similalar are the two continens when it comes to social justice? are working conditions more or less comparable? what kind of jobobs do people , and what rights do they have? in our n n social justice series , "work k places," we vivisited eight asian and european countries and discovered that aside from all the differenc,, there arare acally many similaries. sociies, it ses, are rarely alone when it comes to the challenges they face. ♪ gayaththri: my day b begins at0 m. i get up, , make breakfast and luncfor later, wake up m my daugughter, bathe e her, and dr irir. ♪ gayathri: my companyny allows e to bring m my daughter i into k with me.e. that's really supportive, of course. reporter: gayathri lives with her husbanand and daughthter ie soutrn i indiastate e ofamil nadu, , and she has s an envie job. she's collected by a company shshuttle 7:3:30 a. she takes heher two-year-o-old daughthter along. the chilild spendsds the day ie company nunursery. gayathriri works at t kirloskar brothers, a a company thatat manufactures pumps at this site. it hires mechanics, a profession that e elsewhere is s dominatey men. but h here, since e ear 20, ey've been emtrend.g only across indndia, the numbmber of women inainful eloyment is rinking. back in 202005, arou a a thirdf indian w women legally able to work had a regular job. today, just over 23% of them do. in other words, almost four out of five indian women are now excluded from the labor market. the factory's manager is in charge of almost 300 women. she sees no reason to employ men. prereethi: th a are so muh dedidicated. ththwomen employees are so much dededicate andnd they are ----y have a a wonderful c crisis mananagement skillll. so what arare the solutitionsr what a are the problems they fa? they come e with the sololuti. anand just as a a manager, we t implement them. ♪ reporter: in iceland, it'sate morning when the winter susun finally emerges over the horizon, shedding at least a little daylight on the capital, reykjavik. but at this preschool in the district of laufasborg, they've been wide awake for hours. [children singing] reporter: 30 years ago, margrét palá ólafsdottir founded a private school initiative called "hjalli," which translates as "breaking taboos." and that's exactly what she did. her staff team is almost exclusively female, and the children are segregated along gender lines. today, "hjhjalli" in iceland has grown into a kind of movement. margret: i started the biggest company of its kind in iceland, running so many nurseries and schools just because i wanted to feel and experiment and create, and i have a lot of wonderful staff. ♪ reporter: it's often said that if you're a woman, iceland is the best place in the world to be. and there are, perhaps, historic reasons for this. in the olden days, viking men often took to the seas. that left the women behind to manage on their own. today, some 70% of icelandic women of legal age, 16 years and older, have jobs, and that's not a recent development. ♪ ♪ reporter: in india, equality often only exists on paper. that makes a company like kirloskar brothers extraordinary. they're creating the necessary framework for equality to exist, like a canteen with affordable meals and a company nursery. the children are even allowed to eat with their mothersrs at lunchtime. wages are also consistent with those paid to men whwork att other companies in the sector. lunchtim♪. >> since starting work here, i don't hahave any more e financil worries. i'm really happy to see my salalary going intnto my accot evermomonth. ♪ reporter: : a resear institutee has calculated that if india's women received the same job opportunities as men in the cocong years, , it couldpur gdp growth up to 18% by 2025. ♪ ♪ reporter: in iceland's hjalli hools, everyone is convinced that gender equality doesn't just happen on its own but that women need support. radical l approaches? why not? for example, most of the jobs in the schools are filled by women. whether teachers, managers, or accountants, of the schools' 500 staff,f, 90% are women. iceland's government is also throwing its weight behind the campaign for gender equality. by 2022, there are plans to oblige all companies to pay the same wages for the same work, whether it's done by a man or a woman. but what's it really like at hjalli, working with practically no men? jensina: when there are mostly women, they have to play all the roles. so we have to practice everything. so it's up to o us, and you ae put in a situation to decide, to develop. you have all the roles. so that's they key factor. you are in the situation. what do you do? we are practicing to be powerful in that way. reporter: being powerful, something that girls at hjalli are also supposed to learn. they're separated from the boys most of time. the idea is to prevent, or at least delay, the onset of gender-specific behavior. in specially developed exercises aimed at improving self-confidence, the girls cry out the words "i am strong." >> we practice all kinds of different exercises, and i feel really good when i am doing it. >> sometimes we jump from the window sill, sometimes from the tables or chairs. when i jump with my friends, it's really fun. margret: please, i want my girls to have the courage to raise their voice and say exactly what they mean, and when they are training to jump down and screaming, please do it also when you are a grown-up. scream if you have something important to say and dive in when needed. reporter: though it might seem like it, the hjajalli school approach isn't about keeping girls and boys apart. the aim is to prepare the children for a life in which equality is seen as the most natural thing in the world. ♪ host: and now, from close to the nortrth pole, we heaead south te equatotor, where in n kenyas capital, nairobi, a tenacious group of people find the best way to unwind after a long day is on ice. ♪ reporter: ice hockey at the equator. it's real, and it's right here, at this ice arena in a shopping center in the kenyan capital, nairobi. twice a week, about two dozen adrenaline junkies meet for hockey training at this arena, even though it's really too small for the sport. most of the players had never seseen an ice rink before they started here, except on tv. but now they're the "ice lions," and faith sihoho is one of the few women players on the team. faith: we live as a family, because we normally share the limited resources we have, and we only have this rink. there's no other rink, so even if you're angry at your partner, you still come back, and you have a talk, because it's only here that we have. reporter: the team is a cross-section of urban kenyan society. the young men and women come from a range of social and economic backgrounds, and different ethnic groups, but when they play hockey together, they're all on the same team. 22-year-old george gachara is the team's goalie, and he's fearless as he throws himself in front of the hard, high-speed puck. george: i decided to become a goalkeeper, because it suits my personality. and i'll be doing it for the rest of my life. ♪ reporter: george has to be pretty fearless outside the rink, too. he makes a living driving one of kenya's legendary "boda-bodas." they're motorcycle taxis that weave their way through the daily traffic chaos on the streets of nairobi. there are parallels with playing ice hockey and not just because of the helmet. ♪ george: it's a good job to keep your head above water. but there are a lot of downsides. the crazy traffic. the frequent accidents. reporter: george earns enough to afford a small apartment for himself. he'd prefer to be back in school, studying to become an engineer, and he dreams of starting a family. but making that leap is a financial challenge for many young kenyans like george. george: ice hockey is a great help. when i play hockey in the evening, i forget about all the challenges of the day and at work. it puts me in a better mood. ♪ reporter: and, of course, he rides to the ice arena on his boda-boda. at the same time, faith sihoho is on the bus, making her way to the rink, too. she also has to contend with nairobi'i's grididlocked roaoad. faith: yes, it's hard to commute from work, but for the love of the game, i normally have to do it, because if i miss going to play, i feel terrible. reporter: faith's used to wearing all the gear that hockey players need, but it's expensive equipment, and the team wouldn't be able to afford it if it weren't for the donors and sponsors drummed up by tim colby, a native of hockey-mad canada who lives in nairobi. tim's been in kenya for nine years, and he's married and settled in nairobi, but he couldn't live without hihis country's national sport, so he brought it with him and filled his suitcases with pads, pucks, and helmets when he came. he says it's worth it just to see the players' love for his favorite sport. tim: here, everyone's motivated, so people move up the learning curve so fast. you only have to teach somebody something once, and they're doing it next time and repeat it and repeat it. faith: my biggest dream about the kenyan ice lions team is to see them play olympics one day, in the near future, because we're still starting, so i hope our dreams will come true one day. reporter: and she follows the rest of her dreams with just as much determination. faith h already has a bachelors degree and is now doing an internsh with a a mpany in the financial sector at the samame time, she e has sp a small cocompany of herer own, making and selling healthy juice drinks. she says although kenya's economy is growing, good jobs are hard to come by. faith: f from my personal experience, i think it's difficult for graduates to get a jojob, because universrsitiese producing lots of graduates, and the job market is so limited to absorb all the graduates who are being produced by y the univerersities. reporter: faith hopes to be a role model for other young w won and girls in her country. faith: if i participate in hockey, if i do my business, i can also show the other girls that it's possible. ♪ reporter: kenyan ice hockey has its origins here, at a parking lot in downtown nairobi, which the authorities close off every sunday to make room for roller-bladers and roller hockey players. here, even the youngest generation can learn the basics of skating that they might go on to use on the ice. this is also where the team spirit was born, say many of the skaters here, who also play for the ice lions. and this is where it all started for faith, too. faith: the first day was a bit rough, when i was starting too roller-skate, because i used to fall a lot and get injuries that would last for one week until the pain goes. ♪ reporter: but now, she's got the skating bug. the team even organized the first-ever east african ice hockey tournament. the other teams are mainly made up of ex-pat canadian, american, and european enthusiasts. it's a fully-fledged tournament, complete with a trophy and referee. and what the fan-base lacks in numbers, it makes up for in enthusiasm. the lions put up a spirited fight and reach the final versus the usa. they're on level pegging for much of the game, but the lions have to settle for second place. george: the game has a future here. we played well, and if we keep it up and train even harder, we will go far. ♪ reporter: a world of opportunity is opening up for young kenyans, and what better way to pursue that than by bringing one of the north's most iconic sports here to the sun-baked equator? ♪ host: japan has one of the world's lowest birth rates. in 2018, a mere 7.4 babies were born for every 1000 citizens. the global average is around 18. for many years, japan's population has been declining. and it's also unevenly distributed. the number of people in urban centers is growing. in 2018, more e than 91% o f japanese people lived in cities. meanwhile, every seventh house in rural areas stands empty. reporter: yuji tanaka is busy cleaning. bugs might scare away potential purchasers of the property. yuji: this house would cost between 400,000 and 700,000 euros if it were in tokyo. reporter: except, it isn't. it's hours away in the provinces. that's why it's on the market for just one yen. yuji: somebody has to help sell properties like this that no realtor is interested in taking on. i'm not out to make money. i do it to help. reporter: we're going to visit the matsukubo family. yuji tanaka helped them buy a house in the country. its location is so remote, our sat nav gets confused. about 8.5 million houses are standing empty in rural regions of japanan. the popopulation is s shrinki. the matsukubos spendnd the weekn tokyo. the parents have office jobs there. the country house is a tranquil refuge for the weekends. yumiko: the decisive factor was the price. we aren't t wealthy, so i thout buyiying a housese for one yend then renovating it slowly would be a dream come true. reportrter: although with thre children and a dog, it's not always peaceful. still, it's different from the city, and friends like to visit. sawako: it's wonderful looking out at the landscape. i'm jealouous! it's a wonderful escape from everyday life. reporter: for the sellers, the house had become a burden. even standing empty, it costs them 300 euros a month. the matsukubos are installing a small kitchen in a lower story. yumiko: anyone can use a hammer. it isn't all that hard. hideaki: it doesn't have to be perfect. reporter: in some areas, the local authorities offer subsidies for renovations. here, in higashi-izu, the matsukubos are doing the work themselves. yumiko: i enjoy doing this kind of work. it's very relaxing. the ideal stress therapy. reporter: what's more, there's a fresh breeze and a beautiful view of the sea. yumiko: yesterday, i asked the kids to run me a bath, but i got so engrossed in my work that i forgot all about it. reporter: hideaki matsukubo is two stories further down in their hillside house, in the bath, which is fed with hot spring water pumped from deep in the rock. hideaki: when we get tired working on the house, we come hehere to enjoy the view and te a hot bath. reporter: 13 families were interested in acquiring this house, but the sellers and the matsukubos just hit it off. yuji tanaka doesn't make any money brokerering one-yen home. he usually sells luxury apartments in tokyo. he does this as a service, any mtrying to prevent villages in. the countryside from being abandoned. he gets about 30 inquiries a week. yuji: having a country house used to be a status symbol in japan. during the property boom, lots of weekend homes were built, but now, many are just standing empty, though they continue to cost their owners hundreds of euros a month. reporter: he tells us some owners can't afford to tear their houses down and just leave them to rot. yuji: there are more and more such cases. it's becoming a serious problem. ththere are fires and accident, and roofs get blown off by the wind. reporter: the one-yen homes can't solve rural japan's glutt of empty houses, but yuji tanaka is glad to do his part. ♪ host: now in "global ideas," we take a look at a creature, which, perhaps more than any other, i is a symbol of summe. the butterfly. butterflflies play a cruruciale inin the pollination of many plants. inin costa rica, the windd beauties are being bred on butterfly farms and flown to destinations around the world. ♪ jenny: butterflies are a symll of life and change. they are constantly transforming. from an egg to a larvae to a caterprplar, a chrhrysalis, ad then the butterfly. the butterfly stage is the shortest. in life, too, it can take time to fulfil your dreams. but it's worth it then to enjoy the fulfilment of those dreams. reporter: after suffering serious back problems, jenny viquez was no longer able to continue her office job. it was then that she discovered her love of butterflies, which opened up a new job opportunity. now she works 10 hours a day breeding the insects. she spends a lot of that time searching the leaves of plantss for butterfly eggs and caterpillars. jenny: it allows me to live in harmony with nature and help protect the environment. without plants and nature, there would be something missing in our lives. this work helps me to relax and gives me a sense of calm. reporter: she breeds 10 different species of butterfly, all of which are destined for export. not long ago, jenny viviquez ad her family moved to ththis fina in san ramón, right near the costa rican capital, san josé. she needed more space for the large number of plants on which her butterflies depend. jenny: each species of butterfly lays its eggs on a particular plant. these are known as "host" plants. then, they also need flowers with nectar or pollen. reporter: some 400 costa rican families n now earn theieir lig as butterflyly fmers. the countrtry is home toto sevl thousand spepecies of butttter. cocoa rica supports an enormous vavariety wilildlifand hahas e of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. the farmers work with companies that are specialized in export. they send out butterfly chrysalises all over the world. sergio: we want to know exactly where the buttererflies argoing and what they will be used for. we can't export them just for the sake of it. we need to know how they will be treated. that's the ethical standard we have in our company and that we pass on to the other exporters. the butterflies are ambassadors of beauty, of the nature of our country, so we have to be sure that they can fulfil this function at their intended destinations. reporter: this company alone sends out 30,000 chrysalises every week. they have 70 different species, all of which are transported by air. they mainly go to botanical gardens and butterfly sanctuaries in places like the united states and also europe and russia. the company is only able to offer so many species because it works with breeders all over costa rica. sergio: most of them are in areas where there are hardly any jobs or only jobs that are damaging to the environment. butterfly farming, on the other hand, is about protecting the environment. reporter: ricardo murillo, an entomologist from the university of costa rica, aims to promote environmentally-friendly jobs in rural areas. as part of his work, he advises butterfly farmers. ricardo: to breed these insects, you have to protect the forest. here, we have two hectctares f forest.. without it, we wouldn't be able to breed butterflies here. so maintaining the right environment is key. reporter: butterflies can only live in intact ecosystems. but this practice of breeding them commercially and exporting them all over the world has critics. butterfly farming involves removing plants s from the wil, for example. and when transported by plane, the insects are subject to physical jolts and changes in temperature. murillo says that's not such a problem. ricardo: butterflies can't feel pain. the insects don't have the neural receptors to do that. they do sense mechanical impulses but not pain as we know it. their nervous system is different. so it's not cruel. reporterer: he says it's's may wowomen who breeeed the buttere, men like these four sisters he . butterflflies are their r wor. they've chosen to specialize in two particulular species, the giant owl butterfly, which is as big as the palm of your hand, and the glasswing butterfly. together, the sisters earn around $800 a month. that's a good income here, in a rural community where many people have little school education. silvia: we wouldn't be able to find a job otherwise, not a well-paid one anyway. but here, as long as we work hard, we can earn well. and we're our own boss. reporter: about 50 yearsrs ag, costa rica began establishing national parks and reserves where biodiversity is specially protected. that's allowed butterfly farming to flourish here, in harmony with nature, and help preserve these amazing insects which embody the diversity and the vulnerability of costa rica's wildlife. ♪ host: that's all from us at "g"gbal 3000" this week. if youavave any mmenents o feedback, do drop us a line to global3000@dw.com. and don't forget, you can check us out on facebook, too. dw women. see you soon! [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ (dramatic orchestral music) - what's your problem? what's you solution? ththis is an i interview seris about making thehe world a better place. the trsisitiono clean, r renable energy is the easy part of the path towards reversing global warming. johan rockstrom is a scientist who pioneers the study of a safe operating spacace for humaninity. rorockstrom was the executive director of the stockholm resilience centre, and currently serves as the joint director of the potsdam i institute for r climate impapact reseae. welcome to kamp solutions. a lot of your work is focused on planetary boundaries, to create a safe operatingng space for humanity.