by Carrie N. Baker for Ms. Magazine In an opinion issued on Wednesday, Jan. 26, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) helped clear the way for the Equal Rights Amendment, according to leading ERA advocates. In January of 2020, under Trump, the OLC issued an opinion arguing that Congress had no power to remove a […]
Texas’s Six-Week Ban Has Been In Effect for Over Two Months. Is There an End in Sight?
by Roxy Szal for Ms. magazine With a lack of Supreme Court action to block the most restrictive abortion ban in history, Texas abortion advocates are looking to a district court for relief. On Wednesday, a state district judge heard arguments from abortion providers and advocates to block enforcement of Texas Senate Bill 8, the most […]
15,000 ERA Supporters Urge Sen. Kyrsten Sinema to End the Filibuster
This piece was written by Aviva Dove-Viebahn for Ms. magazine. In the sweltering heat of a midday desert sun, a delegation of women’s rights activists and leaders gathered in front of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s Phoenix field office. Their goal? To deliver thousands of letters, postcards and petitions from Arizona and across the country imploring the senator to align […]
Half of U.S. States are Leaving Women Workers Behind
This piece originally appeared on Ms. Magazine’s digital site After a year that has put parents—especially women—through unimaginable strain as they’ve struggled to keep a roof over their families’ heads and care for their children, Republican governors in 24 states now want to rip out the rug from under them by ending state participation in federal pandemic unemployment programs. These […]
$200 Million of American Rescue Plan Will Support Domestic Violence Survivors and Their Children
This piece originally appeared on Ms. Magazine’s digital site During the pandemic, domestic violence in the U.S. rose by more than 8.1 percent, according to the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice—and this number is still increasing. Economic hardships, including unemployment, financial and food insecurity, burdens from child care and homeschooling, have exacerbated the triggers […]
Katherine Clark Introduces Reproductive Rights Are Human Rights Act
This piece originally appeared on Ms. Magazine’s digital site On Wednesday, Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced the Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act to direct the State Department to permanently include reviews on the status of sexual and reproductive rights in its annual human rights reports. The […]
“The Hill We Climb”: Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman Makes Her Mark
Millions of Americans were inspired by Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony, at which the first Black, Asian and female vice president took her oath of office. But perhaps equally moving was the contribution of 22-year-old Amanda Gorman, the youngest poet to ever speak at a presidential inauguration—demonstrating the strength of a new generation at this crucial turning point in […]
Dr. Rochelle Walensky Appointed CDC Director
In a series of nominations for health leaders in his administration, President-Elect Joe Biden tapped Dr. Rochelle Walensky to head up the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as director. “I never anticipated I would take on a role helping lead our national response, and government service was never part of my plan. But every doctor knows that when […]
Rep. Marcia Fudge to Head Housing and Urban Development: “We Will Help People Believe Once Again”
In a recent series of nominations, President-Elect Joe Biden chose Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to join his Cabinet as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. She will be the second Black woman to hold the position, and first in the past 40 years. “When I think about the enormity of the task ahead of us, I am reminded of […]
As Kamala Harris Becomes Vice President, Feminists Urge Gov. Newsom to #AppointABlackWoman in Her Place
“Our representative democracy is supposed to represent us,” urges a joint letter—part of a recent push from a coalition of notable feminists to convince California Gov. Gavin Newsom to replace Vice President-Elect Harris’s Senate seat with another Black woman. Presently, the number of Black women in the Senate totals just one—Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. And […]
Ms. in the Classroom Introduces Two Exciting New Digital Readers
This week, at the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) 2015 Annual Conference, Ms. in the Classroom, a college curriculum based on Ms. magazine, will introduce two innovative new digital readers. The readers compile the best of Ms. magazine and the Ms. Blog into easily accessible online textbooks for the 21st century feminist classroom. Designed to engage digital-savvy […]
FMF President Eleanor Smeal Inducted into National Women’s Hall of Fame
Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame this weekend for her many achievements and contributions to the United States women’s movement.
Ms. Magazine Asks: Where Are The Women Police in Ferguson?
A lack of racial diversity is not the only factor that can feed police brutality against people of color; a lack of gender diversity can also create police forces in which officers aren’t treating the communities they serve with the proper procedure and respect.
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Excerpts from Gloria Steinem’s Speech as Ms. Turns 40
An inspiring keynote (view video) at the National Press Club in celebration of Ms. turning 40,focused not only on how far the feminist movement has come, but also where the feminist movement needs to go in the future. Brief excerpts of her remarks are as follows. On current challenges facing the feminist movement: “I was […]
The Women of “Women, War and Peace”
By Michele Kort The remarkable five-part PBS series Women, War and Peace concludes on tonight (Tuesday, November 8th) with War Redefined, the capstone piece that brings together the issues brought up in the previous films about conflicts in Afghanistan, Colombia, Liberia and Bosnia. Narrated by Geena Davis, the film touches on, among other things, […]
The Real Story of Margaret Sanger
By Ellen Chesler Birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger is back in the news this week thanks to GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, who claimed on national television that Planned Parenthood, the visionary global movement she founded nearly a century ago, is really about one thing only: “preventing black babies from being born.” Cain’s outrageous and […]
Boehner Bias?
On Wednesday, Nancy Pelosi handed over the speaker’s gavel to John Boehner, who is charged with leading the “Tea Party Congress” in their efforts to repeal health care reform, disband the Select Committee on Global Warming, defund Planned Parenthood and do a bunch of other things that people who have never held elected office think […]