WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. women have made big economic and educational gains in recent years, but they still trail men in terms of pay and participation in the workforce, according to a White House report released on Tuesday.

More women than men have a high school education, more have university degrees, and more have graduate degrees, but at all levels of education, women earn about 75 percent as much as their male counterparts, according to the White House report. Administration officials touted the document as the first comprehensive federal report on the status of American woman since 1963. They said it would broadly influence policy, although they offered no specific programs that would result from the report. ""When women make less than men for the same work, it impacts the families, who then find themselves with less income,"" Valerie Jarrett, who chairs the White House Council on Women and Girls, told a conference call with reporters.
@H= Ministry will review hijab ban on students
@T= (Bangkok Post) The Education Ministry will look into a ban on Muslim pupils at a school in Bangkok's Nong Chok district from wearing the hijab.
A group of 17 Muslim students at Wat Nongchok School last October sought permission to wear the hijab from their school director Prapan Lisin, who forwarded their petition to the Office of the Basic Education Commission board. The Obec turned down the request on the grounds that the school was located in Wat Nongchok temple's compound. The Muslim Group for Peace representing the students recently lodged a complaint with the House committee on religious affairs. The House panel last month asked the Sangha Supreme Council to consider the matter. The council decided to keep the ban, arguing that schools and state agencies located on temple compounds must follow temple rules and Buddhist customs.
@H=Rising status of women linked to more smoking
@T=LONDON (Reuters) - Millions of women in developing countries risk disease and early death in the coming decades as their rising economic and political status leads them to smoke more, researchers said on Tuesday.
An analysis in 74 countries found that men are five times more likely to smoke than women in countries with lower rates of female empowerment, such as China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uganda. In countries with relatively high female empowerment, such as Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden and the United States, this gap is small and women smoke almost as much as men do. Douglas Bettcher, director of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) tobacco free initiative, said the findings showed the need for authorities to act quickly to curb smoking rates among women, particularly in poorer countries.