Advocates Beat 91 Percent of Last Year’s Anti-LGBTQ Bills. How?

While the trans community still faces unprecedented legislative attacks, with 49 bills passing into law in 2024, there are key strategies that activists are using to fight back.

On March 6, Montana State Representatives Zooey Zephyr and SJ Howell stood up to speak against two of the 527 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in U.S. state legislatures this year. One bill would ban drag performances and pride marches as “hypersexualized shows,” and the other would require “the emergency removal of a child who is transitioning gender with the support of a parent” by state Child Protective Services.

One Mom, Two Kids, and a Chronically Ill Husband: The Hidden Burden of Multigenerational Caregivers

Lizzie, a 34-year-old mom who cares for her husband with long COVID, is emblematic of how the classic sandwich generation has evolved for our generation into the multigenerational caregiver—caring for multiple family members of, you guessed it, different generations; in Lizzie’s case, her husband and children. Since COVID, in particular, the age of multigenerational caregivers has become younger as more of us take on care of an affected spouse (or sibling).

Nice Girls Don’t Talk Trash: The Double Standards Still Holding Back Women in Sports

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For over a century, women athletes have battled double standards that question their toughness, competitiveness and right to take up space. From early fears that competition would ruin their femininity to modern-day outrage over trash talk and physical play, the message has remained: Be strong, but not too strong. While stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have shattered records and stereotypes, lingering biases continue to limit how women—especially women of color—are allowed to perform, both on and off the court.

The fight for full inclusion in sports isn’t over; it’s simply entered a new chapter.

DOJ Attempts to Silence Fired Attorney Liz Oyer for Refusing to Reinstate Gun Rights of Convicted Abuser Mel Gibson

Fired for refusing to restore gun rights to a convicted abuser, Liz Oyer is now speaking out against what she calls a dangerous pattern of political favoritism and intimidation inside the Department of Justice.

If the Justice Department can use armed forces to intimidate former employees fighting against corruption and domestic violence, is there truly still free speech in the U.S.?

This Week in Women’s Representation: Women Shoppers Face Double Burden of Pink Tax and Tariffs; Happy Birthday, Dolores Huerta!

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Women worldwide have made giant strides in the 21st century toward parity, but that progress is stalling and, in some cases, being reversed; Virginia’s 2025 gubernatorial elections will likely result in the state’s first woman governor; the ‘pink tax,’ combined with new Trump tariffs, will without a doubt exacerbate income inequality and economic hardship experienced by women; and more.

Have You No Decency?

“Have you no sense of decency, sir?” The iconic query—best known for the public takedown of U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his fearmongering campaign and persecution of Americans with supposed ties to communism and other “transgressions”—is making a comeback.

With renewed relevance and urgency, U.S. Rep. Bill Keating invoked the line a few weeks ago as a rebuke of fellow House member U.S. Rep. Keith Self whose boorish behavior at a committee hearing included deliberately, cruelly misgendering Congressional colleague U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride.

But the appeal took on technicolor form last weekend, thanks to the vision and handiwork of award-winning graphic designer Bonnie Siegler. Her Hands Off! protest signage is serious, next-level art: capturing the political moment and long litany of transgressions by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and so many of their cronies and capitulators.

A Historic Win in Wisconsin: What Susan Crawford’s Victory Signals

In a record-breaking election, Wisconsin voters elected liberal judge Susan Crawford to the state Supreme Court, defeating right-wing candidate Brad Schimel in what became the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history. With over $100 million spent, the race became a referendum not just on abortion rights and union protections, but on billionaires like Elon Musk attempting to buy political power. 

Crawford’s win is more than just a victory for Democrats. It is a rebuke of President Trump, aggressive masculinity and right-wing efforts to strip away reproductive freedom. It also marks a turning point in organizing, as voters turned out in force to defend their rights and shape the future of the court.

Cutting the Workforce at HHS Undermines the Social Safety Net. Families and Kids Will Suffer the Most.

The Administration for Children and Families plays a quiet but crucial role in upholding the American social safety net—administering billions in federal funds to programs that support children, families, and vulnerable communities. But devastating cuts to ACF staff and offices threaten to unravel this lifeline, with immediate consequences already surfacing.

Without experienced civil servants to oversee grants, answer questions and approve disbursements, the very programs meant to catch people in crisis are being pushed to the brink. And in the long term, it’s families and kids who will pay the highest price.

Ms. Global: Canada Scraps Gender Equality Minister, Brazil Celebrates Trans Rights at Carnival, And More 

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The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to health care. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’s most intractable problems. As the world continues to reel from Trump’s haphazard tariffs—for which women, families and everyday citizens will pay the price—Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.

This week: news from the U.K., Brazil, Canada, and more.