On Thursday, Virginia lawmakers passed the Reproductive Health Protection Act (RHPA), a “commonsense bill intended to roll back politically-motivated restrictions on access to abortion that have no basis in patient health and safety and only serve to eliminate access to safe, legal abortion care and shut down health centers in Virginia.” Pro-choice lawmakers hope the […]
Native Women’s Art Featured in Exhibit at Smithsonian Art Gallery
While having largely gone unrecognized for their contributions, Native American women have been and continue to be a major force within the Native American art tradition. A new exhibit entitled Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists is attempting to close the gap. The exhibition will have its third opening in its national tour at […]
ACLU Sues Seven Texas Cities for Passing Extreme Anti-Abortion Ordinances
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against seven small Texas cities with local laws banning abortion. The cities call themselves “sanctuary cities for the unborn” and have passed laws that define abortion as murder, allow family members of abortion patients to sue providers for emotional distress, ban emergency contraception and birth […]
Two Anti-Abortion Bills Fail to Advance in Senate
A pair of anti-abortion bills failed to advance in the U.S. Senate this Tuesday. The two bills were largely seen as a rallying cry for social conservatives and a method of pressuring vulnerable Democrats. The two bills, S. 311 and S. 3275, sought to ban abortion after 20 weeks and require doctors to provide care […]
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Federal Reports Show Women Receiving Harsher Prison Punishments Than Men
A report released Wednesday shows that when compared to their male counterparts, incarcerated women receive disproportionately harsh punishments for violations of prison rules. The report, titled “Women in Prison: Seeking Justice Behind Bars”, was done by the United States Commission on Civil Rights. The report includes information from a yearlong investigation and public hearings. Chair […]
Argentinian Abortion Rights Activists Make Progress with New Bill
President Alberto Fernández is expected to put forward a bill to legalize abortion in Argentina when the legislative session opens on March 1. The bill would be a victory for the country’s abortion rights activists who began a grassroots movement in 2018 to push for a legalization bill. Fernández made abortion access a focus of […]
Women at the Forefront of Protests in India Over Citizenship Laws
Women are some of the most vehement opponents of two new laws in India that endanger the citizenship rights of groups such as Muslims, impoverished women, lower castes, and LGBTQ people. Enacted in December 2019, the Citizenship Amendment Act accelerates the process to obtain Indian citizenship for undocumented refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The […]
U.S. Women’s Soccer Players Seek More than $66 Million in Damages
Players on the U.S. women’s national team are seeking more than $66 million in damages in their gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation. The papers were filed this past Thursday at the Los Angeles U.S. District Court. The trial date for the lawsuit is set for May 5. Included within these papers […]
Federal Court Strikes Down “Fetal Heartbeat” Abortion Ban in Mississippi
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a Mississippi law that would ban abortions after a “fetal heartbeat,” is detected—as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. This standard contests Roe v. Wade’s national legalization of abortion prior to viability—usually around 24 weeks into pregnancy. Jackson Women’s Health Organization […]
Seattle Women’s March Set to Align with International Women’s Day
The majority of the annual Women’s Marches took place in January, but the Seattle Women’s March will happen on Sunday, March 8 which is International Women’s Day. March coordinators wanted to shift the focus of the event away from presidential issues and back to women’s issues. Originally the postponing of the march was reportedly because […]
Ruth Bader Ginsberg Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at DVF Awards
Ruth Bader Ginsberg, affectionately known to many as “The Notorious RBG”, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for “being a trailblazer, contributing to gender equality and supporting women’s issues” at Diane von Furstenberg’s awards ceremony Wednesday night. The DVF Awards were created in 2010 by von Furstenberg to honor extraordinary women who are making an […]
CEO of Victoria’s Secret Parent Company Steps Down after Epstein, Harassment Controversies
Leslie H. Wexner, 82-year-old chief executive of L Brands, is stepping down after widespread criticism of his connections to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and the toxic internal culture of lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret. Wexner’s resignation follows L Brands’ announcement that it will be selling a majority share of Victoria’s Secret to Sycamore Partners, a private […]
ELLE Magazine Fires Writer after Trump Rape Allegations
ELLE Magazine declined to renew writer E. Jean Carroll’s contract last December. This is an alleged result of the personal defamation from President Trump triggered by her allegations against his predatory actions in the 1990’s. Carroll was a veteran columnist at ELLE Magazine, she wrote advice columns for nearly 30 years at the company. She […]
Alabama Legislator Proposes Mandatory Vasectomy Bill in Response to Abortion Ban
Last Thursday, Democratic state representative from Alabama Rep. Rolanda Hollis proposed a new law in which all men are required to have a vasectomy once they reach the age of 50, or after they have their third child – whichever comes first. They would also be required to pay for this surgery on their own. […]
Fiscal Policies Can Increase Female Workforce Participation
Equitable workforce opportunities for women are beneficial to everyone, but research from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that female workforce participation still lags greatly behind that of men. Due to the stubborn persistence of gender gaps in wages and educational opportunities, the average female workforce participation rate is 20 percentage points behind the male […]
British Political Party’s Divide Deepens Over Transgender Inclusion
Last week multiple senior members of Britain’s Labour party endorsed a “trans equality manifesto” that supports more inclusive party values and claimed that anyone with transphobic views should be thrown out of the party. Backlash from this controversial charter comes with a call to produce evidence for transphobia allegations. The two women in the center […]
Scholars Debate Causes of Women’s Underrepresentation in STEM
Since the publication of a study by Psychological Science in 2018, the reasons as to why women make up a much smaller percentage than men in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields has been widely debated. According to the study, women are underrepresented in STEM, though according to performance records in these fields women […]
Women and Children Make Up Majority of 800,000 Syrians Forced to Flee
During a Syrian military campaign backed by the Russians aimed to clear opposition in northwest Syria, more than 800,000 Syrians have been forced to flee their homes. Most of these refugees are women and children. This mass removal of people will most likely continue to occur as entire towns and communities seek safety in areas […]
New Form of Birth Control Being Tested for Approval by FDA
Ovaprene, a new form of birth control, is being tested and would be the first barrier form of contraception to be released to the market since the internal condom in 2006. In recent years, most forms of contraception created are hormonal, including the birth control pill, the shot, the ring, and the patch. Hormonal forms […]
High School Girls Suing to Prohibit Transgender Athletes from School Sports
On Wednesday, three female high school athletes filed a federal lawsuit to block the participation of transgender students in girls’ sports. Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell, and Alanna Smith all of whom attend different high schools in Connecticut are being backed by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative nonprofit organization in their lawsuit against the athletic conference. […]