More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Free and fair elections are an essential pillar of democracy around the world. However, the validity of elections are often threatened by the state or individuals introducing barriers to voting, including violence, and political or financial corruption.
The historic Jan. 6 hearings have given us the details of the riot, the crush of white supremacists and armed paramilitary, the hypocrisy of some members, and the sheer, snarling hatred of some citizens on display. I’m grateful for all the work the hearings have done, and the justice they may yet bring.
More important than the vitriol and violence of that day is the truth that our America is resilient—still promised to us, if only we’ll come together to achieve it.
The end of national abortion protections was a wake-up call for many voters, just months before the midterms. From candidates and key races, here’s what you need to know ahead of the upcoming elections.
Panelists discussed youth voter turnout and the importance its impact on the fight for equal rights at the Getting out the Vote for Equality Roundtable hosted by the ERA Coalition and the Howard University Political Science Department on Sept. 20, National Voter Registration Day.
“Our vote is really the only way we’ve seen our voice be taken seriously. I personally am tired of seeing Black women get robbed of their justice,” said Nandi Perry of Gen Z for Change.
Reflections from a former secretary of state—on her time in office and her work today as an advocate and champion for free and fair elections.
“Government shouldn’t be a hands-off, secret system where only a few are allowed to participate. I saw the need for different voices and ideas.”
While a lot of attention will be paid to U.S. Senate races and state legislative races, just as much attention must be paid to state judicial races. State judges and justices, who are elected in many states, will have the final say on access to abortion healthcare.
In the United States, the fight for a federal Equal Rights Amendment has been a century in the making. Meanwhile, state-level equivalents abound—some as comprehensive provisions of state constitutions that guarantee equal rights regardless of an individual’s gender, and others as provisions that prohibit gender-based discrimination in specific circumstances.
View a comprehensive summary of the protections afforded in the 50 states.
(This essay is part of “The ERA Is Essential to Democracy” Women & Democracy collection.)
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 India, Germany, Malaysia, Iran, and more.
RepresentWomen’s Gender Parity Index (GPI), which weighs women’s representation at the national, state and local levels, shows how incremental and sporadic progress for gender balance truly is. According to this year’s Index, there are no states that have reached gender parity — a basement metric if we’re to call ourselves a truly reflective 21st century democracy. A majority of states earned a “D” grade for women’s representation in government, further proving that we are not even close to fully cheering “shattered ceilings” or taking victory laps for national “broken records.”
Over 100 years ago, my great-great-great grandfather Fredrick Douglass advocated for Black freedom and women’s rights. He was determined to push America to be a true democracy that encompasses all Americans regardless of race or gender.
Unfortunately, the fight for equality persists into 2022 and I am fighting for the same causes along with many members of my generation.
On Aug. 2, Kansas voters will decide whether or not to amend the Kansas Constitution to explicitly state that nothing in it creates a right to abortion. If passed, the amendment would allow the state legislature to pass laws banning and restricting abortion. The activists behind the amendment are attempting to overturn a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that protected a woman’s access to abortion.
If anti-abortion extremists are successful in passing the constitutional amendment in Kansas, millions of Americans will be left in an abortion desert.
