Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) have reintroduced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in Congress. Maloney has been joined, so far, by 159 co-sponsors in the House, with more to come. Coming just days after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected class-action status for the sex-discrimination case against Wal-Mart, the latest push for […]
Tag: Eleanor Smeal
Haitian Feminist Yolette Jeanty Honored With Other Global Women’s Activists
Haitian feminist Yolette’s Jeanty‘s name may not ring a bell, but her tireless work has been rightfully recognized recently. As executive director of Kay Fanm (in Kreyol, House of Women)–an organization whose mission is to fight for social justice and women’s rights–Jeanty has been an advocate and supporter of women and girls for decades. This […]
Rape Is Rape: No More Excuses!
In the battle against Rep Chris Smith’s “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” feminists and other advocates successfully agitated to keep the term “forcible” rape from defining who gets federal money for abortions. But did you know we’re still fighting the war to get “forcible rape” removed from our national lexicon? Since 1929, the FBI […]
Women’s History Month: One Woman’s Story
During Women’s History Month, we are reminded of the accomplishments, disappointments, struggles and hardships endured by women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Margaret Sanger, Victoria Woodhull, Lucy Stone, Harriet Tubman–all well-known pioneers in the fight for women’s rights. We also read about the leaders of the Second Wave of the women’s […]
She Broke the Glass Ceiling
We are saddened today to learn of the death of Geraldine Ferraro. She was an historic feminist, a compassionate humanitarian and a role model for generations of women and girls seeking to break the glass ceiling. She was a champion for women’s rights during her three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, but of […]
Kansas Abortion Doctor Targeted by Extremists–Sound Familiar?
“Are doctors who are willing to provide [abortions] still just on their own, with their face on WANTED posters … waiting to see what happens next?… How do we as a country react?” Rachel Maddow posed that question last week as she reported from Kansas on the escalating campaign of threats, harassment and terror against […]
Newsflash: Assaulted Service Women Sue the Military
Seventeen veteran and active-duty service members who were raped, sexually assaulted or harrassed while serving their country announced today that they have filed a groundbreaking class-action lawsuit against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. They charge the Department of Justice leaders for failing to prevent, investigate and prosecute the […]
Republicans’ War on Women
Feminists are outraged over House Republicans’ proposed 2011 budget, which would leave millions of low-income women without contraceptive access and their children without support for health care or good nutrition. The plan zeroes out funding for the 40-year-old Title X family-planning program. That popular program, which has historically had strong bipartisan support, provides five million […]
Watch Out, John—Nancy’s Still on the Job
As Nancy Pelosi hands off the Speaker’s gavel to John Boehner today, she also hands him a tough act to follow. Despite insistent attempts to malign her during her four years as Speaker of the House, the California congresswoman turns out to have been arguably the most effective person in that post in U.S. history. […]
My Big Fat Feminist Wedding
I never wanted to get married. Yes, I was that woman. My mom loves to tell stories of how even when I was a little girl I would bemoan how much more women do than their husbands, and how they were never even thanked for their work. As an adult I became more adamant about […]