Madeleine Albright became the first woman on January 9, 1996 to go before a Senate Confirmation hearing to become U.S. Secretary of State. Secretary of State Warren Christopher introduced Albright by praising her as a “magnificent choice…master of the one-liner…[and]…Her contention that ‘at times Warren Christopher seems almost lifelike.’” Albright emphasized that her priorities included […]
Soon, a Japanese sport dominated by men for over 1,000 years will open up to women athletes. The sport is sumo wrestling, and women’s entrance is an indicator of the move Japanese women are making into many different facets of Japanese work life. Most recently, Naomi Sakuma, 23, became the first woman to make it […]
Maribeth Graybill, a former art history professor at the University of California at Berkeley, has received a settlement of $113,000 after being denied tenure, allegedly because of her gender. The U.S. Department of Justice pursued the case on her behalf. Assistant Attorney General Deval L. Patrick commented that the settlement, “paints a clear picture for […]
The Catalyst Group has announced that it has awarded Allstate and Avon its annual prizes given to companies which work on the advancement of women. Paul Allaire, a member of the Catalyst board and the CEO of Xerox Corp. commented, “To win the Catalyst Award is to lead the nation in taking advantage of the […]
Hearing arguments January 7, the U.S. Supreme Court concentrated most of its questioning in the United States vs. Laniersexual assault case on the “under the cover of law” aspect of the dispute. The question before the court is whether federal prosecutors can use a law which states that those working “under the cover of law” […]
The traditional role of women as the family’s backbone continues to dominate Russian society. Nonetheless, women are beginning to enter into the political and career-track doors as the country reshapes itself. Irina Khakamada, a rarity in that she is a female member of the Russian parliament and a political party leader, recently commented, “Politics is […]
A recent law enacted to curb the continuing spread of domestic violence has begun to affect police officers. The law makes it a crime for anyone convicted of domestic violence to carry a gun. Many officers who had been convicted of such a crime have been reassigned to desk positions which do not require the […]
In the past five years, Sports Illustrated’s women readership has increased by fifteen percent and now constitutes more than five million women. To meet the demand of the new readers and of a society which is increasingly interested in women’s athletics, Sports Illustrated will issue a female version of its popular sports magazine in April. […]
An official familiar with the case of the woman who says she was raped by Dallas Cowboys Michael Irvin and Erik Williams told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that she had bruises consistent with rape. The doctors who examined her found bruises on the woman’s back and thighs and found “vaginal bruising that’s not consistent with […]
The rate of abortions in the United States in 1994 was the lowest reported since 1976. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has tracked abortions since 1972, reported that in 1994 21 of every 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 had an abortion. In 1976 there were 312 abortions per 1,000 live births; […]
The Citadel’s interim president Clifton Poole announced on January 3 that the school would welcome a Congressional probe into allegations that female cadets were hazed. U.S. Representative Steve Buyer (R-IN) had raised the possibility of a Congressional probe after cadets Jeannie Mentavlos and Kim Messer reported being severely hazed by male cadets. The two women […]
A study released in the fall of 1996 has found that during the 1994 genocide which left more than 500,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda dead, attackers also raped hundreds of thousands of women. Some were impregnated, some infected with AIDS, and others were sexually mutilated. The Rwandan government and the International Criminal Tribunal […]
In December 1995, then-Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones granted clemency to nine women convicted of murdering their abusive husbands and to a tenth woman convicted of manslaughter in the death of her husband (See Related Story). The clemency allowed the women to be paroled before they had served half of their prison sentences; subsequently the ten […]
On January 3rd PBS will air, “The Abortion Pill”. This documentary reviews the history of RU486 and the fight to introduce it into the United States. It looks at both sides of the issue in the continuing debate on abortion and the use of RU486. The show provides interviews with medical doctors, the producers of […]
On January 7th, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in United States vs. Lanier and consider the constitutionality of using a Reconstruction-era federal statue for prosecuting state and local officials. The case involves Tennessee Judge David W. Lanier who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting five women who […]
A working group established in 1995 by the National Women’s Council of Ireland and funded by the Department of Justice has recommended eighty-four reforms to the Minster of Justice in dealing with violent crimes against women. Minister of Justice Mrs. Owen has pledged that some of the recommendations will go into effect immediately. Some of […]
A thirteen-year-old girl, suspended from a Pikeville, Kentucky school for wearing black lipstick, is back at school, sans lipstick, but is filing suit against the school. School officials suspended Karla Chapman on November 13th for wearing lipstick which caused a “distraction” to other students. She was suspended for three days and was then turned away […]
A new study conducted by the Population Reference Bureau has found that women have made slow progress toward achieving equity with men in the workplace. The study found that between 1970 and 1995 the share of women 25 to 54 who work outside the home climbed from 50 percent to 76 percent. Women have also […]
Two bombs were thrown inside of a Tulsa, Oklahoma abortion clinic on New Year’s Day. No staff or patients were injured because the clinic had been closed for the holiday; the clinic did sustain minor smoke and fire damage. Sherri Finik, director of the Reproductive Services Clinic said that the clinic has added motion sensors […]
A twenty-three year-old woman has accused Dallas Cowboy players Michael Irvin and Erik Williams of sexually assaulting her at Williams’ home in Dallas. The woman claims that Irvin held a gun to her head while Williams and another man raped her. Irvin is already on probation after pleading no contest to a cocaine possession charge.
