Low-Income Parents and Caregivers Deserve a Federal Guaranteed Income Program

Across the U.S., caregivers—especially moms—are being left behind by policies that don’t value the work they do every day. Families are facing systemic problems like lack of access to childcare, transportation, safe housing and nutritious food.

Federal programs that address these issues without unnecessary and stigmatizing restrictions would enable caregivers to provide high quality care and set their children up for success.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Celebrating a Win for Mexico Women, Mourning a Loss for Texas Ones

The start of this week marked a feminist milestone for our southern neighbors: the election of the first-ever woman president in Mexico—a culmination of decades of political interventions like gender quotas and parity mandates aimed expressly at elevating more women to higher office. 

Just days before, in Texas—home to 10 percent of U.S. women of reproductive age—the state Supreme Court issued a huge loss to women, in the form of a callous ruling that forces pregnancy on women until (and even past) the brink of death and mandates them to continue pregnancies even when their fetus has no chance of survival after birth. To wish such suffering on pregnant Texans and their children goes beyond heartless indifference. It is violent and inhumane.

Felicidades a mis hermanas en México. And buena suerte—good luck—to my sisters in Texas. You are not alone.

Ms. Global: Millions in Sudan Face Ethnic Cleansing, Mexico Elects First Woman President, and More

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 from Sudan, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and more.

Why Women Will Be Hardest Hit by President Biden’s Executive Order

President Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that will temporarily close the United States border to all border crossers—including asylum seekers—if the number of border crossings reaches a certain threshold.

Many people are likely to suffer as a result of Biden’s action—especially women from Mexico and Central America desperate for safety because of gender-based violence in their home countries. 

Southern Baptists Pursue a Mission of Misogyny

This weekend, thousands of Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) delegates will assemble in Indianapolis, and one of the most misogynistic gatherings in all of Christendom will be on display. With 13 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant faith group in the country. Considered as a bellwether for white evangelicals, and enmeshed with the Republican Party, the SBC carries an outsized influence disproportionate to its numbers.

When you combine the SBC’s misogynistic, authoritarian theology, which relegates females to second-class status, with an institutional structure lacking in effective accountability systems, you wind up with an institution in which abuse can run rampant.

Honoring Queer Feminist Trailblazers: Octavia Butler, Marsha P. Johnson and Margaret Cho

Women throughout history have been inventing, leading, organizing, creating and making the world a better place despite gender injustice. If women knew about these inspiring stories that have been kept from them, would they be bolder and have more willingness to persevere?

In honor of Pride Month, we spotlight three queer feminist trailblazers: Afro-futurist novelist Octavia Butler; activist and drag queen Marsha P. Johnson; and actor and comedian Margaret Cho.

Texas Ruling and Louisiana Abortion Pill Restrictions Are Bad Omens for Pending SCOTUS Decisions

Even as we wait for U.S. Supreme Court decisions in two cases set to come down this month that could have massive impacts on abortion access, I fear that a court decision out of Texas and a new law passed in Louisiana foreshadow how the Court might rule.

The cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court involve whether federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions in cases when a woman’s health—not only her life—is threatened supersedes state abortion bans, and whether the FDA acted properly in its decision to ease regulations making it easier to dispense abortion pills without in-person visits.