As Roe v. Wade hangs by a thread, looking back at feminist history can provide a well-reasoned basis for political action and pro-choice movements.
Tag: Voting Rights
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Black Women Are Already Front-Runners in Statewide Primaries; Efforts to Pass ERA Ramp Up
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: Black women establish themselves as early front-runners in statewide primaries; New Jersey must track data on the gender and race of appointees to state boards and commissions; efforts to pass the ERA in 2022; advances for women around the globe; RSVP for RepresentWomen’s Solutions Summit for a 21st Century Democracy; and more.
Abortion Is Increasingly Becoming a Decisive Factor for Voters
In a few short months, we face the likelihood the Supreme Court will overturn Roe. Already, 2021 was the worst year for abortion rights in half a century. In Texas, abortion has already been virtually outlawed for almost five months. And now the Supreme Court has issued yet another decision that will ensure S.B. 8 will remain the law in Texas for months to come.
The silver lining of this fraught era for reproductive rights seems to be that a large swath of Americans who oppose overturning Roe v. Wade will be motivated to vote in the midterm elections this fall. Polls show that abortion is increasingly becoming a decisive factor for voters—particularly young women voters.
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation; Rest in Power, Lani Guinier; NY Gov Kathy Hochul Is Shaking Things Up for Women; Black Women Are Just 6% of U.S. House
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s term limit legislation could provide more women the chance to run and win; Minneapolis’s Andrea Jenkins is the first openly trans city council president in the U.S., and Seattle’s Debora Juarez marks same milestone for Indigenous people; Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s election brings the percentage of Black women in the U.S. House to 6 percent; Xiomara Castro, the incoming woman president of Honduras; the legacy of voting rights champion Lani Guinier, who died on Jan. 7; and more.
Keeping Score: NYC’s First Women-Majority Council Takes Office; Only 55% of Non-Parents Want Kids Someday; D.C. Students Get Free Period Products
This week: Nebraskans face one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation; New York City’s first women-majority city council takes office; Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers sentenced to life in prison; D.C. Council approved free menstrual products in all schools; the gender gap in higher education widens; and more.
“We Know What We’re Doing”: How To Engage With Black Women Organizers Ahead of the 2022 Midterm Elections
To effectively engage communities of color ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, it’s time more groups include the expertise of Black women organizers in their strategies year-round. Yet the financial investments, resources, and above all, trust in Black women organizers’ work is nowhere to be seen as this year’s election cycle gears up.
Women Are Taking Over City Councils—From New York to New Mexico
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: Women hold 31 of the 51 seats on the New York City Council; the all-women city council in Las Cruces, N.M.; meet 21 women involved with voting rights; Women make up nearly half of the Cabinet in the Netherlands; the dearth of women in one teen’s AP history textbook; 111 must-see places in women’s History in D.C.; and more.
The U.S. Can’t Be a Global Leader on Democracy While Banning Abortion at Home
Last month, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in a case that could set off a new era of abortion bans across much of the country. December also marked the start of President Biden’s Democracy Summit.
Yes, the U.S. faces an unprecedented crisis for the right to abortion. Before its next Democracy Summit, the Biden administration should make a real commitment to ending all anti-abortion policies that cause the U.S. to fall short of its democratic aspirations.
Feminist Year in Review: It’s Been a Hell of a Year—But We Didn’t Just Sit Around
It’s been a hell of a year for feminists.
But we didn’t sit around. We took to the streets, to protest the attacks on our right to decide what happens to our own bodies. To protest the lack of progress on voting rights, immigration, police and gun reform, and on finally enshrining the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. We wrote letters, sent messages, tweet stormed, rallied, called Congress, and gave money to support our causes in a year when budgets were tight—because we knew it was the right thing to do.
Happy new year from all of us at Ms., and thank you for sticking with us through the hard times.
Feminist Wishes for 2022: “We Were Never Meant To Do This Work Alone”
As 2021 comes to a close, Ms. asked some of our favorite feminists—from abortion activists and providers to climate crisis specialists and environmentalists—what they see as top priorities and what changes they’re hoping for in 2022.
“Ms. readers: We are the answer—the future we’ve been waiting for! And that begins right now, on the eve of 2022.”