The Trump administration has revoked executive orders encouraging the hiring of women and cut funding for groups dedicated to helping female workers enter the trades.
Equal Pay
Feminists have fought for equal pay for decades. Many factors have prevented women—and especially women of color—from achieving it, including unequal education and training, systematic hiring and promotion discrimination, workplace sexual harassment in the workplace, and occupational segregation.
The Woman Behind the Fair Pay Act Comes to Life in ‘Lilly’ Film
It’s tempting these dark days to dismiss the idea that any one person can make a difference.
And yet, every day ordinary people fight injustice. And some days, those people persist long enough, resist long enough, that their fights rise to national prominence. One such fight is chronicled in the new film Lilly, in theaters beginning May 9. The brainchild of director Rachel Feldman, Lilly tells the story of Lilly Ledbetter, “an ordinary woman who became extraordinary,” in the words of actor Patricia Clarkson, who portrays her in the film.
Unfortunately, Ledbetter didn’t live to see the film arrive in theaters. She died in October 2024 at age 86. “She was so profoundly happy to know that her legacy would extend in entertainment form,” Feldman says, “particularly so that young women would absorb the story.”
A Mother’s Day State of the Union
As politicians praise mothers with platitudes, the U.S. continues to underfund childcare, undervalue care work and ignore the real economic needs of women.
It’s time to turn Mother’s Day into a rallying cry for women’s economic justice and real investment in care.
Employers Must Choose: Complicity or Courage on Civil Rights
As the Trump administration wages an unlawful assault on civil rights, employers and institutions must resist complicity and stand firm in defending the anti-discrimination laws that remain the backbone of workplace equality—because we all have a stake in the fight against a regime that fosters discrimination and inequity.
ERA Congressional Resolution Introduced on Equal Pay Day
An Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) congressional resolution was introduced around Equal Pay Day, March 25, to highlight economic gender discrimination and show why constitutional equality is needed now more than ever to close the income gap between women and men.
NIL Was Supposed to Be Fair. Why Is It Still a Boys’ Club?
The Trump administration’s rollback of Biden-era NIL guidance weakens Title IX protections, deepening financial disparities for female college athletes.
U.S. Plays Spoiler at Annual Gathering on Women’s Rights
Activists and civil society groups considered the political declaration recently adopted at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) gathering as a victory against strong opposition from the United States. However, women’s rights groups remain deeply concerned that despite 30 years of advocacy, the declaration reflects minimal progress in advancing gender equality as politics disrupt gains and funding continues to lag.
The document, focusing on women’s global rights, was significantly watered down to accommodate opposition from some member states, particularly the U.S., during the months-long negotiations preceding the approval.
- Environment
- Global
- Health
- Justice & Law
- Money & Jobs
- National
- News & Opinion
- Politics
- Violence & Harassment
Keeping Score: More Attacks on Trans Rights; Sexual Assault Should Disqualify Cabinet Nominees, Americans Say; Female Professors Win Lawsuit and Backpay for Pay Disparity
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: The Supreme Court considers a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans teens; data shows crimes in public restrooms and changing rooms are extremely rare, and are not decreased by laws preventing trans people from using public bathrooms; analyzing Trump’s cabinet nominees; midwives say climate change is harming their communities; Nevada maintains a majority woman legislature; criminal justice reform for probation, parole and bail is critical; Arizona moves to end 15-week abortion ban; Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have asked the Biden administration to limit the federal government from deploying troops domestically; and more.
Keeping Score: Women Stockpile Plan B Post-Election; Feminists React to Trump’s Cabinet Picks; Harriet Tubman Finally Recognized for Military Service
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: Women stockpile emergency contraception and medication abortion after the election; one in five Americans gets news from social media influencers; House Republicans Nancy Mace and Speaker Mike Johnson harass incoming trans Representative Sarah McBride; Michelle Obama explains the double standards Kamala Harris faced; childcare costs more than rent for many families; Trump’s Cabinet picks spread sexist messages; Rep. Erica Lee Carter (D-Texas) became the 95th member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus after winning a special election to replace her late mother Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee; acknowledging Native Women’s Equal Pay Day; Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman was finally recognized for her military service; Trump’s margin over Harris will be about 1.5 points, the fifth-smallest gap since 1900; and more.
The First, First Gentleman: Breaking More Than One Glass Ceiling
First ladies, while unofficial in title, have been unofficially tasked with hosting state dinners, advocating for social and philanthropic causes, and managing the White House’s image, without ever getting paid or recognized the way they should be. It’s a microcosm of the way our society still places these expectations on women in domestic spaces. Even though this labor is essential, it is often taken for granted.
Now, imagine a man stepping into this role. If a first gentleman were to perform these duties, it might force the country to rethink why these responsibilities were so heavily feminized in the first place. And even more so, it might make people question why this type of labor—whether done in the White House or in everyday homes—has been undervalued for so long.