Media Round-Up: Week of October 8, 2023

 

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 2024 Election Will Be a Referendum on Abortion and Women’s Equality, According to New Ms. Poll

Roxy Szal, Ms. Magazine

According to a new national poll by Lake Research Partners for Ms. and the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF), abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment are strong voter turnout issues on their own. For Democrats and Independents, younger women, voters who support abortion rights, college-educated women, Latinas and Black voters, and voters ages 30-39, candidates talking about abortion and the ERA together is a powerful combination to mobilize them. The poll also found that almost 75% of all voters support a person’s right to make their own reproductive decisions without government interference, which includes abortion, contraception, and continuing pregnancy. Among the voters who support abortion rights, especially younger women, abortion and women’s rights combined are top issues that will determine their vote next year.

Read the full story here.

 

Laphonza Butler’s ascent to the Senate is a key moment for Black LGBTQ representation, advocates say

Chandelis Duster, CNN

“It’s about time,” says Shay Franco-Clausen, co-chair of the National Black Justice Coalition’s Good Trouble Network, referring to the ascent of Senator Laphonza Butler. Last week, Butler made history as the first openly Black lesbian woman appointed to Congress, the only Black woman currently serving in the Senate, and the third ever to serve in the chamber. Franco-Clausen, a California native and a gay Afro-Latina women, says that she is happy to see someone who identifies with the struggles of her communities take the seat of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein. Although Butler herself has not centered her race or sexuality in public statements regarding her appointment to fill Feinstein’s seat, Franco-Clausen hopes she will usher in a new era of representation.

Read the full story here.

Claudia Goldin’s Nobel-Winning Research Shows ‘Why Women Won’

Claire Cain Miller, New York Times

On Monday, Harvard University Economics Professor Claudia Goldin won the Nobel Prize in economics. Goldin documented the journey of American women from the perspective of holding jobs to pursuing careers, working to support themselves, in addition to working being a fundamental aspect of their identity and satisfaction. Goldin describes the changing roles of women in the past fifty years as “among the grandest advances in society and the economy.” Goldin’s findings include women outpacing men in education, pouring into the labor force and finding meaning in their work. However, Goldin’s research also demonstrates women still lagging behind men in their pay, workforce participation, and those who reach the top of professions.

Read the full story here.

The Kamala Harris Problem

Elaina Plott Calabro, The Atlantic

Journalist Elaina Plott Calabro had traveled across the world with Vice President Kamala Harris, including Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Reno, and countries in Africa. While spending time with the Vice President, Plott Calabro noted the way Harris carried herself with ease and confidence. However, ease and confidence have not been prevailing themes of Harris’s vice presidency, Plott Calabro says. Harris’s first year in office was marred with rhetorical blunders, staff turnover, political missteps, and a poor sense among her allies of what made up her portfolio. Even with the Biden Administration issuing a statement insisting that the president does rely on the vice president as a governing partner, Harris’s reputation has never quite recovered.

Read the full story here.

First Lady Jill Biden Is Honoring These 15 Young Women With the First-Ever Girls Leading Change Celebration

Fortesa Latifi, Teen Vogue

First Lady Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council are honoring 15 young women who are committed to making change in their communities in celebration of International Day of the Girl. The 15 young women being honored have committed to making change in their communities in various areas, including gun control, period poverty, and food deserts. This is the first ever Girls Leading Change celebration, which happened on Wednesday, October 11^th at the White House. First Lady Jill Biden told Teen Vogue that she hopes the honorees will serve as inspiration for girls around the world, “These young women are protecting and preserving the earth, writing and sharing stories that change minds, and turning their pain into purpose … Together, they represent the potential of young people across the country, and it is my hope that others can learn from the power of their innovation, strength, and hope.”

Read the full story here.