Disabled Women

How Care Became a Key Issue This Election

In response to voters’ needs and demands, the issue of care has been receiving outsized attention during this year’s election season. 

“If there’s no one to work because there’s no one to care, then we have a problem,” said Ai-jen Poo, founder of Caring Across Generations.

“If the lack of affordable and accessible childcare is what’s holding women back from reaching their economic potential, then we should make childcare affordable and accessible,” said Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First. “As we head into the final weeks of the election, one thing is clear: The conversation has shifted. Childcare has finally been elevated into the national conversation.”

Building Families Is Under Attack

Mainstream conversations about becoming pregnant, giving birth and creating a family are full of ableist ideals about what everything should look like.

What if, instead of shaming mothers for needing support, we embraced the ups and downs of each birth and fertility story for what it is: a unique and personal story?   

In the U.S., Marriage Functions More Like a Privilege—Not an Equal Basic Right

An excerpt from Allison Raskin’s new book, I Do (I Think): Conversations About Marriage.

“This elevation of marriage is a problem for multiple reasons, because as we know well by this point in the chapter, not everyone has the same level of access to it—legally or financially. The fight for true marriage equality didn’t end with the federal legalization of same-sex marriage, and it is impossible to ignore the classist, ableist and patriarchal forces at play when it comes to who can get married easily and what those marriages end up looking like. “

Explainer on Proposal 1, the New York Equal Rights Amendment on the Ballot

A New York ballot measure to create constitutional protections for abortion and create explicit protections for people who experience discrimination, passed overwhelmingly on Tuesday.

How will the New York ERA change the state Constitution? How can the New York ERA address structural and systemic discrimination? Will the New York ERA protect reproductive rights? Will the New York ERA undermine or weaken parental rights?

Keeping Score: Liz Cheney Calls Trump and Vance ‘Misogynistic Pigs’; Women Break Barriers at Paralympics and Emmys; Taylor Swift Endorses Harris

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: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose admits anti-abortion groups helped him write abortion rights ballot language; Kamala Harris and Donald Trump spar over abortion, Project 2025 and immigration at the presidential debate; Paralympics athletes and Emmy winners break records; Taylor Swift endorses Harris and Walz; Montana Supreme Court protects minors seeking abortion care; attacks on women journalists and LGBTQ people; new pay gap data is worse than last year; and more.

Remembering the Late Faith Ringgold—the Black Feminist Artist Who Knew Who She Was

The late Faith Ringgold was a feminist, an activist, a teacher, a mother and an artist known for her innovative use of mediums, ranging from the more traditional oil on canvas, murals and mosaics, to story quilts, protest posters and soft sculptures.

(This article originally appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)

Pregnant and Finally Protected

A Better Balance released a new report, “Pregnant and Finally Protected,” detailing how the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has shifted the paradigm and finally put the law squarely on the side of pregnant workers. Similar to the ADA, the PWFA guarantees an affirmative right to accommodations for millions of workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions. No longer can a pregnant worker be forced off the job when a temporary accommodation can keep them healthy and attached to the workforce.

Care Is About Democracy

Because of women, care has become a top concern among voters and a unifier across gender, race and party identification. And care issues are most powerful as a motivator for civic engagement when linked with other top priorities for voters—including reproductive rights, tax equity and kitchen table economics.

(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy package focused on who’s funding the women and LGBTQ people on the frontlines of democracy. We’re manifesting a new era for philanthropy—one that centers feminism. The need is real: Funding for women and girls amounts to less than 2 percent of all philanthropic giving; for women of color, it’s less than 1 percent. Explore the “Feminist Philanthropy Is Essential to Democracy” collection.)