Discrimination by gender is prohibited in the United States, and American women have come a long way since winning the right to vote in 1920. While the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s opened many doors for women, substantial and stubborn barriers to full equality remain.
The barriers all women face fall particularly hard on Black, Latina, and Asian Pacific Islander women as well as women who are immigrants, poor, elderly, lesbian, transgender or members of other racial or ethnic groups.
Violence is a major concern for women at every age and from every background. Each year millions of women and girls are victims of physical assault or sexual violence by an intimate partner. The United States reauthorized and expanded the Violence Against Women Act in 2013, but it expired and has not been reauthorized. Law-enforcement responses and other support services for violence against women continue to be woefully inadequate.
Women’s wages continue to be well below those of men, making it hard for women to support their families and afford quality childcare. Women make up the majority of employees in the lowest-paying jobs including caretaking, food service, cleaning, clerical and retail work. Women of color and immigrant women in particular are relegated to low-wage jobs, which rarely provide employee benefits such as health care, paid sick or family leave time. Women in the workplace continue to experience sexual harassment and face discrimination as a result of stereotypes that conform to what are considered appropriate roles for women.
Changing these practices means challenging the fact that women remain vastly underrepresented at the tables where decisions are made: men still hold the positions of power in most public and private institutions in America -- from the military and corporations to congregations and Capitol Hill. This especially affects a woman’s access to health care, particularly reproductive health care, which is highly politicized and overwhelming legislated by men. US women lag far behind other countries in terms of maternal mortality and life expectancy, with evidence of significant racial and ethnic disparities in women’s overall health. The US government’s failure to ratify the important UN Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has created another roadblock to gender equality.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago should urgently bring home Trinidadian children and their mothers imprisoned in Iraq because of their alleged association with the Islamic State (ISIS).
Kazakhstan’s President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev signed a new law on April,15, 2024 to strengthen protections from violence for women and children, including domestic violence survivors, but it falls short in key areas
Armenia’s parliament adopted amendments strengthening the country’s domestic violence law. The legislation was adopted last week as postwar Armenia both struggles to secure its border with neighboring Azerbaijan and deepen its relations with the European Union.
An Ecuadorian coalition of eight civil society organizations recently filed a lawsuit before the Constitutional Court of Ecuador seeking to decriminalize abortion. This crucial initiative seeks to ensure that women, girls, and other pregnant people can access safe abortion care.
In their first policy document of the year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and the State Council announced that they would “strengthen reproductive support in rural villages (加强农村生育支持)” (Xinhua, February 3). This is the first time this policy phrase has appeared in the annual document, which usually focuses on rural governance. The policy is part of the government’s pivot away from its punitive “One Child” birth control policy, which was in place from the 1980s until it was relaxed in 2013. In 2021, the government shifted to explicitly encouraging births by adopting “supportive reproductive measures (生育支持措施).” The government says it is now focusing on “developing a high-quality population (人口高质量发展)” (Xinhua, July 20, 2021).
Women’s tennis has advocated for women’s rights since before Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the “battle of the sexes” 50 years ago. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) was a prime mover behind Title IX, the U.S. law that gave millions of women and girls equal opportunities in sport and education.
In an unprecedented move, the United Nations committee of independent child rights experts has cancelled an upcoming series of meetings due to lack of funds.
During a Diet session last week, Japan’s Ministry of Justice announced it had broadened a directive initially sent to all penal institutions in 2014 that effectively bans the use of restraints on imprisoned pregnant women inside delivery rooms.
The US state of Michigan may protect abortion rights in its constitution, but a key group remains in the lurch – people younger than 18. Parental consent to obtain an abortion is mandatory for Michigan’s minors, and those who cannot or don’t want to involve a parent are forced to defend their decision before a judge, an onerous process called a “judicial bypass.” Amy Braunschweiger speaks with Kylee Sunderlin, a Michigan judicial bypass lawyer with reproductive justice organization If/When/How.
Delegations attending this year’s annual meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) should oppose the candidacy of Saudi Arabia, which has an egregious women’s rights record, and select a country committed to upholding women’s rights.
Afghanistan has been in the throes of an economic crisis for more than two years, after donors cut foreign funding in response to the Taliban takeover in 2021 and suspended Afghanistan’s Central Bank from the international system.
The escalation of violence and organized crime activity throughout Ecuador is having a dire impact on children’s rights. A temporary switch to online learning, as well as threats by criminal groups, have particularly impacted their right to learn in a safe environment.
Olga, a 45-year-old woman with cerebral palsy, seldom leaves her home to participate in gatherings with friends or other social activities. Besides going to the same school she’s attended since childhood, the only other outing she makes is to a summer camp. To take control over her life, Olga needs a support system that would enable her to study for a career, develop professionally, fully exercise her political rights, live independently, and be included in the community. These are fundamental rights everyone should have, including women with disabilities.
Every March 8, International Women’s Day, women flood the streets in countries around the world to commemorate hard-won victories for women’s rights and to fight for more. It’s a time to celebrate advances while sharing our frustrations about too-slow progress or even backsliding.
The Kenya government needs to listen to its people and take all necessary measures to prevent and address femicide. It is unacceptable that men kill hundreds of women each year because the authorities have allowed patriarchy and gender inequality to go unchecked. Women have just as much of a right to life, dignity, and security of their person as anybody else.