Despite historic numbers of women elected to the 117th Congress, the U.S. continues to fall far short of gender balance.
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi served as the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman elected as U.S. House Speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress, leading the House Democrats from 2003 to 2023.
Trump Alone Has the Nuclear Codes—But Congress Can Change That
We have a long way to go when it comes to building back up our democracy in the years to come—we can no longer ignore the deep crevices in the foundation of our republic. But there is one thing that we can all agree on: One person should not have the sole authority to launch nuclear weapons.
An Attack on Women in Congress Is an Attack on All of Us
The vandalism and thefts targeting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during last week’s Capitol riots sought to assail her position as one of the most powerful women in American politics.
Demeaning Pelosi in sexist ways—and treating symbols of her power as trophies—seeks to communicate the message that women are illegitimate political actors.
“Deadly To Our Democracy and To Our People”: Feminists React To the Trump-Led Insurrection
Yesterday’s violent pro-Trump protests at the nation’s capitol, which resulted in four deaths and just 52 arrests, drew reactions of shock and horror from people around the world.
Here’s what feminists and lawmakers are saying.
“A Trailblazing Leader”: Feminists React to Speaker Pelosi’s Re-Election
The top House Democrat since 2003 and the only woman to ever serve as speaker, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) won a fourth term as leader of the House on Sunday, Jan. 3, in a 216-209 partisan vote.
Pelosi’s re-election marks an important milestone in U.S. history: Come Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, both people next in line for presidential succession will be women—Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris and Speaker Pelosi.
The Ms. Top Feminists of 2020
Despite the political, economic and public health challenges this year—or perhaps because of them—feminists mobilized, fought for our rights, and made progress on many of the issues we care deeply about.
From voter mobilization to reproductive justice, politicians to pop stars, here are our top feminists of 2020.
Democrats Unveil Plan To Rein in the Presidency Once Trump’s Gone
House Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a democracy reform plan, focused on a rebalancing of power to bolster Congress at the expense of the presidency, signaling it will be an early priority if their party wins control of both the White House and the entire Capitol this fall.
War on Women Report: Trump Attacks Pelosi and Advocates for Voter Fraud
The War on Women is in full force under the Trump administration. We refuse to go back, and we refuse to let the administration quietly dismantle the progress we’ve made. We are watching.
This week: Ted Cruz leads a group of 20 Republicans to ban the abortion pill; the U.S. will not partake in a collective effort by the World Health Organization to develop a coronavirus vaccine; Trump advocates for his supporters to attempt voter fraud; AG Barr is completely out of touch with the reality of racism; Trump blocked from trying to withhold federal family planning funds; Trump tries to make #ButHerHaircut a thing; and Pence is triggered by “Mulan.”
Suffragists Knew Voting Was Only the First Step to Equality. The ERA Could Finish the Job.
Suffragists were not a single-issue group—what they wanted was true equality for women, and they recognized women’s voting power was only the first step toward realizing this goal.
This is why the suffrage movement was closely linked to the larger push for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)—a struggle for gender equality that still continues today.
War on Women: Trump’s Obsession with “Nasty Women”—From Harris to Clinton
The War on Women is in full force under the Trump administration. We refuse to go back, and we refuse to let the administration quietly dismantle the progress we’ve made. We are watching.
This week: Donald Trump’s executive actions and empty promises; transphobia from the Trump administration; Trump’s troublesome new coronavirus advisor, Scott Atlas; Trump calls Harris “meanest” and “most horrible”; the Trump administration’s newest policy focus: increasing the amount of water permitted to flow from shower heads; GOP support for Marjorie Taylor Greene, a known QAnon conspiracy; Sexism, racism, birtherism and baseless lies in the continued attacks on Kamala Harris by Trump and Fox News; and Trump restricts vote-by-mail