After giving birth, new moms are faced with the struggle of balancing the physical needs of their recovering bodies, emotional needs of being a new mother and the financial needs of returning to work. With one in four women returning to work just two weeks after delivery, it is past time for the U.S. to prioritize paid parental leave. Taking care of mothers, who make up 57 percent of our workforce, is the first step towards a safer and healthier tomorrow.
Justice & Law
Meanwhile in Afghanistan, Women Are Suffering Needlessly This Winter
In Afghanistan, most secondary schools remain closed to girls, and women high school teachers who have not been paid for the last seven months have resorted to begging in the streets to feed their families.
The events in Afghanistan since August prove yet again that in times of crisis, the rights of women are demoted, devalued and expendable. They also show the propensity with which the U.N. and its member states sometimes accept as a fait accompli the cultural norms that place girls and women at risk of the worst physical harm; are denied access to their most basic human rights; and support their unquestioned subordination.
For Women, the Time To Run Is Now
Start your engines, organize your campaign and submit your filing paperwork, ladies—because now is the time to run. Women are critically underrepresented in government, regardless of the level or branch.
Female candidates should be motivated, too. The last two election cycles marked record-breaking numbers of women running for office and ultimately winning. Research in political science (like the work of Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox) shows that when women run, they win—but they do not run as often as men do. This disparity in declaring candidacies leads to the gender gap in politics. A government “of the people, by the people, for the people” must include the people who aren’t men.
Gen Z and the ERA: The Importance of a Generational Fight for Equal Rights
The Equal Rights Amendment has been in the works for almost 100 years. In 1972, the amendment passed in Congress. Now 50 years later, the required 38 states have voted to ratify the ERA—but it hasn’t yet been added to the U.S. Constitution after the Trump administration blocked the national archivist from certifying and publishing the ERA as the 28th Amendment. But no one is taking that as final.
I’m 20 years old and a senior at Long Island University Global. In conversation with other Gen Zers, here’s why the ERA is important to us and how we see our role in the fight today.
Biden Signs Bill to End Forced Arbitration for Sexual Assault and Harassment Claims, Protect Right to File Class-Action Lawsuits
“This bill will give thousands of survivors of sexual violence their voices back, they will not have to go through a secret process, designed by their employer, and keep their experiences secret forever. This is going to make such a real, meaningful difference in their lives.”
The Poor People’s Campaign and a Shift in the Poverty Narrative: “Demanding Reconstruction From the Bottom Up”
“We’re looking for a complete transformation of U.S. society,” Poor People’s Campaign co-chair Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis told Ms. “We’re calling it a Third Reconstruction. We do not have scarcity in this country. People throw away food and there are more abandoned houses than there are unhoused people. We’re pushing back at the idea that we have to make choices about what we can provide to people. We’re also asking why it is usually poor women, children and people of color who are asked to compromise or make do with less.”
Women Are More Likely to Get Elected to Local Bodies Than to National Parliaments
Women comprise just over one-third (36 percent) of the over 6 million elected members in deliberative bodies of local governments globally, according to a new working paper released by U.N. Women last month. Although far from parity, this is the best representation women seem to get across levels of government: As they move towards the subnational and national levels, they begin to be replaced by more and more men, data shows.
In fact, women’s representation at the local level is better than at the national level by almost 10 percentage points.
The Child Tax Credit Proved Unrestricted Cash Keeps Families Out of Poverty. Without It, Low-Income Families Are Struggling
As the childhood poverty rate rises—from 12 percent in December to 17 percent in January—Black and Latino families are being hit the hardest by the end of the child tax credit payments. Experts estimate that the poverty rate for Black and Latino children will jump to over 25 percent. One reason the CTC was so successful in reducing poverty rates is because it puts unrestricted cash directly into the hands of people who need it most. Over 90 percent of low-income families used the CTC to afford basic needs—food, clothing, school supplies, utilities and rent.
“If I could talk to President Biden, I would tell him that he should make the child tax credit permanent, because so many people are still unemployed and the pandemic is not over,” revealed one low-income mom, I’esha. “And people need help even without a pandemic going on.”
Survivors Need VAWA—But the ERA Would Make It Even More Powerful
After months of negotiations, a bipartisan group of senators announced Wednesday that they had reached a deal to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)—which has been expired since December 2018.
The Equal Rights Amendment, which is stuck in a tug-of-war with the U.S. archivist and the Senate, would provide the basis for Congress to enact stronger laws on gender violence, including restoring the civil rights remedy in VAWA.
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: 2022 Winter Olympics Are the Most Gender-Balanced Ever; Women’s Activism Threatens Authoritarian Leaders
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: Activism by women and gender minorities threatens authoritarian leaders; running for statewide executive office can be especially challenging for women; ranked-choice voting helps eliminate a split vote among women candidates; the 2022 winter Olympic games are the most gender balanced ever; how did Iceland become a model of gender parity?