Editorial The gender lottery: maternal mortality in rich and poor nations Paula McGee PhD RN RNT MA BA Cert Ed Editor, Diversity in Health and Care; Professor of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Birmingham City University, Perry Barr, Birmingham, UK Mark RD Johnson MA PhD Cert HE (Warwick) Editor, Diversity in Health and Care; Professor of Diversity in Health and Social Care, Mary Seacole Research Centre, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK Welcome to the first issue of Volume 6. Readers will have noticed that we have made a slight alteration to our title, which is now Diversity in Health and Care. The small change in the title allows us to re-focus our commitment to the equitable provision of healthcare and services for members of a wider range of social groups and settings in all countries around the world. This will enable us to provide a platform for papers about diversity in a wider field that encompasses race, culture and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, mi- grants, carers, disabilities (including physical, com- munication and learning disabilities), spirituality and underserved or marginalised populations. We feel sure that our readers will welcome this broader scope and continue to support us. For those who wish to con- tribute, our recent call for papers invited articles about qualitative or quantitative research, or debates about health, care or educational issues relevant to those themes. We particularly welcome multi-professional perspectives, studies which highlight the views of service users and carers, and papers that explore the inter- national dimensions of diversity across and within cultures. Papers may take the form of: . research papers that address any aspect of diversity, including evaluative studies and methodological debates . practice papers that provide examples of culturally competent practice, or which address the practi- calities, policy or managerial aspects of delivering services to members of diverse groups . education papers that are concerned with improv- ing or evaluating education or training of health and care professionals to address diversity con- cerns, whether during initial training or as part of continuing professional development . debate papers that address key issues in diversity, or which focus on under-researched topics . knowledge-sharing reports, including reviews of books, websites, videos and other resources, and papers about specific initiatives to improve practice. Further information and guidelines for authors are available at www.radcliffe-oxford.com/journals/J18_ Diversity_in_Health_and_Social_Care Change is, naturally, a central theme in this first issue for 2009, and March is traditionally a month in which to think about women. International Women’s Day on 8 March commemorates the struggles of women in every society for human rights, civil liberties and equality in all aspects of life. Even in wealthy, devel- oped societies these struggles are far from over, but the situation has become less acute and it is easy to forget how life used to be. In the UK, within living memory, women fought for and won the right to vote (Equal Franchise Act 1928), the right to equal pay for equal work (Equal Pay Act 1970), the right to obtain a mort- gage to buy property and, in 1980, the right to obtain credit, allowing them to pay for goods in instalments, without a male guarantor (University and College Union, 2009). In 1981, two women successfully prosecuted a wine bar in London where staff refused to serve them because of their gender (Equal Opportunities Com- mission, 2000). As a result, in restaurants, women are now served the same size portions as men and can pay their own bills, and no waiter or barman can refuse to serve them or to accept their money on the grounds of their gender. It is now illegal to dismiss women because they have become pregnant, and women have gained the right to equal pay for equal work and admission to many previously men-only institutions and occupations (Equal Opportunities Commission, 2000). In many ways both women and men are better off as a result of these changes, but there is still much to be done as women of each new generation negotiate their rightful place in society and contribute their much needed skills. Diversity in Health and Care 2009;6:xxx–xxx # 2009 Radcliffe Publishing