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:

The Midterms Will be Crucial for Women. Why Are So Many Disengaged?

Katelyn Fossett, Politico

Between the disproportionate impact of job losses due to Covid falling to women, and the difficulties of securing accessible childcare, “it’s women who arguably stand to gain and lose the most in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections.”

Leaders of Voto Latino, Collective PAC, and American Bridge 21^st Century came together with Politico to talk about what’s at stake for women, and for the Democratic party, in 2022—including which races nationally are particularly important for understanding the political climate right now, and how demographic groups such as suburban women will factor into the midterm races.

Read the full story here.

Kamala Harris will visit Singapore and Vietnam as the White House continues to challenge China

John Haltiwanger, Business Insider

Vice President Kamala Harris will be the first United States VP to visit Vietnam next month, when she includes the country in a trip that will also take her to Singapore. This will be Vice President Harris’s second international trip during her tenure in this role so far.

The VP’s spokesperson Symone Sanders said that the trip is a “deepening” of the Biden-Harris administration’s prioritization of global partnerships. The administration’s current relationship with China is context for this trip, “as the Biden administration continues efforts to curb China’s influence across the globe—and particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Read the full story here.

Samoan Court Clears The Way For the Nation’s 1^st Female Prime Minister

Becky Sullivan, NPR

On Friday of last week, a constitutional crisis ended in Samoa after months of deadlock over who would be the country’s prime minister following the election in April. An appeals court ruled that Fiame Naomi Mata’afa can rightfully hold the office, making her the first woman to lead Samoa in history. The founder of the new prime minister’s party, FAST, said, “The road we have walked has been filled with obstacles. We feel humbled, and are grateful to God that our mission has been accomplished, we have made it. Despite the obstacles in our pathway, this is our moment, let us move forward from here.”

Read the full story here.

Running for Office Isn’t Easy. Try Entering the Race as an Orthodox Woman.

Emma Goldberg, New York Times

Amber Adler announced her run to represent District 48 in Brooklyn on the City Council in June 2020, and “almost immediately” Adler was confronted with a flood of attempts to discredit her campaign on social media and via email. “What was eye-opening to me was how abusive people can be to someone who’s out to make a positive change,” Adler said.

As a woman running from an Orthodox Jewish community, the challenges that already face women in politics, including higher levels of online abuse than men typically face, were heightened. Eventually, Adler encountered another reaction to her candidacy: “Undercutting the abuse: gratitude. Dozens of women in her district, some Orthodox and others not, told her they had never thought they might be able to vote for political representation from a working Orthodox Jewish mom.” She eventually placed third out of five candidates after rounds of ranked choice voting.

Read the full story here.