Education

Girls Need to Say “Math Is for Me”

by Caryl Rivers and Rosalind Barnett · May 25, 2012 · no comments

Ideas about women not being “hardwired” to do math are falling like dominoes in the research area. But deep down, do girls and women really believe it? And will they take steps, as they grow, to make high-paying careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) a reality? New research finds that the answer may be no. Researcher Pascal Huguet of Aix-Marseille University in France found in 2009 that middle school girls did less well on a math test when told that boys generally did better in math ...Read More

Books

Minnie Bruce Pratt: The Poet as Working-Class Hero

by Mary Meriam · May 25, 2012 · no comments

National Poetry Month may be over, but it’s never too late to recognize a wonderful poet and her poems. On April 19, Minnie Bruce Pratt’s latest collection, Inside the Money Machine, won the 2011 Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry from The Publishing Triangle, whose annual Awards honor the best lesbian and gay nonfiction, poetry and fiction. Pratt has been writing poetry since the 1970s, and was a pioneer poetic spirit of the women’s and gay liberation movements. According to the Poetry Foundation, she is ...Read More

Law

12 More Lawsuits Attack Contraceptive Coverage; Still No Good Case

by Sarah Lipton-Lubet · May 25, 2012 · 6 comments

Every few weeks, opponents of birth control manage to garner some media attention by objecting–again–to the federal contraceptive coverage rule [as mandated by the Affordable Care Act], which ensures that millions of women will have affordable insurance coverage for contraception without extra out-of-pocket costs. But time after time, it’s just more of the same. This week, 12 new lawsuits were filed challenging the rule, more than doubling those already in play. The lawsuits have made a splash by virtue ...Read More

Reproductive Health

Without Planned Parenthood in Texas, Good Luck Finding Low-Cost Healthcare

by Andrea Grimes · May 24, 2012 · no comments

While the State of Texas battles in court for what it says is its right to exclude Planned Parenthood from participating in the Medicaid Women’s Health Program (WHP) there, the Texas Health and Human Services commission is sending mixed messages to the more than 50,000 women who currently rely on Planned Parenthood for their care through the WHP. Instead of waiting for the courts to decide whether Planned Parenthood, considered by the state of Texas to be an “abortion affiliate,” can participate ...Read More

National

Girls Need to Say “Math Is for Me”

by Caryl Rivers and Rosalind Barnett · May 25, 2012 · no comments

Internet + Tech

The Pinterest Problem

by Tara L. Conley · May 21, 2012 · 13 comments

Recently, Pinterest, the newest billion-dollar social network, has been overwhelmingly characterized by online journalists and bloggers as a women-centered social media platform. While there have been discussions, most notably by Johanna Blakely, which suggest that social media neutralizes gender when it comes to marketing demographics, some of us, like my friend Goddessjaz, still wonder if/how social media can function to ameliorate social and cultural problems stemming from sexism and gender stereotypes. As Pinterest’s ...Read More

Ms.cellany

HERvotes Blog Carnival: National Women’s Health Week

by Cindy Pearson · May 17, 2012 · no comments

For the 13th #HERvotesblog carnival, we’re celebrating National Women’s Health Week. The federal government launched National Women’s Health Week ten years ago in an effort to improve women’s health by building awareness about things like exercise, healthy eating ...Read More

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