May 19, 2017:  At the May 18 meeting of European Union defense ministers all five of the bloc's biggest economies (minus the U.K.) were represented by women. The five women at the table included Germany's Ursula von der Leyen, France's Sylvie Goulard, Italy's Roberta Pinotti, Spain's Maria Dolores de Cospedal and the Netherlands Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. In 2015, Tiffany Barnes of the University of Kentucky and Diana O'Brien of Indiana University studied the practice of appointing female defense ministers and came to the conclusion that though the total share of female politicians and top executives in a country predicts the emergence of a woman defense chief, there's more to the phenomenon than greater equality. Read more:  Why Europe Puts Women in Top Defense Roles (Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com) In related news:  Europe's Defence Minister Roles Become Female Stronghold (The Guardian, www.theguardian.com