More Than A Magazine, A Movement
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 Gaza, Thailand, Canada, and more.
Each month, Ms. provides readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.
If you’ve read this column before or follow book publishing, you may know that September is a giant month for new releases. Excellent books are being released this month that you won’t see on this list, and you may wonder why we neglected to include them. Most of the time, this is intentional. We will forego a book with a Big Name publisher and lots of marketing power behind it for a book published by an indie label. We may opt to include a debut author instead of someone who’s got a few books to their name. No matter what, we put time and effort into ensuring we choose the right books for the list and you, our readers.
Let’s get into the 25 books we’ve chosen to highlight for September 2025.
Frantic, I keep checking my phone for the arrival of the New York City public bus I am waiting for. It finally arrives, 10 minutes after the scheduled time, meaning I will be late for school. With each stop it makes, the bus fills with students like me and people heading to work. Women and toddlers also board in force, lugging more baby strollers than I can count. As the strollers pile up, I scan the bus, wondering how many more can possibly fit. It is a Jenga-like ordeal, and I overhear a group of caregivers confidently affirm how five strollers can be tilted, folded and configured to fit in the bus.
This is the silent role public infrastructure plays in action. Infrastructure greets us on our daily commute, provides livable spaces for us outside, shepherds kids to and from school. Infrastructure is fundamental to our well-being as citizens, essential to a functioning democracy. And to work for all of us, it must be considered through a feminist lens.
Urban infrastructure loomed large in the New York City mayoral primary in June and will continue to be a major discussion point through the general election in November. I can’t help but question who is making decisions about urban transportation infrastructure and the people who use it.
“The expectation of equality is the most important cultural thing that we can achieve, and we have to keep holding up that light.”
Carol Moseley Braun became the first Black woman elected to the Senate after her involvement in the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. In the fifth and final episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, more than 40 years later, she asked a simple question: “Why haven’t we gotten this right yet?”
Listen to the latest episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, “The Feminist Fight For The Equal Rights Amendment Is Far From Over—and More Urgent Than Ever (with Pat Spearman, Ellie Smeal, Carol Moseley Braun, Kathy Spillar, and Ting Ting Cheng)” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
This fall marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, leaving more than 1,800 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. Katrina was not just a natural disaster—it was a political, legal and public health catastrophe that exposed deep inequities in the United States. Women, low-income communities and communities of color were hit hardest, and the failures of government response left lasting scars that continue to shape policy and memory today.
To reflect on these legacies, Georgetown University will host a three-day symposium, “Memory, Medicine and Law: Reflecting on the 20th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,” from Sept. 11-13, 2025, at its Capitol Campus and adjoining Law Center, located at 125 E Street NW in Washington, D.C.
The symposium is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
When Donald Trump anointed himself the “father of IVF” on the campaign trail, he promised to expand insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization—a move that was more pronatalist than pro-choice. In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order to explore reducing insurance-plan and out-of-pocket costs for IVF without a national insurance mandate. Now, reports indicate that the “father of IVF” is walking back his campaign promise just as a religiously motivated “alternative” threatens to enter mainstream medicine and be codified into law.
Texas’ abortion bans have driven hundreds of physicians to leave the state, retire early, or avoid practicing and training there altogether. Dr. Lou Rubino is one of many doctors forced out, unable to provide not only abortion care but also life-saving emergency treatment.
“I remember very clearly the moment I knew I was done. I could no longer practice as a women’s healthcare doctor in Texas.
“I had a patient, probably 18 or 19 years old. I was doing an ultrasound, and she told me she needed an abortion for her safety. She said, ‘I’m too young. I don’t feel safe with my partner. I’m scared. I need an abortion.’
“When a patient tells me they feel unsafe with a partner, I take that very seriously. Pregnant people are at high risk of harm from abusive partners. It’s a dangerous time. She knew what she needed, and I knew it was wrong for me to say no. … I asked myself: Am I the kind of doctor who does the wrong thing? I’m not. And Texas couldn’t force me to be.
“Not long after, my husband and I moved to Virginia, where I now practice.”
Illinois made history late last month when Gov. JB Pritzker signed HB 3709, the first law in the Midwest to require public colleges and universities to ensure students have convenient access to medication abortion and contraception.
Illinois joins the expanding group of states requiring student health centers to offer abortion pills—California first in 2019, followed by Massachusetts in 2022 and New York in 2023.
For students, ensuring abortion care is available on or near campus is essential. Research shows when students are forced to leave campus for medication abortion, they face serious roadblocks: barriers in finding a provider, securing an appointment, and dealing with the time and cost of often long, slow public transit journeys.
“Since Roe fell, we’ve worked hard to ensure that Illinois is a safe haven for reproductive freedom in the Midwest and leading the country in strengthening women’s rights,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “As Donald Trump and his administration continue to pull every lever they can to rip rights away from women, Illinois is making sure every woman, at every stage of life, can get the legal care they need from providers they trust.”
While national headlines fixate on the U.S. Supreme Court, state courts shape nearly every part of our lives. From traffic violations and business disputes to child custody and criminal charges, an estimated 95 percent of all legal cases in the United States are handled in state courts.
State courts decide whether you can access abortion care, whether your protest leads to jail time, whether you keep custody of your child and whether your gender identity is protected or punished.
Despite their vast power, state courts remain one of the most overlooked battlegrounds—and opportunities—in the fight for justice. As organizers, we’ve seen the cost of that neglect. Now we’re calling on progressive movements to treat state courts not as a footnote, but as a headline.
(This essay is part of a collection presented by Ms. and the Groundswell Fund highlighting the work of Groundswell partners advancing inclusive democracy.)
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, sports and entertainment, judicial offices and the private sector—with a little gardening mixed in!
This week:
– Marking 105 years since the 19th Amendment certified women’s right to vote.
– Democrat Catelin Drey wins a special election in Iowa, breaking the GOP’s majority in the state’s chamber.
– Australia’s youngest-ever senator, Labor Senator Charlotte Walker, delivers her first speech to Parliament.
– Women’s Emergency Response Rooms in Sudan are signs of Democracy.
… and more.