The Birmingham City School District has promised to end their single-sex classes at the end of the Spring 2013 semester after signing an official agreement last week with the Office for Civil Rights
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Afghan Police Accused of Violence Against Women
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission accused the police of violence against women in a recently released report, attributing close to 15 percent of honor killings and sexual assaults in the region to the police force. The report follows over two years of data collection by the commission, in which they documented 163 sexual assault […]
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50th Anniversary of Equal Pay Act
Fifty years ago today, in 1963, President John F. Kennedy, Jr. signed into law the Equal Pay Act, banning gender-based wage discrimination in the workplace. Yet on the anniversary of the historical legislation, women continue to face substantial pay inequity in the workforce.
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Immigration Bills in the Works in Congress
An immigration overhaul coming from a bipartisan coalition within the Senate now faces three weeks of debate on the floor. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) expects that it will come to a vote prior to the July 4 session break. If all 54 Democrats in the Senate vote for the bill, which is unlikely, […]
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Pussy Riot Documentary Premieres Tonight
The story of Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot will come to life tonight in the HBO documentary “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer.” It will air at 9 PM EST. Three Pussy Riot members were charged in August of 2012 with “hooliganism” and sentenced to two years in prison for a performance protesting Vladimir Putin’s […]
House Armed Services Committee Takes on Sexual Assault In Annual Military Spending Bill
The epidemic of sexual assault across the armed forces was also the subject of a nearly eight-hour hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this week.
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Scott Roeder Disciplined For In-Prison Comments
Scott Roeder, the anti-abortion extremist who murdered Dr. George Tiller in 2009, will be disciplined for threatening comments made against a clinic owner from prison. According to state officials, Roeder will spend 45 days in isolation for 23 hours a day. Roeder will only have one hour a day for exercise. In addition, he will […]
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OH Senate Passes Anti-Abortion State Budget
Thursday evening, the Ohio state Senate passed a $61.7 billion state budget that partially defunds Planned Parenthood and could close abortion clinics across the state. The Senate budget bill is scheduled to go to the House for a vote next week. The budget, passed by the Senate along party lines in a vote of 23 […]
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NY Governor Cuomo Officially Introduces Women’s Equality Act
“The Women’s Equality Act, which I will introduce today, is designed to address gender inequality in our communities, and to restore New York as a leader in women’s rights.”
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Gender is Obstacle for Female Corporate Board Members
According to a new study released by the Harvard Business Review, women who are members of corporate boards face significant barriers in their positions because of their gender.
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Over 400 Garment Workers Fall Ill in Bangladesh
Between 450 and 600 garment factory workers in Gazipur near Dhaka, Bangladesh, were sent to the hospital on Wednesday after they became sick from suspected water contamination. Workers at the Starlight Sweater company began to experience stomach cramps and vomiting two hours into their shifts on Wednesday. Once at various local hospitals, they were given […]
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Women Senators Form Bipartisan Front on Military Sexual Assault
Yesterday Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the epidemic of sexual assault in the military demonstrated the role of the record number of women in the Senate. The seven women Members of the Committee, five Democrats and two Republicans, were united yesterday as they asked hard questions of the all-male military leadership. Senator Claire McCaskill […]
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Nationwide Abortion Ban Advances in Committee
A bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks nationwide was approved by the House Judiciary Subcommittee yesterday. The bill, sponsored by Trent Franks (R-AZ), who is also the chair of the subcommittee, originally applied only to the District of Columbia and would have banned abortion at 20 weeks gestation with exceptions only to save […]
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Congresswoman Jackie Speier Criticizes Marine Response to Offensive Facebook Page
Yesterday, Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) issued a statement critical of the Marine Corp’s handling of her complaint regarding an offensive Facebook page posted by active-duty Marines threatening violence against women and the Congresswoman herself. The pages, which Speier reported to the Secretary of Defense in the beginning of May, featured degrading images and comments about […]
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Congressional Hearing on Military Sexual Assault Begins Today
Top Pentagon leaders will face scrutiny from members of Congress today as the first hearing on military sexual assault begins today. The hearing, hosted by the Senate Armed Services Committee, will feature testimony from victim-support organizations focused on the military and a wide variety of military officials and legal counsel on the issue. Many members […]
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Sound of Change Live Concert Highlights Women’s Rights Worldwide
On Saturday, the first Sound of Change Live concert highlighting women’s current struggles around the world was held in London, England. Featuring performances by big name artists such as Beyonce, Florence + The Machine, Jennifer Lopez, and John Legend, the Sound of Change Live charity concert shared stories of women who faced abuse, educational disparity, […]
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New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg Dies
New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg (D) passed away this morning due to complications from viral pneumonia. The Senator was 89 years-old and was the oldest currently serving member of the Senate. He holds the record for most votes cast by a Senator from New Jersey and cast his 9,000th vote in December 2011. Lautenberg served five […]
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Illinois Same-Sex Marriage Bill Fails To Get Vote
A bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state of Illinois failed to gather enough support to pass before the end of the legislative session. The law would have redefined marriage as the legal union of two people, not specifically a man and a woman. It would also have converted civil unions to marriages within a year’s time. […]
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Beatriz Will Undergo C-Section To Save Her Life
Beatriz, a woman from El Salvador who was denied a lifesaving abortion by the Supreme Court, will undergo a C-Section to end the pregnancy that is threatening her life. Last week, the Supreme Court of El Salvador denied Beatriz’s appeal to undergo an abortion to save her life. Despite suffering multiple severe medical conditions and […]
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New Study Shows Immigrants Pay More Into Medicare Than They Take Out
A study released by the Harvard Medical School on Wednesday shows that immigrants as whole pay more into Medicare than they use, effectively subsidizing the program. The study found that in 2009 alone, immigrants created a $13.8 billion surplus for Medicare. From 2002 to 2009, immigrants paid a total of $115 billion more to the […]