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:

Harris and Pelosi make history standing behind a president during a formal address to Congress.

Alisha Haridasani Gupta, The New York Times

In a formal address to Congress on Wednesday, President Joe Biden stood in front of two women for the first time in history as he gave his speech. The event was Vice President Kamala Harris’s first time joining Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the podium behind the president. Harris and Pelosi marked the occasion with a friendly elbow bump greeting before the president arrived. President Biden began the address by noting that the words “Madam Speaker and Madam Vice President” had never been said by an American President before and that “it’s about time.”

You can read the full article here.

Biden’s new $1.8 trillion plan largely aims to help working women

Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th

The American Families Plan is President Joe Biden’s latest proposal aimed at investment in children and families. It would establish the country’s first universal paid family leave policies and universal pre-school program. The $1.8 trillion plan was developed partly due to the pandemic’s economic toll on women, with millions of working mothers pushed out of the labor force and into child care. “As we think about extending that highly affordable, accessible and readily available care for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, we know it’ll enable mothers, in particular, to make choices about their workforce participation and their families’ economic security that are far more expansive than they are able to do right now,” said Laura McSorley, director of early childhood policy at the Center for American Progress.

You can read the full article here.

Women underrepresented in municipal, state and national politics, new Rutgers study finds

Chelsey Cox, USA Today

According to a new report by Rutgers’ Center for American Women in Politics, the university’s center focused on analyzing women’s participation in American politics, women are underrepresented in municipal level politics. The new data contradicts conventional wisdom that women are more likely to serve locally than on a state or federal level and found that the percentage of women serving in municipal office compared to the state government and the US House is virtually the same. 30.5% of municipal seats are held by women compared to 30.9% women serving in state legislatures and 26.5% in the House.

You can read the full article here.

After 100 days, Kamala Harris is a big reason for Biden administration’s success

Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times

53% of Americans approve of President Biden so far, with many citing his handling of the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons for their high rating of the President. Vice President Harris also has an approval rating of 53% according to a CNN poll and her disapproval rating is 37%, lower than Biden’s, which is 43%. As the country grapples with the rise of AAPI hate and the urgency to address the killings of Black Americans, Kamala Harris finds herself in a powerful and significant position as the first Black and South Asian person to serve as US Vice President. “I really think the vice president has an amazing opportunity to really lift up and communicate the sort of depth of the things that are happening in the community right now,” said Timmy Lu, executive director of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Civic Empowerment.

You can read the full article here.

Where Biden stands on his promises on LGBTQ+ rights — and what’s next

Kate Sosin, The 19th

In President Biden’s first 100 days in office, he has largely accomplished his campaign’s LGBTQ+ agenda. Many advocates say that although the president has stayed true to his campaign promises, there is still much more work left to do. Congress has yet to pass the Equality Act, a bill which would effectively ban discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, and the Violence Against Women Act, which would help transgender people in prisons, is still pending reinstatement.

You can read the full article here.