The Feminist Vote 2024

The Feminist Vote 2024

 

Through in-depth reporting and interviews, The Feminist Vote 2024 is your feminist guide through Election Day and beyond, covering what you need to know about the most consequential election of our lifetimes.

The 2024 election is about more than candidates: It’s about safeguarding and advancing women’s rights in the face of intensifying challenges—from reproductive justice to healthcare, from economic equality to climate justice. The Feminist Vote 2024 will highlight not only the political power of women but also the unique perspectives of the activists, lawmakers and everyday voters working tirelessly create a future where women’s rights are fully protected and respected.

The Childcare Crisis Hampers Opportunity for America’s Families

Half of all U.S. families live in childcare deserts with either inadequate or nonexistent licensed childcare to rely on for support. Within this landscape, many parents are forced to make difficult decisions about their children’s care or their own jobs, not because it’s what they think is best for their family, but because they lack any other options.

As the incoming Trump administration readies itself for office, early childhood advocates must press any advantage to keep childcare and early learning a top priority.

Here’s What the Biden Administration Can Do About Abortion Before Trump Takes Office

Though President-elect Donald Trump has waffled on how his administration might handle abortion policy, antiabortion activists are already exerting a pressure campaign for the incoming Trump administration to take a hardline approach and undo many of the policies set in place by the Biden administration.

Still, with two months left before Biden leaves office, there are some areas where legal scholars and attorneys suggest the outgoing administration could still take action, even if the impact may be narrow or short-lived.

It’s Not the Economy, Stupid

This election is an unfortunate macrocosm of what Black women experience each day across industries: a fundamental lack of trust to lead.

It is long past time for us to face the fact that racism—specifically anti-Blackness—and sexism are at the base of the many other reasons Harris was unable to triumph in this election.

The Public Is Demanding Paid Sick Time. It’s Time for Lawmakers to Pay Attention.

There was a promising development in the 2024 election that should not be overlooked: By large and decisive margins, voters in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska all voted yes to enacting new paid sick time laws in each state. Now, 3 million more U.S. workers have the legal right to paid sick time and will no longer need to make the impossible choice between sacrificing a paycheck and going to work or sending a child to school sick.

With these ballot wins, 19 states, as well as over a dozen localities, have now embraced paid sick time as a fundamental workplace right—and that is worth celebrating. But access to such a vital protection shouldn’t depend on luck or zip code. Tens of millions of workers are still being left behind. If Congress wants to address widespread concerns about economic hardship and rising costs of living, they can listen to voters and tangibly improve the well-being of working families everywhere by passing the federal Healthy Families Act.

Worn Down, Splintered and Underrepresented: The Fight for Women’s Progress Is Far From Over

Since Election Day, I’ve cycled through a whirlwind of emotions and tried to make sense of it all. In this time of unprecedented division, when hope felt within reach—the chance to elect the first woman president—history took a familiar turn and, once again, did not break that ultimate glass ceiling. 

But history also teaches us that meaningful change is rarely linear. It’s slow, uneven and complicated—especially when women don’t speak with one voice. Progress requires resilience, grit and an unwavering commitment to push through hard times. Taking action is key. And as hard as it can be, the effort is always worth it, even when it’s hard to see.

Feeling Sold Out by Your Own Country Isn’t New for Many Americans

In my university classes, I teach undergraduates about the ways in which people on the land that is today the United States have been accepted or rejected as American citizens, and how even those who have gained citizenship must continually fight for their status as full citizens. We discuss issues facing minority groups including indigenous, Black and LGBTQ Americans. And we discuss marginalized majority groups: women and working and middle-class Americans. Students learn how all these struggles persist over decades, if not centuries.

History and politics are cyclical. Logically, I know this is how the American story goes. (And so many stories across the globe.) But it still hurts anyway. There are big changes coming, but as the late civil rights icon, Rep. John Lewis, wrote in his masterful op-ed published posthumously: “The truth does not change.” It is on us to speak that truth to power. It is more important than ever to stay engaged, to resist the urge to flee or opt out of the political process when we get that taste of loss or rejection—a feeling that’s all too familiar for many Americans.

Trump’s Cabinet Is Absurd. Republicans Will Accept It Anyway. That’s the Point.

Matt Gaetz for attorney general. RFK, Jr., for head of Health and Human Services. Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. 

The whole thing is a big public farce, and Trump is demanding that Republicans publicly play along—that they attach their names to this. It’s a signal that he expects to be treated as powerful beyond measure; that he is not to be questioned, no matter how dangerous or ridiculous his decisions. That he owns the government and everyone in it. 

Tyrants are never one-man machines. They are made and enabled by many others. And when tyrants emerge in democratic systems, they are made by people who consent to their abuse and misuse of that system. 

This Week in Women’s Representation: Record-Breaking Governors, Legislative Wins and a Global Call to Action for Gender Equality

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week’s Weekend Reading includes on-the-ground updates from the 2024 Reykjavik Global Forum; the progress of women in state legislatures, particularly in New Mexico and Minnesota; the record number of female governors in the U.S.; and the ongoing global fight for women’s representation.

White Men Elected Donald Trump, Again

Male grievance, especially white male grievance, is the beating heart of Trumpist populism.

Kamala Harris ran a truly impressive campaign under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. It would be reductive and absurd to say that her campaign’s decision not to put her on The Joe Rogan Experience is why she lost. But it does point to a Democratic Party mindset that needs to change.  

If Democrats want to win future presidential elections, they need to communicate more effectively with men, including blue-collar white men and young men of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, whose vote for Trump was less a vote for his policies or against those of Kamala Harris than it was the loudest and angriest statement they could make that we still matter.