Politics

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Opportunities for Women Governors and Mayors; Black Women Have Always Paved the Way to Progress

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

This week: articles on races to watch for women governors and mayors, the Belgian prime minister on the importance of gender quotas, a study of women representatives’ increased likelihood to mention their constituents, gender terminology bans, a piece on governance by Danielle Allen, the harassment women candidates face, the partisan breakdown of women state legislators, a link to register for the 2025 Democracy Solutions Summit, and more.

Trump’s Administration Seems Chaotic, But He’s Drawing Directly from Project 2025 Playbook

In his first few days back in office, President Donald Trump engaged in a whirlwind of executive actions, from exiting the World Health Organization to deploying military personnel and National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Many of these actions are unprecedented. Some appear to be illegal and unconstitutional, according to legal experts and judges. But none of them should come as a surprise—nearly all of them were outlined in 2022 in a plan called Project 2025.

The Trump Administration’s Artificial Intelligence Rollback Is a Chance to Rethink AI Policy

With federal AI governance on hold, we have a unique opportunity to reassess our approach and address the growing AI divide. Rather than blindly pushing forward with inequitable systems, we can focus on building AI policies that prioritize fairness, access and inclusion. This moment offers a chance to shape AI’s future in a way that truly serves all communities, not just the privileged few.

Antiabortion Forces Have a Blueprint to Ban Abortion Pills Nationwide (And You Thought Project 2025 Was Bad?)

Not satisfied with the overthrow of Roe v. Wade and Trump’s compliance with nearly all things Project 2025, right-wing conservatives are pushing the president to go further. In a chilling blueprint, “Stopping Pills that Kill,” antiabortion groups urge President Trump to stop the movement of domestic and international abortion pills using the Comstock Act of 1873 and a dragnet of new regulations. 

The new scheme calls for every U.S. law enforcement entity to play a role—federal, state and city/county agencies. Starting at home, extremists urge Trump to compel federal prosecutors to charge providers of abortion pills weaponizing both the Comstock Act and racketeering statutes (RICO) for using the postal system. They would then add regulations governing the U.S. postmaster general and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to list abortion pills as “nonmailable … hazardous materials or devices that may present an immediate threat to persons,” which would make shipping them a federal offense carrying civil and possibly criminal penalties.

Who Is the Female Leader Next Door, Running Against Trump?

Chrystia Freeland, the former deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Canada, has taken on Trump before. During his last presidency, she was Canada’s quarterback, who amidst Trump’s snarky comments and bullying, charmingly negotiated her way out into a cohesive NAFTA deal that worked not only for Canada but all players. Now she is up for a rematch. 

In a time where masculinity is once again defining much of global leadership, many women in power are looking to one another for inspiration, solidarity and models of leadership that challenge the status quo. Freeland, it seemed, unintentionally has been seen as a female leader among international peers, even before she officially launched her recent leadership campaign focused on taking on Trump.  

Rolling Up Our Sleeves, Part 3: Fighting the Trump Administration with State Constitutions

A fierce feminist resistance is ready to defend women’s rights at the federal level—and creatively expand equality protections in the states. This is the third in a four-part series on the steps activists are taking to fight for our rights amid Trump’s attacks on democracy.

(This is the third in a four-part series on the steps activists are taking to fight for our rights amid Trump administration’s attacks on democracy.)