Happy Friday! Welcome to our Media Round Up. Each week we’re collecting and sharing our favorite gender + politics stories. Here’s what caught our eye this week:

Women are driving the labor market’s post-pandemic recovery

Brian Cheung, NBC News

Women are regaining their footing in the economy after suffering steeper job losses than men due to the Covid-19 recession. According to data released by the government last week, the labor force participation among women between the ages of 25 and 54 has virtually made a full recovery. Pre-pandemic, women in this age group were at a rate of 77% of employment and now employment is back up to 76.9%. Data from the Center for American Progress estimated that 993,000 more mothers are working in December 2022 than December 2021, suggesting that women who were once limited by child care options are contributing to the uptick in women’s recovery in the workforce. Another factor of increased employment rates among women includes a hot economy for workers in most corners of the job market.

Read the full story here.

From Harvey Milk’s Side to the Senate: 9 Key Moments in Dianne Feinstein’s Career

Shawn Hubler, New York Times

On Tuesday, Senator Dianne Feinstein announced that she would not seek re-election next year. Senator Feinstein is a trailblazing political figure as she is currently the longest-serving Senator ever to represent California and the first woman to achieve the highest position in San Francisco’s political system while mayor. Senator Feinstein led on issues involving the environment and assault-style weapons, the latter of which was a result of a burst of gun violence. Continue reading for The New York Times “9 Key Moments” in Senator Feinstein’s career.

Read the full story here.

Celia Cruz Will Be First Afro-Latina to Appear on the U.S. Quarter

Isabella Simonetti, New York Times

Cuban American singer also known as the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz, will be the first Afro-Latina woman to appear on American quarters as a part of the American Women Quarters Program. Cruz won five Grammys and the National Medal of Arts in her lifetime, and a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy. Cruz will be featured as a 2024 honoree of the U.S. Mint Initiative, which portrays prominent women throughout history on the quarter. The American Women Quarters Program began in 2022 and will run through 2024, honoring women in civil rights, science, and other fields who have made contributions to U.S. history.

Read the full story here.

Nikki Haley has to navigate race and gender like few GOP presidential hopefuls

Mel Leonor Barclay, The 19^th*

Former Governor and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley has announced her run for the Republican presidential nomination. With this announcement, Nikki Haley is the first former or current woman governor to enter a presidential primary, the first Asian American woman with a significant national profile to seek the Republican nomination, and the fifth prominent Republican woman candidate for president. If Haley wins the primary, she will be the Republican Party’s first woman and first South Asian presidential nominee.

Read the full story here.

Post-Roe, Native Americans Face Even More Abortion Hurdles

Associated Press, U.S. News

Accessing abortion has long been difficult for Native Americans, and has become even more so since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Now, “new, restrictive state laws add to existing hurdles: a decades-old ban on most abortions at clinics and hospitals run by the federal Indian Health Service, fewer nearby health centers offering abortions, vast rural expanses for many to travel, and poverty afflicting more than a quarter of the Native population.” The seven U.S. states with the highest proportion of Native American and Alaska Native residents – South Dakota, Oklahoma, Montana, and North Dakota- are leaning towards further abortion restrictions.

Read the full story here.