More Than A Magazine, A Movement
This moment feels dangerous and daunting. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that we’ve walked this path before. The feminist movement—and Ms.—has learned to endure, to rise even when everything tells us to fall. We carry with us the stories of every inch gained—the right to vote, to earn our own income, to own property, to access education, to live with dignity. Each gain was earned, and every time they tried to bar the door, we found another way through.
This special edition of Ms.‘ “Keeping Score” highlights the feminist wins and milestones at the 2025 Golden Globes. From Nikki Glaser’s sharp, solo-hosted monologue that tackled sexism in Hollywood, to historic wins by women like Demi Moore, Karla Sofía Gascón and Fernanda Torres, the event marked a notable shift in celebrating diverse and older female talent. With awards for films like Emilia Pérez and Wicked, the night underscored progress in recognizing women’s contributions across genres.
Rewarding people who tried to ignite an insurrection turns the pardon power on its head.
Trump’s pardons are not about people and their communities—they are about personal loyalty to him. Trump summoned these individuals to the Capitol to support him and now he will pardon them to complete that transaction. Trump will use the pardon power to make it clear that violence and violation of the law can be forgiven in service to himself.
In the fight for abortion rights, independent clinics are the unsung heroes.
Even before the end of Roe v. Wade in 2022, independent clinics provided the majority of abortion care in the United States, more than hospitals, private physicians and even Planned Parenthood. Since the Dobbs decision, despite the closing of dozens of indie clinics in states where total abortion bans went into effect, they’ve still provided about 58 percent of abortions in the country, according to data from Abortion Care Network (ACN)’s latest report, released on Tuesday.
While serial attacks on abortion rights seize the headlines, the anti-choice movement has quietly built an on-the-ground network of unregulated pregnancy clinics—also known as crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) and antiabortion centers (AACs)—that is eroding access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare and electioneering against abortion rights, mostly under the radar and increasingly on the public dime.
Eleanor “Ellie” Smeal, the president of the Feminist Majority Foundation and publisher of Ms., was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal—the nation’s second highest civilian honors—on Jan. 2 by President Joe Biden for “defining the movement for women’s rights.”
“It happened over and over that she would come up with some wonderful idea, and some other organization would take it and run with it. And we’re like, ‘Ellie, aren’t you mad?’ … [And she would respond,] ‘No, this is great. Now I can work on something else,’” said Kim Gandy.
Jimmy Carter was one of the world’s most prominent male supporters of gender equality.
His overall record as president was decidedly mixed. But one overlooked aspect of his presidency was that he unabashedly championed women’s leadership, including Black women’s. By the end of his term, Carter had appointed more women and people of color to the federal judiciary than all previous presidents combined. Carter was also a founding member of The Elders, an international group of former political leaders, peace activists and human rights advocates.
And once he left office, Carter’s pro-feminist commitments deepened, as did his passion for pushing fellow religious believers to take on gender inequality directly.
Throughout his life, President Jimmy Carter truly cared about the challenges women face and how people can implement programs to help end discrimination.
May all of us continue to carry his inspiration and commitment in our hearts and actions.
The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to health care. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’s most intractable problems. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.
This week: news rom Namibia, Iran, Greece, and more.
From top athletes, to community activists, to badass lawmakers, here are our 25 picks for the top U.S. feminists of 2024, and two of the best things they did or said.
Featuring: Kamala Harris, the 27 women who sued the state of Texas for its abortion ban in Zurawski v. Texas, Sarah McBride, abortion providers and funders, Black women voters, Jasmine Crockett, South Carolina’s “Sister Senators” and more.