Japan is a case in point, where only about 1.5% of board members at top companies are women.

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It also highlights that this case is only one of many, with at least 1, 500 lives lost last year as migrant boats tried to cross the Mediterranean.

CNN: Report: NATO shares blame over Libya migrant boat deaths

In September Moody's, a credit-rating agency, estimated that the case-by-case approach had barely made a dent in the problem, with only 1% of adjustable-rate subprime loans recast.

ECONOMIST: Mortgage restructuring