The Ms. Q&A

Questions from Ms.; answers from trailblazing feminists and equity leaders.

Reproductive Rights Pioneer Sheds Light on His Battle Against Anti-Abortion Extremists

PUBLISHED 6/18/2022 by

He’s been called “the father of the abortion movement” by the Los Angeles Times and a “promoter of filth” by Catholic and evangelical conservatives, but as reproductive justice pioneer Bill Baird readies himself for his 90th birthday on June 20th, he is not thinking about his reputation. Instead, he’s as impassioned about attacks on abortion and birth control as he has ever been and remains a fierce critic of those who want to restrict access.

Baird recently spoke to Ms. reporter Eleanor J. Bader about his career as well as the ongoing struggle for reproductive freedom.

Lucia Small’s Film ‘Girl Talk’ Explores Gender Bias Within High School Debate Teams: ‘A Powerful Team With Powerful Girls’ Voices’

PUBLISHED 6/16/2022 by

Perhaps it should come as little surprise that many prominent female public figures—Sonia Sotomayor, Kamala Harris, Oprah Winfrey, the list goes on—were all high school debaters. In that arena, each of them overcame the odds stacked against them—girls are less likely to participate than boys, less likely to continue year-after-year, and even less likely to win.

Filmmaker Lucia Small’s latest film Girl Talk explores the microcosm of gender bias within high school debate competitions by following five girl debaters through their high school years. In this interview, Small talks about her inspiration for the film and how it speaks to larger issues of how girls and women articulate themselves in arenas from politics to filmmaking. She hopes the film will inspire discussions about gender bias in the debate world—and beyond.

Reimagining the Future of the Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice Movement

PUBLISHED 5/24/2022 by and

Amber Gavin works at independent woman-owned abortion clinic, A Woman’s Choice. Israel Cook is a state legislative fellow at the Center for Reproductive Rights. Both women share what makes them hopeful for the future of abortion care.

“Many people already live in a post-Roe reality. Yet this does not have to be our future. Advocates, providers, lawyers and everyday people across the country can build a future where we uplift and center the voices and ideas of Black people, people of color, disabled people, immigrants, young people and more.”

Photographer Natalie Keyssar Illuminates the Plight of Women in Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

PUBLISHED 5/23/2022 by

Award-winning, Brooklyn-based photojournalist Natalie Keyssar says the six weeks she spent in Ukraine and at the Poland-Ukraine border gave her an opportunity to see the best of humanity. But she also admits that she saw absolute horror. Her photos depict grit and determination, as well as sorrow, and offer vivid testimony to the resistance on display in much of Ukraine.

Demystifying Cybersecurity: Author Zinet Kemal Is Paving the Way for Young Immigrant Women in Cyber

PUBLISHED 5/19/2022 by and

It will take a paradigm shift to defend our national security moving forward. Women and people of color should be at the forefront of this effort. Demystifying Cybersecurity, a #ShareTheMicInCyber and Ms. magazine monthly series, spotlights women from the #ShareTheMicInCyber movement—highlighting the experiences of Black practitioners, driving a critical conversation on race in the cybersecurity industry, and shining a light on Black experts in their fields.

This month, cybersecurity professional and children’s book author Zinet Kemal describes her path to entering the tech industry, and why more young, Black and Muslim women should have a voice in cybersecurity.

The ‘Cure’ for Mom Guilt? Affordable Childcare, Paid Family Leave and Equal Pay

PUBLISHED 5/6/2022 by

Rather than flowers that wilt, what most mothers really want is underlying systemic change that benefits not just them, but their entire family system. Reshma Saujani’s initiative, Marshall Plan for Moms, a campaign of her nonprofit Girls Who Code, has set out to do just that.

“‘Mom guilt’ is the natural result of two totally unattainable societal ideals clashing: the perfect mom and ideal worker.”

Hana’s Story: Tricked and Traumatized by a Fake Abortion Clinic

PUBLISHED 5/4/2022 by

When Hana found out she was pregnant, she was five weeks along. As a college student living near Boston, she had numerous options for abortion healthcare. But she ended up at an anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy center” she thought was an abortion clinic. Despite the lies and coercion she experienced at the CPC, Hana persisted in her search for an abortion and eventually found real healthcare, but she worries about CPCs harming other people. Ms. spoke with Hana about her CPC experience, the effect it had on her, and why she’s speaking out now.

“When I found out I was pregnant, I was absolutely terrified. I am a teenager, in my first year of college, and far away from home—the one thing I knew was that I could not bring a child into my world. I felt so lost, like a child who lost their mother in a supermarket. I needed someone to help guide me through this, someone I could trust. I made the mistake of trusting these people, who did not hesitate to abuse it, and it has forever changed me.”

Demystifying Cybersecurity: How Mari Galloway and Other Women Are Creating Their Own Careers in Cyber

PUBLISHED 4/27/2022 by and

It will take a paradigm shift to defend our national security moving forward. Women and people of color should be at the forefront of this effort. Demystifying Cybersecurity, a #ShareTheMicInCyber and Ms. magazine monthly series, spotlights women from the #ShareTheMicInCyber movement—highlighting the experiences of Black practitioners, driving a critical conversation on race in the cybersecurity industry, and shining a light on Black experts in their fields.

This month, here’s everything you need to know about the field of cybersecurity and how to create your own career in it, courtesy of Mari Galloway, CEO and a founding board member for the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu.

‘Vagina Obscura’ Author Rachel E. Gross Takes Us on a Daring Anatomical Voyage

PUBLISHED 4/26/2022 by

Rachel E. Gross, in her debut book Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage, takes us on a journey around “the organs traditionally bound up in baby-making―the uterus, ovaries and vagina,” elaborating both on what science knows, and what it doesn’t. (Did you know it wasn’t until 1993 that a federal mandate required researchers to include women and minorities in clinical research?)

Gross recently spoke to Carli Cutchin by phone from her home in Brooklyn. Thoughtful and erudite, she talked about the female and LGBT researchers who’ve made scientific inroads against the odds, the myth that the “clitoral” and “vaginal” orgasms are distinct from each other, a princess who relocated her clitoris, koala vaginas and much more.