girls can’t imagine getting married, while their male counterparts are keener. That disparity holds a clueAccording to recent data, marriages in England and Wales are down by nearly 9% after a post-pandemic spike, while civil partnerships have risen by almost the same percentage. This downward trend is also reflected in the US. The Vatican has piped up in defence of the institution, releasing a 40-page doctrinal note, Una Caro (One Flesh): In Praise of Monogamy: Doctrinal Note on the Value of Marriage as an Exclusive Union and Mutual Belonging. Sworn celibates would not be my personal first port of call when seeking relationship advice, but to each their own – exclusively and indissolubly, if the Catholic church is to be believed.Among the younger crowd, gendered expectations about marriage are changing, at least according to a survey by the University of Michigan, which found that only 61% of high-school girls want to be married one day, compared ...

Politics

23 h. ago Walsh takes lead role as England face new test in clash of continental champions

Wiegman has had to rejig defence and captaincy for a Wembley friendly with China that should pose new challenges for LionessesWhen England welcome China to a sold-out Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, it will mark the sixth meeting between two nations who have been on different trajectories in recent years. The marketing has focused on the clash of continental champions – England as the holders of the European Championship and China as the winners of the 2022 Asian Cup – but there has since been a change in fortunes between the two.The widening gap was evident the last time they met, at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, when England put six past the Steel Roses to progress to the last 16. It caught the eye not only because of the score but because of a bold tactical change from Sarina Wiegman – a switch from 4-3-3 to 3-5-2 – to deal with the absence of Keira Walsh. It kicked the Lionesses’ campaign into life and they made the final, while China exited, registering their worst finish ...

Politics

4 d. ago The problem creating the UK’s pension gap and why the Budget could make things worse

Research shows women have 42p put towards retirement for every £1 men save

Economics

9 d. ago Two thirds of women ‘put on too much or too little weight’ in pregnancy, study finds

Too much or too little weight gain could have an impact on the mother and baby

Politics

1 week ago Everything I wish I’d known before I decided to freeze my eggs at 36

More and more people are turning to egg freezing to increase their chances of becoming a parent. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering it – from the hidden costs to the chances of successWhen I first told my mother I was freezing my eggs, she asked: “So my grandchildren are going to be stored next to some Häagen-Dazs?” (Very funny, Mum.) I’m one of an increasing number of women in the UK who have chosen to put their eggs on ice in order to preserve their fertility, although this does – as discussed later – have clear limitations.According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK’s regulator for the fertility industry, there was a 170% increase in the number of egg freezing cycles between 2019 and 2023. The technology has been around since the 80s, but became more accessible in the 00s with vitrification, a flash-freezing technique. Now, celebrities such as Florence Pugh and Michaela Coel openly discuss their experiences of it, an...

Politics

2 w. ago Rangers vs Celtic Women LIVE as Wilkinson fluffs lines to put game beyond rivals

Elena Sadiku will look to push for top spot in the SWPL by seeing off Leanne Crichton's Gers

Politics

2 w. ago Feminist History for Every Day of the Year by Kate Mosse review – the women who helped change the world

The bestselling author champions female trailblazers in an enjoyable anthology for all agesWomen make up roughly 50% of the population but only feature in about 0.5% of recorded history. In Feminist History for Every Day of the Year, Kate Mosse, the bestselling author of Labyrinth, celebrates can-do women and gives history’s trailblazers their due. Aimed at teenage readers but just as enjoyable for adults, this anthology comprises bite-sized stories of female achievement and the centuries-old fight for equality. As Mosse notes in the introduction, it is about women “who refused to accept the limitations put on them, who campaigned and marched, battled and challenged the status quo to change the world for the better”.The book features a mixture of famous and lesser-known figures: artists, writers, scientists, academics, sportswomen, educators and politicians. There’s primatologist Dian Fossey; avant garde painter Amrita Sher-Gil; Britain’s first black headteacher Beryl Gilroy; Pakist...

Politics

3 w. ago John Swinney is risking his political career to put trans women in female prisons

A biological male who identifies as a woman has no place in a female prison, writes Susan Dalgety

Events

3 w. ago Two kids among civilians killed in huge Russian blitz on Ukraine as Putin targets power plants that keep families warm

TWO children were among civilians killed in a massive Russian blitz on Ukraine yesterday. It marked the start of a bid by tyrant Vladimir Putin to freeze the country into submission. The boys, aged 11 and 14, died in the Dnipropetrovsk region along with two women. It came as Putin targeted power plants needed to...

Events