After 2,000 years of persecution, India's two million eunuchs are to be formally recognised as a third sex and listed as a "backward" caste entitled to reserved government jobs and university places.

New Zealand has a long and ignominious history of suspicion and hostility towards people of Asian descent.

Transgender model Amy Brosnahan has found hope in a pub beauty pageant - and she's not alone in being embraced by a more tolerant New Zealand.

The 21-year-old, born in England and now living in Wellington, said she once attended a support group for children of same-sex parents after moving to New Zealand. Her family was the only one there.

A transgender Auckland teen rewrote pageant history early this morning after earning a place in next month's final of the Battle of the Babes.

New Zealand's male-dominated business culture with its old-boy sports and education network is sabotaging the promotion of women, says exiting Summerset Group boss Norah Barlow.

An aspiring transgender model has vowed to take to the catwalk tomorrow night despite a row over whether she was eligible to enter a beauty contest.

The woman in charge of equal employment opportunities is set to "crack the whip" on government departments for failing to close the gender pay gap.

It's all part of Tony Abbott's vision of a new Liberal dawn. The Oz PM's conservative Government intends to dilute racial vilification laws to enshrine the right of Australians to be bigots.

Serving world leaders their lunch is a serious affair. No room for "blondes" or women in dresses then, it appears.

It's unlikely many of us lost much sleep at the thought of Fred Phelps slipping away, writes Jack Tame.

What I want to think about is how grateful I am to the refugees who come and settled in NZ and how angry I am at the disregard with which we treat them, writes Dr Avril Bell.

A company which sacked its general manager because he did not fit in with the company, even though he was a "nice person", has had to pay the man more than $36,000.

A cafe worker who had her pay cut when she was pregnant and was then not given regular shifts after having her baby has been awarded more than $13,000.

The campaign to promote self-esteem in young girls was started by Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.

Minutes before Mojo Mathers was due to give a speech last week, she began to worry.

The law is not always an ass but it can produce an absurdity. The decision to allow a failed job seeker access to his competitors' CVs is one of them.

Type 'Kiwi' or 'Maori' into Google's predictive search and some less than flattering suggestions come up, prompting a call for the internet giant to disable the feature.

A 62-year-old job seeker who is accusing an energy firm of age discrimination has won a legal battle to view the CVs of the people who beat him to the job.

A branch of one of Auckland's largest Indian restaurant chains has been seeking part-time wait staff - but said only "girls" could apply.

The southwestern state of Arizona has passed a law allowing businesses to refuse to serve gay people if homosexuality is against their religious beliefs.

A booklet aimed at addressing family violence in ethnic communities has been launched by the Government today.

Eight complaints have been lodged with the Human Rights Commission after a Wellington DJ suggested some Indian night-clubbers were "rapists" with bad dress sense.

Once upon a time, I was among the many women who bristled at the idea that there needed to be a certain number of women in politics, on management boards, or anywhere else, writes Dita De Boni.

Rod Emmerson's take on Vladimir Putin's law change.