Hillary Clinton

Pete Hegseth Doubles Down on His Culture War Against Feminism

PUBLISHED 10/10/2025 by

Many of the military officers who sat through Pete Hegseth’s and Donald Trump’s speeches about not tolerating “fat generals” and the need for “male standards” of physical fitness, are men who have not only served with highly capable, talented and accomplished women; many of them have mentored and promoted them as well. They know how vital and indispensable women are to functioning militaries in the modern era.

Secretary Hegseth’s speech was more than an announcement of new Pentagon priorities. It was, in many ways, a performative declaration of what is a much wider right-wing culture war against feminism.

Grief, Power and the Ongoing Fight for Women’s Rights

PUBLISHED 10/8/2025 by

From daily violence to decisions over their bodies, women’s suffering is ignored and their losses go largely ungrieved—a reflection of a culture that shapes which rights are protected and whose lives are mourned.

The newly released Beijing report warns that progress is not guaranteed, and regression is already underway. This anniversary must be more than a commemoration; it must be a recommitment. As Hillary Clinton cautions: “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for women across the world who have benefited from the changes in the laws, regulations, and norms over the last 30 years to realize that there are strong forces at work to try and turn the clocks back.”

The clock will not be turned back—not if we raise our voices, grieve loudly for women and refuse silence.

From Berlin to Beijing to U.S. Congress, Women’s Courage to Convene Propels Us Forward

PUBLISHED 9/26/2025 by

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, sports and entertainment, judicial offices and the private sector—with a little gardening mixed in!

This week:
—We mark 60 years since former President Lyndon Johnson advanced equal opportunity in employment.
—When women come together, share our strength, and lift one another up, the impossible becomes possible. 
—In a landslide victory, Adelita Grigalva becomes Arizona’s first Latina to Congress.
—Of the four Republican House members signing the petition about the actions and allies of sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, three are women.
—A record number of U.S. legislators won’t run for reelection next year.
—Hillary Clinton “sees a dangerous moment for women’s rights and democracy.”
—Akshi Chawla, who writes the #WomenLead Substack and is a valuable resource on international women’s representation, on the great question: “How do I get started?”
—The Marshall Islands, a rapidly vanishing Oceania nation, is led by the region’s first-ever woman president, Hilda Heine.
—Who was the first American woman to have an airport named in her honor?

… and more.

Community Is as Important to the Fight for Democracy as Everything Else

PUBLISHED 9/26/2025 by

It has been a hell of a week for gridlock in my hometown, New York City, as global leaders convene for the 80th United Nations General Assembly—where on Monday, President Donald Trump delivered an hour-long rant calling climate change a hoax and claiming to have personally ended seven wars in his first seven months in office.

It wasn’t all grievance and gloom. Monday also marked the 30th anniversary of the historic United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, where 189 nations adopted an ambitious “Platform for Action” to acknowledge and advance women’s rights. It was there that future Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton famously pronounced “women’s rights are human rights.” For more about the anniversary, read this extraordinary report, released this week and co-authored by Contrarian contributor Jennifer Klein, “Beijing+30: A Roadmap for Women’s Rights for the Next Thirty Years.” It details the myriad ways regression on women’s freedom is also an early sign of weakened democracy and outlines critical priorities to advance women’s rights in the immediate future.

I Asked Top Election Experts About 2024 Tampering Claims. Here’s What They Said.

PUBLISHED 6/27/2025 by | UPDATED 7/2/2025 at 9:16 A.M. PT

In recent weeks, a wave of rumors has surfaced online suggesting the 2024 election may have been “stolen” or, more specifically, tampered with due to faulty machines. While many of these claims remain vague or speculative, some are beginning to gain traction across social media platforms and alternative news sites. 

In the interest of democracy, transparency and election security, I reached out to a group of leading experts—many of whom work at the intersection of voting rights, cybersecurity and public trust—to share two examples of the kinds of articles I’ve seen on this topic, and ask for their take.

What follows are responses from some of the country’s most experienced voices on election integrity. Their insights are a valuable reminder that while election systems are not perfect, there is currently no credible evidence supporting claims of widespread vote manipulation in 2024. Instead, these experts highlight what’s real, what’s theoretical and where our attention should actually be focused as we work to protect democracy.

The Feminist Leadership Syllabus: Where History, Politics and Pedagogy Meet

PUBLISHED 6/2/2025 by | UPDATED 6/5/2025 at 8:28 A.M. PT

When women assume a position of power, does she represent feminist leadership? Can she govern according to feminist principles? What is the difference between women’s leadership and feminist leadership?

This public syllabus on feminist leadership, assembled by Ms. contributing editor Janell Hobson and students in her graduate research seminar at the University at Albany, is an attempt to respond to these questions by exploring different examples of feminist leaders and feminist movements—both globally and historically.

We hope this syllabus can educate us on the kind of feminist leadership that will move us forward toward an inclusive democracy.

(This is Part 2 of a two-part series on women leaders and feminist leadership. Part 1—out last week—breaks down Angela Bassett’s role as U.S. president in the latest and final installment of Mission: Impossible, and how her representation on screen blurs the line between the impossible fictions and possible realities of women’s power in American politics.)

‘Grace Under Pressure’: A Look Back on the Late Cecile Richards

PUBLISHED 5/3/2025 by

Cecile Richards, who transformed Planned Parenthood as its longtime president, died early in the morning on Jan. 20 at the implausibly young age of 67. America lost one of its most audacious and charismatic defenders of women’s health and rights just when we needed her most— hours before the inauguration of Donald Trump, whose first-term appointees to the Supreme Court gutted the constitutional protection of abortion rights and whose second term imperils the rights of women in additional myriad ways.

(This article originally appears in the Spring 2025 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox.)

The Empire Strikes Back: Trump and His Oligarchs Return to the White House

PUBLISHED 1/21/2025 by

What if many of the working and middle-class men who voted for Trump were misled into thinking that feminists and racial justice advocates were their antagonists, instead of the denizens of what David Graham referred to in The Atlantic as a new “Gilded Age,” who were seated right behind Trump at his second inaugural?

To use a Star Wars analogy: What if many of the average men who supported Trump fancied themselves members of the Rebel Alliance, but one day came to understand they were actually working for the Empire?

Democrats don’t need to convert the MAGA faithful. I’m convinced that millions of men and young men who voted for Trump have not gone that far down the rabbit hole of hero-worship, conspiracy and delusion. That’s the source of my defiant hope.

‘This Work Is Not at the Fringe’: What It Was Like to Lead the White House Gender Policy Council

PUBLISHED 1/14/2025 by

Jennifer Klein, head of the first-of-its-kind office, reflects on the wins and the challenges—most notably, the end of federal abortion rights.

Gender equity isn’t simply good for women, she stressed, but good for America, good for the world. “If you look at the data, there is a well-established link between political stability and the treatment of women,” she said, making gender equity essential for national security.