FMLA at 30: Persisting Toward Paid Leave

PUBLISHED 2/7/2023 by

This past weekend marked a milestone anniversary for a historic piece of legislation: the Family and Medical Leave Act, or the FMLA. As the FMLA turns 30, we should use this opportunity to celebrate its legacy—and reflect upon how much further our country still has to go when it comes to supporting workers in balancing their personal and professional lives.

Roughly 44 percent of workers are not covered by the FMLA, and even for those who are covered, taking unpaid leave is often unfeasible. I urge you to raise your voice and join the movement to make a comprehensive, paid family and medical leave a reality for every worker in America.

When Black Women’s ‘Excellence’ Isn’t Good Enough

PUBLISHED 2/7/2023 by

There is a pattern here: Black women must ride on the coattails of protective manhood—a respected dad, a Hollywood white male “bodyguard”—to secure the top prize.

In a world that constantly tells women in general, and Black women specifically, that we just might be “imposters,” Beyoncé affirms us and allows us to luxuriate in a Black woman defiantly and truthfully announcing that “I’m the bar.” We revel in her excellence, even if some would try to diminish that greatness as “not good enough.”

Iranian Human Rights Attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh Named ‘Global Human Rights Defender’ by U.S. State Department

PUBLISHED 2/6/2023 by

Each year, the State Department awards 10 people the special designation of “Global Human Rights Defender.” This coveted award is reserved for individuals “who have demonstrated leadership and courage while promoting and defending human rights and fundamental freedoms; countering and exposing human rights abuses by governments and businesses; and rallying action to protect the environment, improve governance, and secure accountability and an end to impunity.”

Nasrin Sotoudeh—an Iranian human rights lawyer and long-time friend of Ms. magazine who has spent her career fighting for the rights of women and minorities in the Middle East—was one of the 10 recipients.

Columbine Survivor Asks: Why Didn’t It Stop With Us?

PUBLISHED 2/6/2023 by

The first week of February is National Gun Violence Survivors Week. Let’s bring the gun industry out from the shadows, and shine a light on their reckless business practices. It’s time to hold them accountable for the nation of gun violence survivors that they have helped create over decades. A country that feels safer from gun violence is exactly the ’90s nostalgia America should be idolizing.

The Same Dark Money Groups That Helped Overturn Roe Are Also Behind Attacks on Abortion Pill

PUBLISHED 2/6/2023 by

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, abortion pills have become a vital option for millions of people, especially for those living in states with abortion bans. Now, the same dark money groups that helped overturn Roe—and then argued that the edict “empowered women”—are taking aim at abortion pill access. A federal judge installed by Donald Trump could declare a nationwide ban on the abortion pill mifepristone as soon as this week. 

Keeping Score: Women’s Grammy Wins (and Losses); NYC Clinics to Provide Free Abortion Pills; Navajo Nation Elects First Woman Speaker

PUBLISHED 2/6/2023 by

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: The Grammys saw wins (and losses) for women performers and feminist causes; Republicans in Congress call for a nationwide abortion ban; Iowa state rep compares women to cattle; Florida educators reject ban on books in classrooms; NYC city-run clinics to provide free abortion medication; Lisa Marie Presley dies at 54; Biden administration releases plan for renter’s bill of rights; Utah Governor Spencer Cox approves ban on youth gender-affirming care; and more.

Combating K-12 Sexual Harassment and Violence: How Far Have We Come?

PUBLISHED 2/5/2023 by

Seven years ago, two parents whose child was sexually assaulted on a high school field trip created the nonprofit Stop Sexual Assault in Schools (SSAIS) after demanding accountability from the Seattle school district. In the website’s inaugural blog, Fatima Goss Graves, now president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, wrote: “If we do not bring a serious focus to the problem of sexual harassment and assault in elementary and secondary schools, it will be nearly impossible to make real progress at any other level of education.”

In the last decade, when it comes to stopping sexual harassment and assault in elementary and secondary schools, how far have we come?

The U.S. Is Failing Women and Girls at the U.S-Mexico Border

PUBLISHED 2/4/2023 by and

As asylum claims mount and U.S. immigration enforcement struggle to process them, border communities will remain overcrowded and detention centers will quickly fill up. Without deliberate humanitarian intervention, displaced Venezuelans at the U.S.-Mexico border will continue to suffer in inhumane conditions.

What can’t be overstated is the degree to which women and girls bear the brunt of this suffering.