“Six months in and the success of the International Herald Tribune Female Factor series has led us to extend coverage with the launch today of a weekly Page Two column every Wednesday.

The opening story by Katrin Bennhold entitled Feminism of the Future Relies on Men looks at how important men have been, in both politics and business, in advancing women’s empowerment. Katrin’s previous articles on the surprising challenges German women face in combining career and motherhood (“A Tradition Falls, and Women Rise”) and legislation to give Swedish men equal rights in the home (In Sweden, Men Can Have It All) have greatly resonated with our readers around the world, reaching the #1 spot as the most emailed article across NYTimes.com.

Rotating between Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, the column is designed to broaden the discussion of where men and women stand in the early 21st century. Next week, Nilanjana Roy talks to four women from totally different backgrounds (sex worker, nun, to give the most extreme examples) who have written books and given a voice to women used to being voiceless, a face to women who in today’s India are usually invisible. The following Wednesday on July 7 we examine the dreams and disillusionments of a growing class in Egypt: working women.”

To follow the IHT’s Female Factor on Facebook, please click here