Since entering the presidential race, Harris has made childcare a tenet of her campaign. Good. Childcare is critical for working parents. And it’s the critical economic infrastructure issue that everybody should be talking about more.
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Women-Led Convos at the DNC; Stacey Abrams and I Are Done With the Electoral College
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: We recap the DNC; take a closer look at the 2024 Gender Parity Index, specifically in Michigan; analyze the results of the Alaska ranked-choice voting primary election for Congress and last month’s Rwanda parliamentary elections; and advocate for the importance of integrating a gender lens into all areas of philanthropy.
‘The Future Is Here!’: America Is Finally Ready for a Woman President
Eight years ago, Hillary Clinton made history as the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party. A proud feminist, she embraced the trailblazing nature of her campaign, portraying it as a quest to break the “highest, hardest glass ceiling.” But winning the popular vote still didn’t enable her to shatter the glass. A greater equality, the dream of generations of women, remained just that—a dream. Another woman would have to make it come true.
This week, in what might have been the waning days of her second term, Clinton declared in a full-throated speech at the Democratic National Convention, that “the future is here.” It is Kamala Harris, she said, who can smash that centuries-old ceiling once and for all.
Supporting the Freedom to Read: The Ms. Q&A with Amanda Jones, Author of ‘That Librarian’
When Louisiana middle school librarian Amanda Jones spoke before the Livingston Parish Public Library board in July 2022, she knew some of her neighbors and friends would disagree with her anti-censorship and anti-book-ban testimony.
Nonetheless, Jones reported that she was blindsided by the well-organized campaign that followed her presentation and was shocked by the barrage of hateful comments that she’s received for more than two years. Among other things, Jones has been called a pedophile, pervert, pornographer and groomer, an experience she details in her newly-released memoir, That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America .
Trump Using AI Images of Taylor Swift Highlights a New Era of Election Disinformation
On Sunday, former President Donald Trump shared multiple fake images of mostly young, White blond women clutching iced coffees wearing “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts.
Swift had not endorsed Trump, but he declared “I accept!” in his post, implying that maybe she had. The message couldn’t be further from the truth, as the pop star made her support for the Biden-Harris campaign clear in 2020 and tweeted at Trump “We will vote you out in November.”
The Number One Movie in America Is a Safe Firearm Storage PSA
During its opening weekend in early August, It Ends With Us surpassed $80 million globally. Based on the book by Colleen Hoover, the film stars Blake Lively as flower shop owner Lily Bloom. Lily meets and marries charming neurosurgeon Dr. Ryle Kincaid played by director Justin Baldoni. The film follows their relationship from its passionate beginning to Ryle’s devastating physical abuse of Lily.
It’s natural to hate Ryle for the monster he unleashes on Lily, but it’s also important to remember that the 6-year-old boy who had to cope with killing his brother and best friend is also a victim. Unintentional shooting incidents—like the one that changed the trajectory of Ryle’s and Lily’s lives—are preventable if gun owners practice safe firearm storage.
Democratic Party Platform Centers Women’s Rights
At the DNC in Chicago, party leaders approved the 2024 Democratic party platform Monday evening, promising to protect and strengthen women’s rights. The 91-page document is a stark contrast to the Republican platform, which promises to continue the dismantling of women’s rights started during Donald Trump’s first term in office.
Here are some of the parts of the Democratic party platform focused on women’s rights—including restoring abortion access, protecting contraception access, and making the Equal Rights Amendment the law of the land.
How Does AI Shape Global Relationships? The Ms. Q&A with Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Elizabeth Allen
AI implicates fundamental human rights such as privacy and individual freedoms; environmental concerns and natural resource distribution; governance and civic engagement and healthcare service delivery.
Ms. sat down with former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Elizabeth M. Allen to discuss the perils and promise of AI, and how the U.S. government is leading efforts fostering innovation while minimizing harms.
America’s Largest IUD Has a Warning: ‘Stand Tall as a Barrier to the GOP’s Creepy Plans’
Freeda Womb, a 20-foot inflatable IUD, is on a mission to raise awareness about the threat to birth control rights in the U.S.
Touring the country, Freeda highlights how Republican politicians are blocking and vetoing bills that would protect access to contraception.
Iraqi Parliament Poised to Legalize Child Marriage: ‘It Steals Your Future’
Iraq’s Parliament is currently advancing an amendment to the country’s Personal Status Law that would shift governance of marriage from state courts to Iraqi religious authorities, posing dire threats to the human rights of girls and women. The new law would give legal recognition to marriages of girls as young as 9 years old and remove criminal punishments for men who marry young girls—thereby legally authorizing the rape and sexual abuse of girls by adult men.
“Girls belong in school and on the playground, not in a wedding dress,” said Sarah Sanbar, an Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch.