Welcome to the Media Round Up! We’ve collected and shared our favorite gender + politics stories from this week.

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Illinois Primary Election Results Could Bring Change to the “Land of Lincoln”

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has won the Democratic primary for an open Senate seat, a stunning rise for a little-known state officer now on a glide path to Washington. Stratton’s victory put the nation on a path to having three Black women serving together in the legislature for the first time in American history. Once a little-known state officer, her success was engineered in part by Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL), who backed her early in the race and donated $5 million to a pro-Stratton super PAC. In the state’s Democratic primary to replace incumbent Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller won in a “crowded field” for the state’s 2nd congressional district. Miller’s victory has effectively ended Rep. Jesse Jackson’s (D-IL) comeback bid, despite him having an “edge” in Tuesday’s contest.

Trump’s Greenland Pursuit Gives Danish Leader New Lease on Life
The Wall Street Journal, Sune Engel Rasmussen
President Trump’s now-abandoned threats to annex Greenland forced Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen into the country’s gravest foreign policy crisis since World War II, potentially “saving” her political life in the process. Despite previously winning “international esteem” as a driving force in Europe’s efforts to arm Ukraine, at home, most voters appeared immune to Frederiksen’s international prowess. After Trump reignited his efforts to control Greenland in January, however, Frederiksen’s defense of the Danish territory helped make her a “rare figurehead” in the continent. Frederiksen saw a polling gain of five percentage points almost overnight and swiftly called an election for next week, where she will seek a third term

Meloni Joins EU Chorus Criticizing Trump’s Strikes on Iran
POLITICO, Hannah Roberts

On Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joined a number of European leaders speaking out against the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. At the parliament in Rome, Meloni described the military campaign as an element of interventions operating “outside the scope of international law,” while also acknowledging that Tehran poses a threat to regional security. Known as one of Europe’s most reliable U.S. allies, Meloni’s criticism is a notable shift in tone. Her criticism reflects domestic pressures, as airstrikes in Iran are extremely unpopular with Italians and the public is very opposed to being drawn into another conflict in the Middle East.

Susie Wiles, Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, Has Breast Cancer
The New York Times, Maggie Haberman

Susie Wiles, President Trump’s White House chief of staff and the first woman to ever hold that position, said on Monday that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease was caught in its early stages. She will remain in her job and is not planning to take a leave. She will soon begin a course of treatment in the Washington area that will last several weeks. “Nearly one in eight women in the United States will face this diagnosis,” she said in a statement to The New York Times. “Every day, these women continue to raise their families, go to work and serve their communities with strength and determination. I now join their ranks.”

Nancy Mace’s Chances of Losing in South Carolina Governor Race—Poll
Newsweek, Mandy Taheri

According to a new poll, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) faces a competitive race for the 2026 Republican gubernatorial nomination in South Carolina. Though early polls featured Mace as a front-runner, a large portion of the electorate currently remains “unsure.” Mace, a well-known ally of President Donald Trump, has received national attention in recent weeks for her “outspoken” position on a number of issues, including transgender rights and access to abortion. Current polling places Mace neck-and-neck with South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who has served in his current position since 2011. The GOP primary will likely determine the state’s next governor, as South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the office in over two decades.

Administration Trying to Save the SAVE Act

The Trump administration is going all in on saving the SAVE Act. On Tuesday, the Senate opened debate on the SAVE America Act, a bill requiring Americans to register to vote in person with documentary proof of citizenship. The Brennan Center for Justice has estimated that 21.3 million eligible voters would be unable to register to vote if the bill becomes law. The SAVE America Act narrowly passed the House in February, but has little chance of passing the Senate, as the Republican majority does not have the three-fifths supermajority (60 votes) considered necessary to close debate and vote on the bill. While efforts by both parties to pass or thwart the bill continue, a recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 71% of their respondents actually support the SAVE America Act.

Title X Countdown for Funding

Federally-funded clinics providing contraception and other reproductive health care services have only one week to apply for new grants, following the Trump administration’s release of “long-delayed” guidance last Friday night. The delay in the release of guidance for the Title X Family Planning Program has led elected officials to caution that millions of low-income patients could lose their access to cancer screenings, STI tests, and birth control. Health care providers have until next Friday to submit grant applications, but because federal officials typically take months to review them, many fear that a temporary lapse in services is possible without an emergency extension from the Trump administration. As a result, a group of 128 Democratic members of Congress is calling on the federal government to prevent a funding shortfall. The letter, drafted by the House Democratic Women’s Caucus and Reproductive Freedom Caucus, asks for a “one-year full funding extension to all current Title X grantees” noting that the funding process “cannot be effectively executed before their funding runs out.”

Women’s Leadership in Politics & Private Sector Lagging

A new report released ahead of International Women’s Day found that women’s worldwide leadership in parliaments dipped, with women holding a mere 12 out of 75 newly-appointed speakerships. Additionally, women held 27.5 percent of parliamentary seats at the beginning of the year, marking a 0.3 percent increase from 2025 – the slowest growth in nearly a decade. Quotas were recognized as playing a “crucial role” in boosting women’s representation in the 49 countries that held elections last year; chambers with some form of quota in place saw an average of 31 percent women appointments, compared to 23 percent in legislatures without these measures. Meanwhile, in the private sector, the leadership pipeline for women is lagging: despite the fact that companies with more women in senior positions regularly see better business outcomes, gender parity is “still far off.” Women constitute nearly half of the global workforce, but account for less than one-third of roles at the vice-president level and above. Women’s paths to the C-suite continue to be narrow, and current projections suggest that the labor market “won’t help turn the tide for women anytime soon.”

Black Women’s Roundtable Women of Power National Summit brings hundreds of Black women to Washington, DC
TheGrio, Kay Wicker

The 15th annual Black Women’s Roundtable Women of Power National Summit brought hundreds of Black women leaders, advocates, and changemakers to the nation’s capital. Held from March 11 – 15 across Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia, the summit operated under the theme “United We Win: Freedom, Justice, Democracy, Safety & Opportunity for All.” Attendees included Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), as well as organizers and professionals from roughly 20 states. “There’s no sadness in this place — we come together and have joy,” Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP), told theGrio. “It’s our way of celebrating Women’s History Month by bringing together Black women leaders from across the country.” Programming included policy briefings, strategy sessions and workshops aimed at strengthening leadership pipelines, supporting entrepreneurship and expanding civic participation. Organizers also emphasized the economic influence of Black women, $1.7 trillion in annual consumer spending power, and the importance of leveraging that impact to strengthen Black communities through entrepreneurship and collective investment.

‘The Cruelty Is Just The Point’: A Broken Student Loan System Has Women At The Center
The 19th, Nadra Nittle

In President Trump’s second term, student loan borrowers have been systematically stripped of protections, as the administration has threatened to garnish their wages and raise their monthly payments. Women hold nearly two-thirds of the nation’s $1.7 trillion student loan debt, so the policy changes stand to impact them the most. Experts state that these policies have broken the system, leaving nearly 45 million borrowers in financial and emotional distress. Additionally, Black women, who rely more on student loans than other demographics, are grappling with debt while also being pushed out of the public service sector workforce due to increased government cuts. Under the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, the Repayment Assistance Program will increase payments, charge the lowest-income borrowers disproportionately more than those with higher incomes, and extend the maximum repayment term from the 10-25 years to 30 years. Additionally, the Administration has taken aim at women-dominated fields such as teaching, nursing and social work, by reclassifying graduate degrees in these occupations as “non-professional” and significantly limiting the amount of loans students pursuing these careers can borrow.

Women Are Reviving a Historic Resistance Tactic at Protests: Singing
The 19th (Originally Published in The Story Exchange), Candice Helfand-Rogers

Often associated with demonstrations in the 1960s and early 1970s related to the civil rights movement and demonstrations denouncing the Vietnam War, group singing as a protest tool has begun to reemerge as a tactic among women. Protest singing has been utilized as a tool for organizers in the United States since its founding, with women often serving as song leaders. While group singing at protests has decreased in the past several decades, it has never completely stopped, rather it took a backseat. In Minneapolis, following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, a small group began to sing in both English and Spanish to help console and unite the grieving community. As hundreds joined in, videos of the Singing Resistance went viral, prompting organizers in dozens of other cities to form their own chapters. Singing Resistance focuses on immigrant solidarity and anti-ICE campaigning, however, group singing may be used at protests surrounding other acts committed by the Trump administration. According to organizers, over 230 Singing Resistance groups have now been formed.

A woman’s Role in Making and Keeping History
Deseret News, Lauren Irwin

For years, the Mount Vernon Ladies Association was the only national historic preservation organization in the United States. Women banded together to save Washington’s beloved home in Virginia, just south of Washington, D.C. Ahead of the country’s 250th birthday, women gathered at Washington’s residence last week for the Mount Vernon Women’s Leadership Summit where they focused on how to heal a divided nation. Lindsay Chervinsky, the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library, dreamed up the idea last year in preparation for America’s 250th celebrations. The inaugural event, she said, was created to honor the women who led the preservation of Washington’s home, but also to invite modern women and modern politics to the mix. “So much of our national story has been shaped by women behind the scenes,” she said.