Today we celebrate Women’s Equality Day and the second day of the HERvotes blog carnival. In collaboration with many national women’s organizations, including Ms. publisher the Feminist Majority Foundation, we’re thrilled to be one of the hosts of HERvotes. The carnival’s goal is to call attention to the top ten historic gains for women currently under attack, in order to mobilize the power of American women voters in 2012. As Ms. Executive Editor Kathy Spillar wrote in our kick-off post, even as we commemorate historic victories for women’s voting rights, the struggle for equality is far from over:
August 26th marks the 91st anniversary of women’s suffrage in the U.S. Yes, many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived in a time when they weren’t allowed to vote. And for African Americans, the right to vote didn’t truly come into full effect until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
But now, armed with that right, it’s more important than ever for us to use it.
That’s why a new national coalition of women’s organizations, representing millions of women, has launched HERvotes: to remind women just what’s at stake in the coming year’s elections. If you’ve been reading Ms. magazine and the Ms. Blog, you’re certainly aware of Congressional attacks on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. And on a state level, reproductive rights are under siege, while jobs in which women predominate–and services which benefit women and their families–are being cut to the bone.
With so much at stake for women, the right to vote is more than something to celebrate, it’s something to exercise. In that spirit, check out all of the great posts from contributors nationwide on the issues that matter most to women. Share them with your networks to remind the women you care about to vote as if their lives depend on it. And follow the #HERvotes hashtag on Twitter to see what others are saying and join the conversation!
- Breastfeeding Backlash? Ashley Boyd, MomsRising.org
- Protecting the Rights of Pregnant Women, Vibhuti Mehra, Labor Project for Working Families
- Women Holding the Line, Ms. Foundation
- Preserving Medicaid for the Present and Future, Danielle Garrett, National Women’s Law Center
- Three Ways Not to Celebrate Women’s Equality Day, Gloria Feldt
- This Time, Vote Like You Mean It! Cindy Pearson, Raising Women’s Voices
- The time to mobilize women voters is now in preparation for 2012, Carla Reed, WIN
- Lending Programs Give Struggling Small Business a Helping Hand, John Arensmeyer, Small Business Majority
- Shop Healthy. Eat Healthy. Stay Healthy: Support Businesses Whose Workers Earn Paid Sick Days, Marianne Bellesorte, Pathways PA
- The Education Front of the War on Women, Melanie Ross-Levin, National Women’s Law Center
- Think You’re Covered? Think Again, Alicia Gay, ACLU
- Kelley Williams-Bolar: One Mother’s Struggle To Keep Her Family Secure, Dani McClain, Color of Change
- How Restrictions on Health Care Funding Affect Low-Income Women’s Access to Care, Amanda Dennis, Ibis Reproductive
- Your Genes, Your Rights, Sandra Park, ACLU
- “The Help” and the rights of domestic workers, Gayle Kirshenbaum, Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Association
- What revolution? Why haven’t women pushed harder for caring work to be valued?, Annie at PhD in Parenting
- Black Women Speak up! Tell Congress to Stay Out Of Our Wombs, Denene Millner, My Brown Baby
- Boost Social Security benefits to close women’s pay and caregiving gap, Aaron Keating, Economic Opportunity Institute
- A Woman’s Work on Economic Equality is Never Done, Kristin Maschka, Remodeling Motherhood
- Stop the War on Women: Elect Women, Sarah Burris, Emily’s List
- Commercialized Sexualization and the Choice to Opt Out, Susan Linn, Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood
- Would You Rather?: Health Care Edition, Taylor Brannan, National Women’s Law Center
- In Massachusetts, Health Reform is a Lifesaver, Amanda Dennis and Kelly Blanchard, Ibis Reproductive
- Super Committee, Don’t Leave Behind Older Women and Their Families, Maggie Flowers, Wider Opportunities for Women
- Breastfeeding as a Health Policy Issue is a Win-Win, Karen Farley, RN, IBCLC, California WIC Association
- Economic Policy: It’s Personal, Nancy Wilberg, National Council of La Raza
- Brooklyn Grandmother Takes a Stand, Monifa Bandele, MomsRising.org
- Military Women Deserve Equal Medical Care, ACLU
- Unfinished Business: Let’s Get Busy, Melanie Campbell, The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
- Friends Don’t Let Friends Stay Home on Election Day. Especially girlfriends., WIN
- Continuing and Sustained Attacks on Roe v. Wade, Stephanie Drahan, National Women’s Law Center
- Affordable Care Act Preventive Services are Good News for Women and Children, Jennifer Mezey of National Women’s Law Center for the Georgetown Center for Children and Families
- New Threats to Women’s Economic Security from the Super-Committee, Katherine Gallagher Robbins, National Women’s Law Center
- Equal Pay for Moms Now, Denene Millner, My Brown Baby
- Have You Had Enough? I Know I Have!, Kathleen Scully, Pathways PA
- Mark Women’s Health Equality Day by Joining HerVotes!, Lois Uttley, Raising Women’s Voices
- Creating a Safe Space in the Most Obvious Place: At Home, Alicia Gay, ACLU
- Woman Battles Insurance Companies to Get Her IUD Removed, Alicia T., care2.com
- Discrimination Against Pregnant Women and New Mothers Is Not a Work-Life Balance Issue, Dina Bakst, A Better Balance
- Ladies, Get Your Vote On, Colleen Eliza, WIN
- Lesson Learned From Elders: Don’t Mess With A Good Thing, Meika Loe, Ms. Magazine Blog
- Vote Like Your Life Depends on It. Because It Does, Kathy Spillar, Ms. Magazine Blog
- Fox News’ Megyn Kelly Gets It Right: ‘The United States is in the Dark Ages When it Comes to Maternity Leave, Pat Garofalo, Think Progress
- Chart: Women Have to Have a PhD to Make as Much as Men with a B.A., Kay Steiger, Think Progress
- Despite Saying She ‘Believes In The Vitality Of The Family,’ Bachmann Voted Against Extending Parental Leave Benefits, Think Progress
- HERvotes & Your Voice: Grips Around My Neck Edition, Jillian J. Foster, WIN
- HERvotes: Defending Historic Gains for Women’s Health, Raising Women’s Voices
- HERVotes: Why Women Must Vote in 2012, Eleanor Smeal, Ms. Magazine
- Women’s Groups Join Forces to Protect Health and Economic Rights, Ashley Horne, National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO)
- Denial Ain’t Just A River In Egypt: How Cairo Brought Out My Inner and Outer Feminist, Becky Mezzanote, NCWO
- As A Young Woman, I Need Healthcare!, Kendra McCormick, NCWO
- Candidates Should Put the Majority–Women–Back in the Debate, Martha Burk, NCWO
- Exclusive: Justice According to Jack Welch, Ellen Bravo, Women’s Media Center
- Women’s Vote in 2012 Key to Ending Attacks on Economic and Reproductive Rights, Terry O’Neil, NOW
- How We’re Celebrating Women’s Equality Day, Joan Entmacher, NWLC
- Women’s Equality Day 2011: The Start of Something Big, Linda Hallman, AAUW
- Women Missing Out on High-Paying STEM Jobs, Rebecca Lefton, Science Progress
- Debt Negotiations Threaten the Nation’s Future, Linda Meric, 9to5
- Paycheck Fairness for Women Now!, Linda Meric, 9to5
- 9to5 Day of Action in Support of Paid Sick Days, Beth Miller, 9to5
- HER Agenda is Our Agenda, Nancy K. Kaufman, National Coalition of Jewish Women (NCJW)
- The Violence Against Women Act Saves Money- And Lives, Holly Derr, Ms. Magazine
- Stop the Cuts, Invest in Women; Our Futures Depend On It, Carol King, Ms. Magazine
- Woman #451: Imagining the U.S. Without Legal Abortion, Susan Rubin, Ms. Magazine
- Scapegoating Black Women in a Recession, Janell Hobson, Ms. Magazine
- Work-Life Balance? Forget It, Says Bloomberg Case Judge, Nanette Fondas, MomsRising
- Life Without Title IX, Michele Kort, Ms. Magazine
- After Cuts to Autistic Caretaking Programs, Women Will Pick Up Slack, Sara Yasin, Ms. Magazine
- New ID Laws Threaten Women’s Right to Vote, Annie Shields, Ms. Magazine
- Women’s Equality Day: What the Heck Do I Tell My Daughter?, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, MomsRising.org
- From Fighting for Her Vote to Fighting With HERvotes, Maryanne Tomazic, Raising Women’s Voices
- On Women’s Equality Day…, Shark-Fu, Angry Black Bitch
- Celebrate preventive health care guidelines, Sara Finger, Wisconsin Raising Women’s Voices
- Domestic Workers Struggle Now Like Women in “The Help”, Rebecca Smith and Jill Shenker, National Domestic Workers Alliance
- Beyond suffrage: How far have women come since?, Eve Weinbaum and Rachel Roth
- Keeping the Dream of Full Equality Alive, Debra Ness, National Partnership for Women and Families
- Building the Flood Tide for Equal Pay in Honor of Women’s Equality Day, Valerie Vilott, National Women’s Law Center
