10 children’s books to inspire young people for Women’s History Month

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When it comes to female empowerment, sometimes you just need a role model to inspire your own — or your children’s — path forward.

March is Women’s History Month and National Reading Month, which means it’s the perfect time to curl up with your little one and read books about women’s achievements and contributions in music, politics, science, and more. By learning about these success, they’ll have an easier time envisioning their own. 

Yes, more work needs to be done. There’s still a gender gap in STEM, the Equal Rights Amendment has not been ratified, and Congress is overwhelmingly unbalanced (just 24 percent is women). However, there are still a lot of successes to celebrate — and read about. We’ve come a long way, and from a young age, it’s good to recognize the women who broke boundaries and made history, like NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who calculated how to send the first American into space, and Emily Roebling, who helped build the Brooklyn Bridge.  Read more…

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The time is ‘Now for Northern Ireland’ to decriminalise abortion, campaigners say

Abortion is still illegal in Northern Ireland, but the #NowForNI campaign is here to change that.
On Tuesday #NowForNI campaigners protested in Westminster, London, where they delivered over 62,000 signatures from people calling for the decriminalisa…

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The women of Congress stole the show during Trump’s State of the Union address

During Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, a chant of “USA” rang out across the chamber as a large group of attendees jumped to their feet.
Surprisingly, they were mostly Democratic congresswomen. 
In Tuesday night’s address, the highest …

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Why local organizers support the Women’s March despite controversy

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The 2017 Women’s March completely changed Angie Beem’s life.

“The Women’s March got me out of the house, got me involved, made me educate myself, got me politically educated, and gave me something meaningful to do,” says Beem, who is the board president for Women’s March Washington State

Last month, however, Beem announced the board’s decision to dissolve, pointing to the national Women’s March refusal to “acknowledge and apologize for their anti-Semitic stance.” 

Allegations of anti-semitic remarks made by leaders of the national organization behind the Women’s March in D.C., as reported by Tablet Magazine in December, have sent shockwaves across the country, leaving those who found a political voice by rallying in the streets and sharing empowering hashtags, doubting the movement’s future.  Read more…

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Nevada eliminates tampon tax in leap forward for menstruation equality

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This is One Good Thing, a weekly column where we tell you about one of the few nice things that happened this week.


In my feminist utopia, sanitary pads and tampons are provided free of charge by the United States government.

In my current reality, they’re offered at $4 bucks a pack at CVS — and that’s with the savings from my CVS card.

We’re a long way from menstruation equality, which makes Nevada’s recent elimination of the “tampon tax” a critical step forward.

On Tuesday, Nevada voted to do away with their 6.85% sales tax imposed on sanitary pads and tampons.  Read more…

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New Zealand introduces paid domestic violence leave in world first

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In New Zealand, domestic victims can now take out a special type of leave, thanks to legislation that has been passed.

The Domestic Violence—Victims’ Protection Bill allows people to request up to 10 days of leave a year if they are affected by domestic violence, on top of regular sick and vacation entitlements.

It also protects domestic violence victims from being dismissed from their jobs or have their employment conditions downgraded. Green Party MP Jan Logie worked on the bill for 7 years, and pushed it through parliament in its third reading on Wednesday.  Read more…

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With fake beards and viral Instagram videos, female football fans are making history in Iran

Women in Iran are forbidden, among other things, from attending sports events. But today, female fans are defying the ban by posting viral videos of themselves watching live games disguised as men. And now, with Iran’s team competing in the World Cup…

View More With fake beards and viral Instagram videos, female football fans are making history in Iran

A woman is now in charge of Miss America and she’s killing the swimsuit round

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Gretchen Carlson, who is a former Miss America and the current Chair of the Board of Trustees, is attempting a radical change to the show. In a recent interview, she said the swimsuit round would be dropped and the former pageant – now “competition” – will become more “inclusive.” Read more…

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Saudi Arabia issues its first driver’s licenses to women

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Saudi Arabia’s controversial ban on women drivers will lift on June 24, and 10 women have already picked their licenses up.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), women holding kingdom-approved international licenses Monday started trading them in for national ones from the General Traffic Directorate (GDT).

“The exchange process is taking place on various spots around the kingdom to lay the ground for women sitting behind the wheels on the roads — a turning point set to be actualised on June 24,” read an SPA statement.

Arab News shared a video of one of the first licenses issued in Riyadh, in which a woman receives her Saudi license from GDT officials. Read more…

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What Star Wars audiences are saying: Give us more women

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Spoiler alert: This post contains a key detail from Solo: A Star Wars Story

We’re now in the second weekend of the first Star Wars movie since 2005 to feature a male lead. And we still don’t know whether it will turn a profit — unlike the prior three movies of the Disney-Lucasfilm era, all of which had female leads.  

The question is, will the Mouse House take a hint?

To be sure, Solo‘s financial woes have little to do with Alden Ehrenreich’s gender. They have more to do with the boyish antics of its first directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who butted heads with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who summarily replaced them with Ron Howard, who deemed most of their footage unusable. That ballooned the budget to the point where a $100 million opening weekend was a disappointment.  Read more…

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