Kate Smurthwaite, 08.31.2011
Feminist activist, writer and satirist and vice chair of Abortion Rights UK
The debate around a woman's right to choose on abortion is often thought of as mainly about term limits. It's easy to forget that there are many more obstacles which can be put in the way of women seeking to end an unwanted pregnancy. Needless to say there is no shortage of those in our society who will clutch at any straw to deny women the right to autonomy over our own bodies. One such individual is Tory MP Nadine Dorries who has chosen the UK government's summer recess as the right time to try and sneak through her latest proposals mandating that women be offered "independent" counseling before being referred for termination.
Steve Kettmann, 08.29.2011
Berlin-based American author
Shirin Ebadi offered a cautionary note about progress in the Muslim World over the weekend at the inaugural World Peace Conference in Berlin, the culmination of a weeklong World Peace Festival.
Davinder Kumar, 08.29.2011
Development journalist and Press Officer, Plan International
Unwanted, unheard and unseen, stateless people exist with a sinking feeling of rejection. 'Let's go home, back to our country,' is not an option. There isn't any country for stateless people.
Right To Know Campaign, 08.30.2011
Abortion providers are motivated to increase their revenues and grow their market share. Like any business, they employ business development managers
Maria Rodale, 08.29.2011
CEO and Chairman of Rodale, Inc. and book author
The other day I was at an amazing Indian dance concert featuring a friend of my daughter. This young woman performed, for two hours, a classic Indian dance known as Bharatnatyam Arangetram. And she plays golf, too.
Allison Gaudet Yarrow, 08.28.2011
Friday, in a White House press release celebrating the 91st anniversary of women's suffrage in the U.S., President Obama declared:
"The 19th Amendme...
Eve Ensler, 08.27.2011
Author of 'I Am An Emotional Creature" and "The Vagina Monologues," Founder of V-Day
How many women never spoke up or out about sexual assault? How many women were afraid to press charges? Let the DSK dismissal be our call to rise. Let so many of us speak out that it's a landslide and it turns the tide and the method of justice.
Joan Williams, 08.26.2011
Founding director, Center for WorkLife Law; Distinguished professor of law, University of California; Author
What employers are not allowed to do is discriminate against mothers on the fast track because a different group of mothers decided to leave the fast track. If the judge doesn't understand that, she needs a refresher course in anti-discrimination law.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, 08.26.2011
U.S. Senator from New York
In nine short years we will mark a full century since women won the right to vote. This next decade will be crucial not only for the future of women but for the future of America. I know we can and will do more because we have to. We are the solution.
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, 08.26.2011
Co-founder and Executive Director of Moms Rising
Today is Women's Equality Day. At the center of my mind today is: What the heck do I tell my daughter? How do I tell my daughter about the fact that despite many gains made for women's (and mothers') equality, women still don't earn equal pay for equal work?
Debbie Hines, 08.25.2011
Lawyer, Political/Legal Commentator, www.Legalspeaks.com
Requiring voters to present some form of identification as a requirement to vote will place unreasonable burdens on many women who may be unaware of the difficulty they could face when casting their vote in the 2012 election.
Marlo Thomas, 08.24.2011
Award-winning actress, author and activist
When I heard Strauss-Kahn's charges were being dismissed, all I could think of was a picture I saw in the paper last spring of a proud army of hotel maids in their grey uniforms gathered outside the courthouse where he was being arraigned, to at last make their voices heard.
Martha Burk, 08.23.2011
Director, Corporate Accountability Project, National Council of Women's Organizations
It's high time the ERA was put back in the center of public debate, and the long 2012 election season that's already underway is the perfect opportunity.
Davinder Kumar, 08.18.2011
Development journalist and Press Officer, Plan International
They are out there, always, often the first people to reach. You have seen them feed malnourished children and starving people in the Horn of Africa.
Rachel Farris, 08.18.2011
Native Texan, Political Hobbyist, Rick Perry Observer
With a governor who has a women's health record that's a bumpy country mile long possibly becoming our next president, what would it mean for women across America? Allow me.
Ellen Bravo, 08.16.2011
Director, Family Values @ Work
My friend recently asked whether I could talk to her daughter about how to deal with men leering at her. The daughter is eleven.
Karen Gill, 08.16.2011
Co-founder of everywoman, the UK's largest membership organisation for women in business
Change is in the air. The status of women and gender equality in the workplace is firmly on the news agenda and we must seize this chance to push for real change now.
Marlo Thomas, 08.15.2011
Award-winning actress, author and activist
Just so you know, despite her historic achievements as a feminist icon, as a girlfriend, Gloria Steinem is every bit as real as you and me.
Tara Sophia Mohr, 08.12.2011
Writer, Coach, Personal Growth Teacher
At BlogHer, I was suddenly in a universe in which concerns at the center of so many women's lives were put front and center. It became clear to me how marginalized and trivialized these topics are in our mainstream media and in our culture.
Marianne Schnall, 08.12.2011
Writer/Interviewer
When you think of the world's most famous feminist, you can't help but think of Gloria Steinem, the renowned activist. In the following interview, she reflects on the current state of women and politics, and her own vision for the future of feminism.
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, 08.12.2011
Co-founder and Executive Director of Moms Rising
Here's the math: Women are 50.7% of our population, only 17% of Congress, and an appallingly low 8% of the Super Committee. This lack of representation on the debt ceiling Super Committee which is charged with cutting $1.5 trillion from the federal budget is pathetic.