As always, thanks to ramara, elenacarlena, officebss, Besame, and the rest of the WOW crew for bringing together all these stories!
International News
Tuesday was International Women’s Day, filled with reminders of how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. Check out this diary by Queries, giving some history of IWD.
Here’s a map of the percentages of women in the world’s legislatures. Two countries, Rwanda and Bolivia, have female majorities. The world average is 22.5%, but the US is below, that at 19%. And we’re one of two countries (the other is Papua New Guinea) without paid maternity leave.
Jen Maman of Greenpeace speaks of the stories she will tell her daughter:
New models. New power. New definitions of courage.
I am still collecting the stories I will tell my daughter. I hope she will grow up to be respected, loved and appreciated for who she is. I hope she will stand for what is right, and stand for others less privileged. She shouldn’t have to be brave, or strong – just human.
Iran now has 14 women in Parliament (the most it’s ever had, out of 290 members). Which led to one male member saying women don’t belong there, just like “children or donkeys.”
The benefits of Fair Trade aren’t necessarily reaching women.
Mass rape is being used as a weapon in the civil war in South Sudan.
Indigenous women in Ecuador are defending their land against the intrusion of a foreign oil company.
And in a textbook case of “unclear on the concept:” A Chinese mall “celebrated” International Women’s Day with a bra-unbuckling contest. No, really.
The inimitable Dave Futrelle wishes you a happy “Why Isn’t there an International Men’s Day” Day:
This annual holiday, previously known as International Women’s Day, is traditionally celebrated every March 8 by angrily demanding “why isn’t there an International Men’s Day?” after refusing to Google “International Men’s Day” first, at which point you would discover that the holiday does in fact already exist. International Men’s Day is celebrated on November 19th, and every other day of the year.
Reproductive Rights:
Scary: Do-it-yourself abortions appear to be on the rise, and they correlate with places where legal abortions have been made less accessible.
While an anti-choice law is being reviewed by the Supreme Court, Florida is rushing to pass a very similar law, not just gutting abortion services but contraception as well.
The “experts” who testify for anti-abortion laws aren’t necessarily doctors, or “experts” on much of anything besides opposing women’s reproductive freedom.
Republican obstruction on the Supreme Court appointment can have serious consequences for women, on reproductive rights and beyond.
South Dakota is the latest state to pass a 20-week abortion ban.
An analysis of the current Supreme Court impasse and its likely effects on reproductive rights. I also wanted to highlight this:
On both sides, I find people who say they don’t know if they will vote for the other candidate should that candidate become the nominee. Clinton supporters might have misgivings about going to the polls for Sanders, and Sanders supporters may be uneasy about casting a vote for Clinton. This worries me. While it may be noble to refuse to vote for what one considers to be the lesser of two evils — and I myself have taken that position many times — in this case there could be dire consequences.
Intersectionality:
#UnfairAndLovely celebrates dark-skinned women in cultures that idealize light skin.
Native American women are 2.5 times as likely as other US women to be sexually assaulted. This free, downloadable resource guide for survivors is both necessary and heartbreaking to contemplate.
African-American women’s wages fell even further behind white men in 2015.
Economics:
A study compares the pay of women and men at top news organizations. Do you even have to ask?
Legislatures in half the states have recently introduced equal pay legislation. Link has a petition to the others.
When the barriers to abortion are financial rather than legal, women of color are disproportionately affected. Note that financial barriers go beyond the cost of the abortion itself: it may mean taking time off work to travel 100 miles to a clinic, then doing it again after a mandatory waiting period.
Uncategorizable:
The latest bugaboo for climate change deniers is the existence of a study on feminist aspects of glaciology (study of glaciers). After lying about how much the study cost, they’ve been characterizing it as “millions of husbands and wives battling over the thermostat.” What’s actually in it:
As the larger grant is for constructing a history of glaciology, this particular paper looks at how gender has influenced the science of glaciers, finding that women’s voices have not been sufficiently represented. And since the impacts of climate change and glacial retreat fall disproportionately on women through factors like causing women to have to travel further for fresh water as glaciers retreat, those voices are especially important in helping society determine the best ways to adapt to changing conditions.
The paper draws on the literature of feminist political ecology and geography, which examines how resources are used and distributed through a gender-sensitive lens.
Violence and Harassment:
Sportscaster Erin Andrews was awarded $55 million in her lawsuit against the Nashville Marriott for giving information to her stalker that allowed him to secretly film her naked and then post the video on the internet.
A female music journalist on the daily frustrations of trying to do an interview with a subject who assumes that letting him hit on her is part of the job.
A lawyer tries to deal with online stalking and harassment.
Emily Temple-Wood couldn’t believe the harassment she got when she started adding articles on women scientists to Wikipedia. She decided to take a “Phelpsing” approach (my term for the practice of pledging a given amount of money to LGBT or progressive causes for every hour of harassment by Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist “Church”). For every harassing message she gets, Temple-Wood and her co-conspirators add another article on a woman scientist.
After an article discussed the number of complaints to Uber regarding rape and sexual assault, Uber first tried to claim all those reports were typos or misleading, then reversed themselves shortly afterward.
The dean of the UC Berkeley Law School admitted to sexually harassing his executive assistant. He got a 10% pay reduction and — gasp! had to write a letter of apology. He’s still the dean of the law school.
Science professor A. Hope Jahren watches in horror as one of her former students is harassed, knowing that if she asks for help from administration, it’s not likely to be forthcoming.
Good News and Action Items
Cool video of women who’ve won the Nobel Prize.
Where to find women authors from bygone eras.
Petition to the Florida legislature regarding the anti-abortion law mentioned above.
Tell the Senate Judiciary Committee: Pass the Sexual Assault Survivors Rights Act.