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

The ‘motherhood penalty’ and its ‘outdated and toxic attitudes’ are driving women out of the workplace 

Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune 

According to an equal rights charity, despite more mothers working than ever before, a significant number of women are still quitting their jobs after becoming mothers. The Fawcett Society estimated that 249,124 working mothers in Britain left their jobs due to “outdated and toxic attitudes around motherhood” and lack of childcare forcing them to choose between demotion or leaving the workforce altogether. The survey challenged the notion that women become uninterested in higher career aspirations once they become pregnant, finding that women are just as if not more ambitious about their career once giving birth but their career aspirations are overlooked.  

Read the full story here. 

Ohio voters will approve constitutional right to an abortion, CNN projects 

Arit John, CNN 

On Tuesday, Ohio voted to enshrine reproductive rights in its state constitution, the latest state to do so after the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year. The passage of the ballot measure Issue 1 in Ohio will prevent abortion restrictions before fetal viability. Following viability, Ohio will be able to restrict abortion access unless the patient’s life or health are at risk. The passage of the issue shows that abortion access is a key issue for voters across party lines, even in states like Ohio that have trended Republican in recent elections.  

Read the full story here.  

Democrat Cherelle Parker will become Philadelphia’s first female mayor 

Sean Collins Walsh, Philadelphia Inquirer 

On Tuesday, history was made in Philadelphia as Democrat Cherelle Parker defeated Republican David Oh to become the 100th mayor of the city and the first woman to hold the office when she begins her four-year term in January. During her victory speech, Parker thanked the woman before her who blazed the trail in city politics: “… former Council President Anna Verna; former State Sen. Roxanne Jones; and former Councilmembers Augusta Clark, Joan Krajewski, and Marian Tasco.” Parker’s background includes being a former state representative and City Council majority leader. Her campaign to victory showcased a compelling personal story, a tough-on-crime platform, a strong backing from the Democratic party, aiding small businesses, and promising to make Philadelphia a “safer, cleaner, greener city.” 

Read the full story here.  

The Women’s Bureau has spent 100 years improving work for women — but the House wants to eliminate it 

Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th* 

Next year’s budget recommendation from the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill is calling for the elimination of funding for the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau. Cutting funding from the bureau would shutter more than a century old federal agency tasked with improving conditions for women at work. In response to this proposal, the Democratic Women’s Caucus said in a letter to the House Appropriations Committee that eliminating the Women’s Bureau would have a “devastating impact” on women and families in the country. The caucus leaders are asking the House to reconsider their proposal.  

Read the full story here.  

The candidates, especially women, who made history on Election Day 

Emma Hurt, Axios 

Women made history on Election Day 2023, especially as the local level. In mayors’ races across the country, the first woman was elected to serve in the position: Cherelle Parker of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connie Boesen of Des Moines, Iowa, Lauren Simpson of Arvada, Colorado, and Yvonne Flowers of Poughkeepsie, New York. In addition, Nadia Mohamed of St. Louis Park, Minneapolis was elected the state’s first Somali American mayor and the city’s first Black and Muslim mayor, and Deborah Whitfield of Marion Country, Indiana and Roslyn Harmon of Golden Valley, Minnesota are the first Black mayors of their cities. According to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, State Delegate Danica Roem won her race, becoming Virginia’s first transgender state Senator and the second-ever in the country. 

Read the full story here.