Tag: Sexual Harassment

Universities Are Not Preparing Women Lawyers for the Misogyny They’ll Face in the Workplace

I first decided to attend law school when I was a young idealistic sophomore in high school. I was fortunate to attend a university where a student could design her own major; I set out to curate a degree in women’s studies, with a specialty in law. After completing my studies, I was informed—and believed—that I was prepared to embark upon a successful career in the legal field.

What was not encompassed within my course studies was how to identify, attack and resolve the gender-based legal and workplace issues that continue to challenge women attorneys (like me) today. The male-dominated field of law—rife with sexual harassment, systemic sexism and problem drinking—still has years to go before women can compete and excel in U.S. courtrooms and boardrooms.

War on Women: Arson at Abortion Clinics Is up 100 Percent; Trump Is Guilty of Sexual Abuse and Defamation; Republicans Try to End No-Fault Divorce

U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

This month: Jane’s Due Process is now providing travel funding for Texas teens accessing abortion; states continue to face anti-LGBTQ legislative attacks; Donald Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll; Indiana’s medical licensing board fined Dr. Caitlin Bernard; and more.

Are You There, God? My Nude Photos Are All Over the Internet.

Slut-shaming has become more rampant and acceptable than ever before in our surveillance-saturated culture. Lacking privacy, we are denied dignity.

By normalizing the behavior of pre-adolescent girls obsessed with sexuality that they don’t yet comprehend, Are You There God? is an excellent reminder that girls—like all of us—need space to act foolishly, sometimes cruelly and then grow up—without being treated like a sexual object and without the whole world knowing all about it.

From the Ashes of Rana Plaza: ‘Consumers Want to Know How Their Clothes Are Made’

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The year 2013 saw the worst accident in the history of the international garment industry: A clothing factory collapsed outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing at least 1,127 workers, mostly young women, and injuring another 2,500.

“Ten years later, the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster offers an opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made and the work that still needs to be done to ensure decent conditions for Bangladesh’s more than four million garment workers.”

Women Need Julie Su as Our Next Labor Secretary. The Labor Movement Is Ready to Fight for Her

Julie Su would make history as the second-ever Asian-American woman to hold the role of labor secretary and only the fourth-ever woman of color. But this is about more than representation.

Her knowledge of wage theft, immigrant worker abuse and labor law is personal and encyclopedic. But she also has a deep understanding of what’s happening on the ground.

“A win for Julie Su is a win for women and workers all over this country. Let’s get it done.”

Another Suspicious Death at a Texas Military Base Shows the Urgency of Addressing Military Sexual Harassment and Assault

Mourners recently attended a memorial service for Pvt. Ana Fernanda Basaldua Ruiz, who was found murdered at the same Texas military base where U.S. Army Soldier Vanessa Guillén was brutally murdered in 2020. Ruiz’s death has renewed focus on the Army’s handling of sexual harassment—since before her death, Ruiz had told several family members and friends that she had been sexually harassed. Before she was killed, Guillén had also reported to her supervisor two instances of sexual harassment by a fellow soldier, but he and other officials failed to report the harassment up the chain.

As a Marine, I have heard the stories of sexual assault and harassment and have seen firsthand the devastating effects it can have on those who experience it. It is time for the U.S. military to recognize this problem and provide evidence-based therapies and resources to service members who have experienced this devastating trauma. 

‘Working 9 to 5’: A Firsthand Account of the Women’s Movement, Labor Union and Iconic Movie

Ellen Cassedy’s Working 9 to 5: A Woman’s Movement, A Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie, is part memoir, part political history and part prescriptive look at the ongoing challenges facing workers today. But as much as it acknowledges how much remains to be done to achieve racial and gender equity on the job, it also celebrates 9 to 5’s many successes.

When Women Are Safe, We Will Finally Be Free

Safety is our most fundamental need, but the U.S. denies it to women—especially women of color. Every attack on our safety stands in the way of our freedom. We need to get serious about the problem with serious policy solutions. 

Securing safety for women is possible. State legislatures across the country are proposing legislation to ensure that people who have committed violence can’t get access to guns, support families who experience domestic violence, improve investigative processes for missing Indigenous people, and fund mental health crisis services.

(This essay is part of The Majority Rules project—an artful essay and op-ed series from Ms. and Supermajority Education Fund.)

War on Women Report: Mike Pence Calls for Nationwide Ban on Abortion Pills; Minnesota Is First State to Protect Abortion Rights in 2023

U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

This month: New mother Arleta Ramirez was ordered to use a bottle instead of breastfeeding; tracking multiple attacks on access to medication abortion; CNN co-anchor Don Lemon knows when women are in their prime; both Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly were sentenced, and more.