Gabby Giffords: What I learned fighting for my life. And why it can help America now.

I know the power of Americans standing together — not just to endure the coronavirus pandemic, but to emerge from it stronger.

Biden says he'll put a black woman on Supreme Court. This California justice is a leading candidate

Biden pledges to appoint first African American woman to the Supreme Court. Here are some leading contenders.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg 'Ain't Having It,' Won't Stop Working Out In Coronavirus Pandemic

The 87-year-old Supreme Court justice is using safeguards, but she's keeping up her exercise routine, her trainer says.

Meet Ellen Stofan, The First Female Director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

“I want every girl in this country to feel like she can grow up to be an astronaut, a pilot, or maybe someday the director of the National Air and Space Museum," she says.

I’m No Longer A Woman, But I Want To Be Part Of Women’s History Month. Here’s Why.

"Last year, I came out as nonbinary, and this new experience of gender is rapidly altering my relationship with feminism."

Historians on the myths of women's suffrage

“All across the West, women were voting by the millions before 1920," one historian says, adding a caveat: They typically had to be white, too.

Joe Biden Announces He Would Pick a Woman as Running Mate in Election; Bernie Sanders Says He Probably Would

"There are progressive women out there. So my very strong tendency is to move in that direction," Sanders said

The Next Presidential Debate Moves to D.C. Over Coronavirus Concerns

The DNC has also announced that the debate will be held without an audience.

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Protests Gender Discrimination By Reversing Their Jerseys

It has been a year since the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation demanding equal pay. In that time, the USWNT has won (another) World Cup title, Megan Rapinoe became a phenomenon and was named Sports Illustrated’s “Sports Person of the Year,” and Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger had the wedding to end all weddings. They’ve also continued to go toe-to-toe with the USSF — this time, in response to filings from the USSF justifying paying them less. According to the filings, USSF says their role on the women’s team carries less responsibility than that of the men because they lack the strength and skill of the men’s team players.But, the USWNT was not having it, and they staged a protest before Wednesday’s She Believes Cup. The team took the field for the National Anthem wearing their warm-up jerseys inside out, effectively hiding the USSF crest. “We wanted to stand together as a team and make a statement on behalf of all women and girls that the Federation’s comments are unacceptable,” the players said in a statement provided to The Athletic’s Meg Linehan. “We love this sport and this country, and we cannot stand for this misogynistic treatment.”The “misogynistic treatment” the players are referring to are the court filings from the USSF. In them, the Federation claims that “the job of a men’s national team player carries more responsibility than that of a women’s national team player” and that “the job of a MNT player (competing against senior men’s national teams) requires a higher level of skill based on speed and strength than does the job of a WNT player (competing against senior women’s national teams).”> Looking at ISI Photos and saw that USWNT players have all taken the field wearing their warm-up jerseys inside out, hiding the U.S. Soccer crest… but not the four stars. > > Yeah, that feels intentional. > > 📸 Brad Smith/ISI pic.twitter.com/rGEiYghZfb> > — Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) March 11, 2020> There have been maybe a half-dozen men in the history of the USMNT program that have had the technical ability to score the 2 goals that the USWNT have scored in this game> > — Kim McCauley (@lgbtqfc) March 12, 2020> Imagine watching this and then arguing in court that these women lack skill https://t.co/9VlpwdF8lX> > — Lindsay Gibbs (@linzsports) March 12, 2020After the Federation’s arguments were made public, fans and sponsors — including Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Visa, and Deloitte — were outraged. “We are extremely disappointed with the unacceptable and offensive comments made by US Soccer,” a spokesperson for Coca-Cola said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “The Coca-Cola Company is firm in its commitment to gender equality, fairness and women’s empowerment in the United States and around the world and we expect the same from our partners.” U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordiero apologized, but many felt it was too little too late, and there have been calls for his resignation.The USWNT signed a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in 2017, which didn’t offer them the kind of deal and is why they sued the USSF for gender discrimination in 2019. While the USMNT released a statement of support last July, many of the women’s team players felt slighted by the lack of explicit solidarity from the men. “How often do you see the men’s national team saying, ‘You know what? That is fucked up. These are the best players in the world,’” Harris told Power Plays, calling support from the men’s team “the fucking thing that’s missing.” Earlier this month, the men’s team finally released a letter asking the USSF to pay the women fairly (though, as Lindsay Gibbs points out at Power Plays, their letter seemed to imply they wanted the lawsuit to be resolved more because they were tired of sexism negatively impacting them). On Thursday, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber released a statement calling the USSF’s arguments “unacceptable and offensive.”“When I saw the media reports of U.S. Soccer’s recent filing, I was shocked and angry. I expressed to the President of the Federation in no uncertain terms how unacceptable and offensive I found the statements in that filing to be,” Garber wrote.During Wednesday’s game, chants of “equal pay” could be heard from the crowd, and Rapinoe spoke directly to young kids, hammering home why she and her teammates will continue to fight for what they deserve: “You are not lesser just because you’re a girl. You are not better just because you’re a boy. We are all created equal and should all have the equal opportunity to go out and pursue our dreams.”Related Content:Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Megan Rapinoe Calls Out Inequality In SoccerFans Insist The USWNT Get Equal Pay At Celebration

Women In Mexico Are Fighting Against Femicide With Massive Organized Protests

On Sunday, countries around the world celebrated International Women’s Day not only to reflect on the progress toward gender equality, but also all the work that still needs to be done. In Mexico, women decided to take the latter one step further. After 80,000 women flooded the streets of Mexico City on Sunday to protest violence against women, they proved, in solidarity, that women cannot be silenced against surmounting sexual-based violence in their country.Following the mass protests in the streets, thousands of women all over the country stayed home on Monday as part of a 24-hour strike against staggering levels of gender-based crimes in Mexico. Referring to it as “A Day Without Women,” many women skipped work, school, and social gatherings to illustrate what it would be like without them. Several big companies including Sears, L’Oreal, and Walmart as well as the Mexican government gave women employees a paid day off to participate in the strike. “In Mexico, it’s like we’re in a state of war; we’re in a humanitarian crisis because of the quantity of women that have disappeared or been killed,” María de la Luz Estrada, coordinator of the National Citizen’s Observatory of Femicide, told the Associated Press.Femicide, the killing of women because of their gender, is rampant and on the rise in Mexico. According to government data reported by AP, 3,825 women suffered violent deaths last year, marking a 7% increase from the year before. That equates to roughly 10 women a day in Mexico, which doesn’t begin to account for the thousands more who have gone missing in recent years. These figures make Mexico one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. In the last five years, reported femicides have increased by 137%, according to NPR. That is four times the general homicide rate. Often these crimes go without convictions. And, only about 10% of femicides in Mexico are solved.The recent, violent death of Ingrid Escamilla in February intensified the growing sense of outrage when her body was found stabbed, partially skinned, and with organs missing. To add to the injustice, gruesome photos of Escamilla’s body were leaked to tabloids and later published. Her husband later confessed to the crime. The most recent gender-based violence statistics for Mexico reported by Amnesty International estimates that 66% of women and girls aged 15 or older have experienced gender-based violence at least once in their lives and that 43% have experienced gender-based violence at the hands of an intimate partner. Worldwide, 35% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence, according to UN Women.In November 2019, 19 of Mexico’s 32 states as well as the nation’s capital, Mexico City, issued a gender violence alert that triggered emergency measures to address the problem as well as to raise awareness. Declaring a “zero tolerance” stance on femicide, Mexico’s Security Minister, Alfonso Durazo signed a memorandum that month with United Nations Women promising to “strengthen actions against gender-based violence.”President of Mexico López Obrador gave conflicting messages in response to the protest on Monday. When asked about the government’s plan for addressing violence against women, he said that his administration is working on the issue every day. “I maintain that the main thing is to guarantee the wellbeing of the people,” said Obrador. While he acknowledged that things like tougher criminal penalties and harsher prosecutions can help, he also said that some of the anger directed at him and his administration regarding gender-based violence “is conservatism disguised as feminism.” Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Students Protest Against The Kent State Gun GirlYoung Women Are Leading The Global Climate StrikeWhy Survivors Need Paid Family Leave Now

Here's How Inspiring Women Around The World Celebrated International Women's Day

Michelle Obama, Greta Thunberg, Emma Watson, Nancy Pelosi and many more shared what the day means to them.

Want Women to Have Better Lives? Start With Girls

By the time we’re talking about women’s anything, we’re too late. Our top priority needs to be investing in girls.

Rosalind P. Walter, the First 'Rosie the Riveter,' Is Dead at 95

Rosalind P. Walter grew up in a wealthy and genteel Long Island, New York home. Yet when the United States entered World War II, she chose to join millions of other women in the homefront crusade to arm the troops with munitions, warships and aircraft.She worked the night shift driving rivets into the metal bodies of Corsair fighter planes at a plant in Connecticut -- a job that had almost always been reserved for men. A newspaper column about her inspired a morale-boosting 1942 song that turned her into the legendary Rosie the Riveter, the archetype of the hardworking women in overalls and bandanna-wrapped hair who kept the military factories humming.Written by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb and popularized by the Four Vagabonds, the bandleader Kay Kyser and others, "Rosie the Riveter" captured a historical moment that helped sow the seeds of the women's movement of the last half of the 20th century. It began:All the day long whether rain or shineshe's a part of the assembly lineShe's making history,working for victory --Rosie, brrrrr, the RiveterKeeps a sharp lookout for sabotageSitting up there on the fuselageThat little frail can do, more than a male can do --Rosie, brrrrr, the Riveter.Other women went on to become models for Rosie posters and magazine covers as well.But Rosie was just Walter's first celebrated act. At her death on Wednesday at 95, she remained something of a public presence as a major philanthropist and one of PBS' principal benefactors, her name intoned with others on programming like "Great Performances," "American Masters," "PBS NewsHour," "Nature" and documentaries by Ken and Ric Burns.She was the largest individual supporter of WNET in New York, helping to finance 67 shows or series starting in 1978.Her friend Richard Somerset-Ward said she died at her home in Manhattan.Walter had been drawn to public television in part to compensate for lost opportunities during the war, said Allison Fox, WNET's senior director for major gifts. In serving her country, Walter had sacrificed a chance to attend either Smith or Vassar College, Fox said, and found that public television documentaries and other programs helped fill in the gaps in her education."She cared deeply about the public being informed and felt that public television and media is the best way to accomplish this," Fox said.Walter had two sources of wealth. Her father, Carleton Humphreys Palmer, was president and then chairman of E.R. Squibb and Sons, the Brooklyn-based drug company that helped mass produce the early doses of penicillin distributed to the troops during World War II. (It is now a subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb.)Her second husband, Henry Glendon Walter Jr., was president and later chairman and chief executive of International Flavors and Fragrances, which provides the scents and tastes for 38,000 products, from perfumes to snacks to laundry detergents; for many years it was the world's largest company of its kind.Henry and Rosalind Walter gave generously to the American Museum of Natural History, the Pierpont Morgan Library, Long Island University, the college scholarship program of the U.S. Tennis Association and the North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary on Long Island.Some gifts came through what is known today as the Rosalind P. Walter Foundation. The Walters served as trustees or directors of many of the organizations they gave to.Rosalind Palmer Walter -- friends called her Roz, not Rosie -- was born on June 24, 1924, in Brooklyn, one of four children of Carleton and Winthrop (Bushnell) Palmer. Her mother was a professor of literature at Long Island University.The family settled in Centre Island, a village in the town of Oyster Bay on Long Island's North Shore. Its 400 or so well-heeled residents have since included singer Billy Joel, lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.Her parents sent Rosalind to the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Connecticut, one of the first college preparatory boarding schools for upper-class women.By the time she graduated, Europe was at war, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 spurred the United States to declare war on Japan, Germany and Italy, she was recruited, at 19, as an assembly line worker at the Vought Aircraft Co. in Stratford, Connecticut.Her story caught the attention of the syndicated newspaper columnist Igor Cassini, who wrote about her in his "Cholly Knickerbocker" column. And that, in turn, inspired the songwriters.A year after the war's end, Walter, by then working as a nurse's aide at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, married Henry S. Thompson, a lieutenant with the Naval Reserve and a graduate of Stanford University, at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. They had a son, also named Henry, before the couple divorced in the 1950s.Her second husband, whom she married in 1956, had a son from a previous marriage, Henry G. Walter III, who died in 2012. Walter is survived by her son, Henry S. Thompson; two grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; and several step-great-grandchildren.Walter was not the only Rosie the Riveter. There were at least four other women who became models for the character as the War Production Board sought to recruit more women for the military factories.Norman Rockwell drew his version of Rosie for the cover of the May 29, 1943, issue of The Saturday Evening Post -- a grimy-faced, muscular woman in denim overalls, work goggles perched on her forehead and a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf trampled underfoot. His model was a Vermont woman, Mary Doyle Keefe, who died in 2015.And J. Howard Miller drew a Rosie poster for Westinghouse war factories. He portrayed her in a red and white polka dot bandanna as she flexed a bicep under the words "We Can Do It!" The image became a feminist symbol starting in the 1980s, reprinted on T-shirts and coffee mugs. The model for that Rosie was most likely Naomi Parker Fraley, a California waitress who died in 2018.So Rosalind Walter cannot alone claim the crown of being the real Rosie the Riveter. But she was there first.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

Why Women's History Should Be Everyone's History

While the contributions of many women throughout history may have been erased, Alma Har'el writes it is up to us to make sure they will not be forgotten

Why Celine Dion Should Be Everyone’s Fashion Icon

Netflix, UN Women Launch ‘Because She Watched’ Collection

Netflix and UN Women have launched the “Because She Watched” collection of series, documentaries, and films created for the upcoming International Women’s Day. The collection, which will be available all year, is curated by female creators from behind and in front of the camera, including Sophia Loren, Salma Hayek, Yalitza Aparicio, Millie Bobby Brown, Laurie […]

Eva Longoria: 2020 Election Is Bigger Than Any Candidate (Guest Column)

My priority for this election is not advocating for a lone candidate. My priority is advocating for democracy itself. At a breakfast at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Hillary Clinton spoke at length about what is at stake in this urgent moment. The hacking of, and outright attack on, our democratic system is a […]

What Is International Women's Day, & Why Do We Celebrate It on March 8?

Maybe you've seen the hashtag on social media posts. Perhaps you heard a speech referencing it. You're likely familiar — at least on a surface level — with International Women's Day. You may be less familiar, though, with what the special occasion stands for and why it's held each year on March 8. In short, it's exactly […]

The Fascinating Story Behind Women’s History Month

What started as a school project has turned into a nationally-recognized celebration of influential women.

People Are Crazy In Love With This UCLA Gymnast’s All-Beyoncé Floor Routine

Gymnast Nia Dennis’ viral routine got plenty of love on Twitter — including praise from Alicia Keys and Gabrielle Union.

Scotland Is Making Pads & Tampons Free For Everyone

Scotland has officially become the first nation to approve a plan to provide free menstrual products for all in an unanimous vote on Tuesday, according to a report by Reuters. The bill will make pads and tampons free in public places like community centers, youth clubs, and pharmacies, piggybacking off of legislation already in place that requires complimentary menstrual products to be available in schools and universities.“Why is it in 2020 that toilet paper is seen as a necessity but period products aren’t?” asked Scottish lawmaker Alison Johnstone during the debate, according to Reuters. “Being financially penalized for a natural bodily function is not equitable or just.”Monica Lennon, one of the bill’s proposers, explained that the new legislation will be a “milestone moment for normalizing menstruation in Scotland and sending out that real signal to people in this country about how seriously parliament takes gender equality,” said Reuters.Notably, Scottish parliament passed the legislation with 112 votes in favor, none against, and one abstention. Now, lawmakers in the country will be able to propose amendments. If the bill becomes law, the government estimates that the cost of providing free period products will total $31.2 million per year.“We are changing the culture and it’s really exciting that other countries right around the world are watching very closely to see what we do,” Lennon said.Currently, The United Kingdom taxes period-related products at 5%. The United States also has a tampon tax. Thirty-three states still tax menstrual products including tampons, pads, liners, and period cups. This “pink tax” costs American taxpayers around $150 million each year.“People have to take a step back and say, Oh my god, I’ve never thought about this, and yeah, that seems pretty unfair and discriminatory. It’s an awakening,” Jordana Kier, founder of organic feminine care brand LOLA, previously told Refinery29. As Lennon reportedly said during a rally before the vote was passed, “Access to menstrual products is a right. Period.” It sounds like Scottish lawmakers are hearing the message.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?“I Believed That Tampons Were Impure”Join The Fight To Make Periods Tax-FreeTampon Sizes Are About Your Menstrual Flow

The new wave of feminism sweeping Latin America

Women across Latin America are organizing a wave of protests to force gender politics into the public arena amid staggering rates of femicide and highly restrictive abortion laws. Thousands of Argentines who demonstrated last week in Buenos Aires for the decriminalization of abortion are part of pan-continental movement that has seen action from Chile and Peru to Mexico. "This time, it will be historic," said Mabel Gabarra, a lawyer and founder of a campaign to provide free, safe and legalized terminations in Argentina.