Japan: women hold record 3% of senior government posts
The latest government employment figures show women hold 3% of senior government roles – a record high for Japan but well behind other developed nations.
The government's aim is to increase this figure to around 5% by the end of fiscal 2015.
Women accounted for 287 of the 9,691 senior officials in central government ministries and agencies as of last October, up 28 from January 2013.
Namibia: prime minister lashes out at senior officials over inefficiency
The prime minister Hage Geingob has accused senior government officials, including permanent secretaries, of being too comfortable and urged them to leave if they are tired of public service.
He said officials had become "indifferent, uncaring, and outright inefficient". He also hinted that public service delivery should not be based on racial, ethnic or tribal lines.
Hong Kong: former civil servant writes of a city driven by fear
British-born Rachel Cartland, who started working in Hong Kong in 1972 as one of only two female expatriate civil servants, has written a book about her 32 years of public service.
Paper Tigress spans periods before and after the city gained independence from Britain.
She said: "The city today reminds me of Hong Kong in 1977 when the community was so tense because of corruption; it is yet again at a real crucial turning point in its history."
Zimbabwe: no money to pay agreed civil service pay rise
In the run-up to elections in July, president Robert Mugabe's government promised to nearly double civil servants' salaries, but state workers have now been told there is no money to fund the pay rises.
Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa said they cannot implement the raise for several months, and asked workers to accept backdated payments from January in April.
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