Looking Back and Forging Ahead: Three Feminist Writers on Women’s History, Feminist Media and Intergenerational Engagement

Friends of Ms. gathered last month to discuss two extraordinary anthologies, Blackbirds Singing: Inspiring Black Women’s Speeches from the Civil War to the Twenty-First Century by Janet Deward Bell and 50 Years of Ms.: The Best of the Pathfinding Magazine That Ignited a Revolution. Both give voice to extraordinary women throughout history who fought to define and demand equality.

How the International Women’s Media Foundation Fights for Women in Journalism and Strengthens Press Freedom

Last year, 12 women journalists were murdered, and the number of women journalists imprisoned rose by 64 percent. By continuing to award courageous journalists, the International Women’s Media Foundation is making it known that the threat of violence against women reporters is ever-present. Still, it also is a testament to the unwavering spirit of women journalists globally. 

Over the next several months, Ms. and IWMF will collaborate monthly to highlight the works of these journalists, all of whom are nominees or winners of the Courage in Journalism award.

(This essay is part of the “Feminist Journalism is Essential to Democracy” project—Ms. magazine’s latest installment of Women & Democracy, presented in partnership with the International Women’s Media Foundation.)

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Women Lawmakers Urge “Immediate Ceasefire in Ukraine”; U.S. Women’s Soccer Scores in Equal Pay Lawsuit

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

This week: Women elected officials urge an “immediate ceasefire in Ukraine”; Women’s National Soccer team settled an equal pay lawsuit with the U.S. Soccer Federation; the “authority gap” between men and women; just 0.2 percent of elected positions are held by LGBTQ people

How Digital Media is Threatening Women’s Rights and Democracy

As feminist activists take advantage of the U.N. Women 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence globally and as the U.S. Department of State Summit for Democracy launches in the United States, we must recognize that women who challenge the status quo and speak out against injustice and inequality are facing an increasing amount of online abuse.

Gendered disinformation and online abuse against women in politics are not only a problem for the women who are targeted, but undermine women’s rights and democracy at large. 

We Heart: Comedian Carolyn Castiglia Welcomes Women Into Stand-Up Comedy

In the male-dominated field of stand-up comedy, it’s rare to find spaces that champion the development of female comics. That’s why we love Carolyn Castiglia: a performer, writer, producer, director and teacher committed to creating spaces where women thrive.

Castiglia gave Ms. 10 tips she tells her students to orient themselves in the space of comedy and develop their own point of view.