Twenty-five years ago to this day, August 26, 1986, my father was murdered in his law office by a former woman client who had stalked him and repeatedly asked him to run away with her. He had rejected her offers, brushing her off as “that crazy Linda.” But on this day, when he turned her […]
HERvotes
The #HERvotes campaign for women to vote in 2012 to preserve our health and economic rights
Wed, Bed and Bruised–But Certainly Not Equal
As today is the 40th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day, it’s an appropriate moment to consider the continuing inequalities women face. As a scholar of popular culture who tracks the way it grapples with changing conceptions of gender and sexuality, I am struck by the profound difference between Bella Abzug, staunch supporter of women’s rights, […]
Massachusetts’ Health Reform: A Model for Serving Women’s Needs
When it comes to women’s health, Massachusetts shows us reform is something to celebrate—and lessons from Massachusetts can help ensure that national health reform meets women’s needs. Massachusetts passed its groundbreaking health care reform legislation in 2006, and national health-care reform has been largely based on the Massachusetts model. Overall, the numbers already show that […]
Catch Up with the #HERvotes Blog Carnival!
Today we celebrate Women’s Equality Day and the second day of the HERvotes blog carnival. In collaboration with many national women’s organizations, including Ms. publisher the Feminist Majority Foundation, we’re thrilled to be one of the hosts of HERvotes. The carnival’s goal is to call attention to the top ten historic gains for women currently […]
Collective Bargaining Is Pivotal to Women’s Economic Rights
When Wisconsin started the current mushrooming, multi-state siege on the collective bargaining rights of workers, few recognized this as a rollback of a major gain of the women’s movement. Yet women’s organizing has been pivotal to earning workers’ right to equal wages, job security and decent working conditions. Nearly half of all union members today […]
A Woman’s Work on Economic Equality is Never Done
A divorced janitor–a 27-year employee and the mother of a 17-year old son with the mental capacity of an 18-month old–fails to report for mandatory overtime one Saturday when her son’s caregiver could not work because of a sick child. The janitor calls twice and leaves a message for her manager. She gets fired. As […]
Super Committee: Don’t Leave Older Women and Their Families Behind!
Times are tough for hardworking Americans of all ages. But while it’s imperative that Congress look for a balanced approach (including revenues) to deficit reduction, it also needs to protect low- and middle-income elders who rely on programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, Meals on Wheels, the Senior Community Service Employment Program and more. As […]
Vote Like Your Life Depends on It (Because It Does)
This Friday marks the 91st anniversary of women’s suffrage in the U.S. Yes, many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived in a time when they weren’t allowed to vote. And for African Americans, the right to vote didn’t truly come into full effect until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But now, armed with that […]