More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Last month, Dr. Sian Proctor—a 51-year-old geoscientist, community college professor and artist—became the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft and the fourth Black American woman to go to space.
“Representation matters, and it’s good for everyone,” Proctor told Ms.
September saw one of the largest dropoffs of women from the labor force since the pandemic began. The last time women left the workforce in such large numbers was in September 2020—and that’s not a coincidence.
The start of school during the pandemic has now coincided twice with significant job losses for women, underscoring that sectors disproportionately employing women continue to be hard hit and childcare centers are struggling.
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 in this biweekly round-up.
This week: Biden administration reverses Title X gag rule; federal courts halt, then reinstate Texas’s six-week abortion ban; school districts crack down on BLM and pride flags; Playboy features first gay man on its cover; California overrides workplace NDAs *and* requires free menstrual products in schools; and more.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in one of three abortion cases before the Court this term that will determine the future of abortion rights in the U.S. EMW Women’s Surgical Center v. Cameron involves a Kentucky law effectively banning abortion at 15 weeks. The law blocks physicians from providing a medically safe and standard abortion method called dilation and evacuation, or “D&E.”
“Two courts already held that this law violates the rights of Kentuckians. The Supreme Court ought to put an end to the attorney general’s attempts to force people to continue their pregnancies against their will.”
We can end our nation’s maternal health crisis and ensure every American has access to the high-quality care and robust support they need during and after pregnancy—and that’s just what the Build Back Better Act will do.
The Black Girl Freedom Fund raised over $20 million last year, allowing teens to give grants to organizations prioritizing the safety and well-being of Black girls.
This week: Providers stand up to Texas six-week abortion ban; U.S. Soccer to grant men’s and women’s teams equal contracts; Boston to elect first woman of color as mayor; 710 Indigenous people are missing in Wyoming; today’s children will experience three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents; and more.
Texas has one of the nation’s highest rape rates. Shockingly, its newest near-total abortion ban contains no exceptions for rape or incest. When asked about this, Gov. Greg Abbott said, “Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas.”
Abbott’s disturbing pledge fits in line with a tried-and-true political strategy: claim to address a public health issue by pivoting to crime control. But as history has taught us, public health crises will not be solved in the prosecutor’s office or by claiming to be tough on crime.
The fate of Mississippi’s last clinic—and, quite possibly, abortion access nationwide—rests in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Build Back Better Agenda marks an opportunity for America to support childcare and paid leave.
“These measures pay off for our economy — keeping workers employed, increasing earnings and productivity, and investing in our next generation.”
