Winter 2021

National Short Takes

The Future of Breastfeeding Is No Longer Over Toilets—Thanks to Sen. Duckworth’s Friendly Airports for Mothers Improvement Act, Ms. Magazine

Nursing mothers need to pump regularly or they can be exposed to certain health risks, but U.S. airports have long lacked dedicated spaces for breastfeeding.

Fortunately, that will change with the recent passage of The Friendly Airports for Mothers Improvement Act. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, requires small airports to have designated lactation spaces by 2023.

Nasdaq Board Diversity Proposal, The National Law Review

The proposed rules require that all Nasdaq-listed companies either have at least one diverse director no later than two years after SEC approval of the proposed rules or include disclosure explaining why the company does not have a diverse director. 

Prosecutors Pledge Not to Enforce Criminal Abortion Laws If Roe Falls, Ms. Magazine

Overturning Roe could drastically increase the number of people criminally prosecuted for abortion. This ominous reality has inspired prosecutors across the country to speak out.

Race-Conscious Policies—Including Affirmative Action—Are Necessary For Addressing Racial Inequity, Ms. Magazine

Affirmative action recently survived yet another legal attack when the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Harvard’s favor in a case challenging affirmative action.

This latest case against Harvard demonstrates that color-blindness cannot uproot this country’s legacy of racism. We must face race head-on to meaningfully address the racial inequality that persists in our society.

Groundbreaking Massachusetts Abortion Law Repeals Parental Consent for Older Teens, Ms. Magazine

On Monday, the Massachusetts legislature passed a new law creating an affirmative right to abortion in the state, expanding abortion access after 24 weeks, and removing a parental consent requirement for 16- and 17-year-olds.

By this law, Massachusetts became the first state ever to legislatively remove a parental consent requirement as unnecessary.

NY Driver’s Licenses Will Soon Offer ‘X’ for Nonbinary Gender Identity Marker, NBC New York

Before the change can be adopted, the DMV needs to modify its computer system so it can create internal license records without a binary gender selection, which the agency expects to happen later in late 2021.

A New Frontier in Domestic Violence Prevention: Coercive Control Bans, Ms. Magazine

COVID-19 has fueled a global surge in intimate partner violence. In response, two states—Hawaii and California—have recently taken the groundbreaking step of passing the nation’s first laws against coercive control.

“Coercive control is the first step in domestic violence. If we can identify it and stop it there, we can save lives,” said the bill’s sponsor, Hawaii Rep. David A. Tarnas.

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Global Short Takes

6 Mayors From Around the World Launch Network to Fight Gender Inequality During COVID-19, Global Citizen

Around the world, women’s jobs, unpaid labor, health, and safety have been upended by the impacts of COVID-19 and need critical attention, said the organizers of City Hub and Network for Gender Equity (CHANGE).

“Hell on Earth”: Feminist Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Returned to Iran’s Qarchak Prison, Ms. Magazine

On Wednesday, as celebrations erupted around the world in response to the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Nasrin Sotoudeh, the Iranian human rights attorney, was quietly moved back to Qarchak women’s prison—known as one of the worst and most harrowing carceral institutions in the world—after a brief respite in the hospital where she was seeking medical care.

New Zealand Passes Substantial Bill to Ensure Pay Equity Between Men and Women, Global Citizen

The equal pay legislation goes beyond ensuring men and women are paid the same for the same work — which has been enshrined in New Zealand law since 1972. The amendment bill focuses on pay equity by ensuring women in historically underpaid female-dominated industries receive the same remuneration as men in different but equal-value work.

Justice Denied: Sexual Violence & Intersectional Discrimination – Barriers to Accessing Justice for Dalit Women and Girls in Haryana, India, Equality Now

Dalits—officially designated as Scheduled Castes by India’s Constitution—are at the bottom of caste and class hierarchies in India. The intersectionality of gender, class, and caste in the case of gender-based violence against Dalit women and girls often remains invisibilized. In addition, the hegemonic power dynamics that are the root cause of discrimination and atrocities inflicted make it extremely challenging for Dalit women and girls to access the legal system and receive justice.

The Ms. Q&A: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf on What the U.S. Can Learn From Scotland’s Period Products Law, Ms. Magazine

Scotland recently became the first nation in the world to mandate all period products in the country will be free for anyone who needs them.

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, menstrual equity expert and founder of Period Equity, discusses the historic nature of Scotland’s new law; how it’s going to work, in practice; how we might model it in the U.S.; and how COVID is affecting menstrual equity here in the States.

Argentina Legalized Abortion Until 14 Weeks—and We Have Feminist Organizers to Thank, Ms. Magazine

The abortion rights movement in Argentina is responsible for shifting on-the-ground perception and showing politicians that times have changed, that new generations have different priorities and that it is possible to win elections advocating for legal abortion.

Afghan Women’s Leaders: The Taliban Must Recognize Today’s Afghanistan, Ms. Magazine

Ahead of the Intra-Afghan talks, a coalition of Afghan women’s rights groups have released an open letter to Taliban leadership calling for a peaceful resolution to the four decades of war and reaffirming their position to preserve and build on the gains of the last 20 years. The Afghan minister for women’s affairs, Hasina Safi, stressed that we must build on the achievements of the Afghan people, especially the Afghan women.

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Spring 2020

National Short Takes

• “Trump is Allowed to Pursue His Domestic Gag Rule, Courts Rule,” by Betsy Butler, Ms. Magazine, March 25, 2020.
• “Dems Thwart Senate Republicans on 2 Abortion-Related Bills,” by Matthew Daly, Associated Press, February 25, 2020.
• “Virginia Senate Passes Bill for Schools to Provide Menstrual Products,” by Capital News Service, WTKR, January 23, 2020.
• “Virginia Senate Unanimously Passes Bill to Lift State Tax on Menstrual Products,” by WHSV Newsroom, WHSV, February 3, 2020.
• “Florida Legislature Passes Abortion Parental Consent Bill,” by Brendan Farrington, Associated Press, February 20, 2020.
• “Bill Banning Gender Reassignment Treatments for Transgender Youth Fails in South Dakota,” by Devan Cole, CNN, Febraury 10, 2020.
• “National Firestorm on Horizon as States Consider Criminalizing Transgender Treatments for Youths,” by Kristin Lam, USA Today, February 6, 2020.

Global Short Takes

• “The Latest Government Report on the Global Gag Rule Confirms What We Already Know,” by Monica Kerrigan, Ms. Magazine, March 30, 2020.
• “Gender Equality: Women’s Rights in Review 25 Years After Beijing,” by Fernanda Cueto, Ms. Magazine, April 8, 2020.
• “International Women’s Day: Progress on Gender Equality Remains Slow,” UN News, March 5, 2020.
• “Domestic Violence Rises Worldwide as the Coronavirus Rages,” by Barbara Crossette, Ms. Magazine, April 7, 2020.
• “Domestic Violence Cases Surge During COVID-19 Epidemic,” by Zhang Wanqing, Sixth Tone, March 2, 2020.
• “Spain Plans ‘Only Yes Means Yes’ Rape Law,” BBC, March 3, 2020.
• “Scotland Could Become the First Nation to Ensure Free Universal Access to Pads and Tampons,” by Harmeet Kaur, CNN, February 27, 2020.
• “New Zealand Passes Landmark Law to Decriminalize Abortion,” by Nick Perry, Associated Press, March 18, 2020.
• “Colombia’s Constitutional Court Rules Against Legalizing Abortion in First 16 Weeks of Pregnancy,” Reuters Staff, Reuters, March 2, 2020.
• “South Korea’s First Feminist Party Launches on International Women’s Day,” by Seulki Lee, Reuters, March 3, 2020.
• “A Roundup of #InternationalWomensDay Protests and Demonstrations Around the Globe,” by Roxy Szal, Ms. Magazine, March 9, 2020.