Money & Jobs

Rest in Power: Lilly Ledbetter, Trailblazing Icon for Women’s Equal Pay

Lilly Ledbetter, an equal pay activist whose legal fight against her employer led to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, died this weekend. She was 86. 

“One of the next steps in reaching pay equity is the Paycheck Fairness Act—a bill that would amend the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to give workers stronger enforcement tools and remedies to help close the pay gap between men and women once and for all,” wrote Ledbetter in an op-ed for Ms. in January. “But things have been frustratingly stagnant in Congress.”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Politics, Patriarchy, Profits and the Presidency

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, representing Texas’ 30th Congressional District, has become a breakout star in the Democratic Party, effectively keeping politicians and pundits three times her age in check using clapbacks, one-liners—and facts. 

I was one of the first creators in history invited to the Democratic National Convention this fall. There, I spoke to Crockett, where she delivered an energetic, standout 10-minute speech. (“Will a vindictive vile villain violate voters’ vision for a better America or not?” she asked the crowd. “I hear alliteration is back in style.”) She shared her advice for young entrepreneurs, her fight for reproductive justice in Texas, and what it means for a woman of color to be nominated for president of the United States.

Keeping Score: Childcare Costs Top Pre-Pandemic Levels; Sharp Rise in Texas Maternal Mortality; Oct. 3 Marks Latina Equal Pay Day

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: a Georgia judge strikes down the state’s six-week abortion ban; JD Vance and Tim Walz debate; childcare costs rise after pandemic-era grants expire; Senate Republicans again block IVF protections; school superintendants are overwhelmingly male; Kentucky governor bans conversion therapy; nonbinary adults face violence and discrimination at work; Aisha Nyandoro, founding CEO of Springboard to Opportunities, is on the TIME 100 Next list; University of Pennsylvania professor Dorothy Roberts (host of the Ms. podcast Torn Apart) has won a prestigious MacArthur Foundation “genius” award; and more.

War on Women Report: More Women Die From Abortion Bans; Senate Republicans Block IVF Bill; Texas AG Sues Biden Over Teen Birth Control Access

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U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report… Former Rochester police officer Shawn Jordan, convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl, was sentenced to just 10 weekends in jail; at least 11 states will ask voters to weigh in on abortion and reproductive healthcare access by way of ballot measures; a scarcity of research on tampon safety reveals a lack of women’s health prioritization in medicine and law; Taysha Wilkinson-Sobieski, a 26-year-old woman in Indiana, died in October 2023 after being unable to access timely care for her ectopic pregnancy; the gender pay gap has widened significantly for the first time in 20 years; and more.

Abortion *Is* an Economic Issue. Pundits, Please Take Note.

Why is it that pundit after pundit has argued that the economy will be the dominant issue this election? In doing so, they are ignoring the fact that abortion is an economic issue for women and their families.

How many times do we have to remind them about the impact of having a child on parents’ earning abilities, and the economic harm to women who do not have paid pregnancy/family or medical leave? Not to mention the cost of raising a child—which can go well over a quarter of a million dollars, between food, medical expenses, clothing, and education. 

The Surgeon General Says Parents Are Stressed. Here’s What Single Moms Need for Our Mental Health.

Parenting is stressful—so stressful, in fact, that earlier this month Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an official advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents.

Single parents represent 30 percent of households in the United States—and 4 out of 5 of these single parents are single moms, who tend to be more stressed, lonelier and feel less supported than other parents.

Pay Women Athletes the Compensation They’re Due

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The fight for gender equality in sports remains a long, arduous journey.

The retroactive NIL (name, image and likeness) payments for former and current athletes included in the pending NCAA legal settlement would represent a new chapter in this battle by offering female athletes a chance to finally be compensated for their contributions to their sports and the universities they represented. 

Keeping Score: Liz Cheney Calls Trump and Vance ‘Misogynistic Pigs’; Women Break Barriers at Paralympics and Emmys; Taylor Swift Endorses Harris

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose admits anti-abortion groups helped him write abortion rights ballot language; Kamala Harris and Donald Trump spar over abortion, Project 2025 and immigration at the presidential debate; Paralympics athletes and Emmy winners break records; Taylor Swift endorses Harris and Walz; Montana Supreme Court protects minors seeking abortion care; attacks on women journalists and LGBTQ people; new pay gap data is worse than last year; and more.