women

It’s been a long time coming, but the Violence Against Women Act is finally heading to President Obama’s desk for his signature. This is due in no small part to the tireless efforts of EMILY’s List women like Rep. Gwen Moore, Rep. Louise Slaughter and Senator Patty Murray.

I have an aunt who lives way out in the woods of Nebraska. Chadron, actually, beautiful country, pristine land, amazing wildlife. She doesn’t have a landline at her house – or electricity, for that matter (by choice). And it was only relatively recently that there was a cell tower near enough to allow  her to get a phone with a local provider to have regular phone access. Still, it’s a basic plan, with limited minutes (the two of us get chatty) and between our two schedules, I’m only able to catch up with her once or twice a month.
 

While the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act has passed through the Senate, we are still waiting on a crucial vote from the House. Remember, last year House Republicans famously allowed the almost-twenty-year-old act to expire for the first time since it became law. They cited objections to extending protections to LGBT, immigrant, and Native American women – objections so strenuous, they allowed protections for all American women to end.

Cross-posted from The Huffington Post

In 1973, two really interesting things happened. On January 22, the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade ruled that a woman's right to an abortion was protected under Constitutional privacy laws. And on March 18, I was born.

Forty years ago today, the Supreme Court issued its ruling on Roe v. Wade, protecting a woman's right to make decisions about her own body. Today, seven in ten Americans believe that ruling should stand. Ensuring women can decide when and how they start a family was pivotal in every success and milestone women have achieved over the last 40 years - and all the successes they're still achieving today.

Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" was on loop today during EMILY's List 2013 Inauguration Brunch. Go ahead and push play on the video while you read this recap. It'll help get you fired up. I'll wait...
      
       

From the Capitol building to the corporate board room, people are buzzing about the need for increased gender diversity. And new findings from researcher Mariam Schwartz-Ziv tell us just why that is.