More Than A Magazine, A Movement
A federal civil rights law enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government.
Ninety-two percent of high school students reported needing a new pad or tampon during school. Yet, period poverty, a lack of access to menstrual products due to economic circumstances, impacts students’ ability to safely address menstruation.
“Some girls find out about their periods when they actually get them. It’s just never talked about in schooling.”
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: The historical impact of Title IX extends far beyond the reaches of sports; ranked-choice voting leads to a record number of women elected in Australia; the importance of women in addressing the climate crisis;
One of the visionaries behind Title IX—the federal legislation passed in 1972 that mandates gender equality in education—was a fierce and fearless congresswoman from Hawaii, Patsy Takemoto Mink. As Congress’s first woman of color and a 1972 presidential aspirant, Mink served 24 years in Congress, from 1965–1977 and then again from 1990–2002. Mink broke traditional gender boundaries, championed peace, the environment, equality and social justice, and never wavered as an advocate and ally for social change.
“Don’t Say Gay” bills don’t protect children—they play into the hands of child abusers, while also putting school districts in violation of Title IX. Denying a school district’s right to define a curriculum based on evidence-based research plays directly into the hands of predators who want, very much, naïve and disempowered children to prey upon.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, which prohibits gender discrimination in educational programs or activities. Because almost all schools receive federal funds, the law applies in nearly every educational context. Most people associate Title IX with athletics, where it has indeed had a profound effect on girls and women. Before Title IX, women and girls were virtually excluded from most athletic opportunities in schools.
The Pew Research Center did a national survey to gauge awareness and attitudes about Title IX 50 years after its passage. Among those who know about Title IX, there are both gender and political gaps in how they think about it.
Last week, President Biden signed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation included in the fiscal year appropriations package. Two of Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.)’s bills were included in the VAWA reauthorization: a bill closing the law enforcement consent loophole, and another requiring climate surveys for college and university students to assess efforts to address sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, stalking and dating violence.
Speier, first elected to Congress in 2008, has announced that she will not seek reelection in November. She sat down with Ms. contributor Michelle Onello to discuss the improved VAWA and its critical importance for women, as well as her plans after she retires from Congress.
WNBA champion Brittney Griner’s detainment in Russia seems to be a political pawn. This could have been wholly avoided if women were paid fairly in sports in the U.S.
Last month’s USWNT landmark legal victory placed women athletes on an equal footing with their male counterparts. But true equality will never be reached unless women in all fields, with men’s support, are willing to finally stand up for themselves and collectively demand equal pay across all professions.
The U.S. is now the first country to grant equal pay for its men’s and women’s soccer teams. But for years, U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team players have repeatedly complained that they’ve been getting as little as 40 percent of the salary their male counterparts get—especially considering the women’s team has four World Cup titles and the men’s team has … none.
The Equal Rights Amendment has been in the works for almost 100 years. In 1972, the amendment passed in Congress. Now 50 years later, the required 38 states have voted to ratify the ERA—but it hasn’t yet been added to the U.S. Constitution after the Trump administration blocked the national archivist from certifying and publishing the ERA as the 28th Amendment. But no one is taking that as final.
I’m 20 years old and a senior at Long Island University Global. In conversation with other Gen Zers, here’s why the ERA is important to us and how we see our role in the fight today.
