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 Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a game changer for U.S. women. Here’s why. 

Megan Cerullo, CBS News 

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a new law aimed at advocating for women’s health and economic well-being. According to experts, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act that went into effect on Tuesday, protects pregnant women from choosing between paychecks and their health. This act is a result of a 10-year long campaign to close gaps in civil rights laws where pregnant women fell through the cracks. The act ensures that pregnant workers will not be pushed out of jobs, or forced to risk their health when they need a reasonable accommodation on the job.  

Read the full story here.  

 

Migrant Women Find Work Building New York, Their Adopted City 

Stefanos Chen and Ana Ley, New York Times 

More migrant women are entering the male-dominated construction industry, attracted to the prospect of steadier work and better pay. Although migrant women face sexism from co-workers and employers, exploitative labor practices, and dangerous conditions on the job, entering the workforce may be the first rung on the ladder to a better life. Community groups say that women are challenging the culture of machismo that could eventually open new pathways for future asylum seekers.  

Read the full story here. 

  

Making contraception free for low-income, uninsured women could prevent many unplanned pregnancies and abortions, new report shows 

Deidre McPhillips, CNN 

Last week, President Joe Biden issued a new executive order that outlined the administration’s plan to safeguard and strengthen access to family planning. The demand for contraceptives surged in the United State following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. According to a KFF survey from 2022, about 17% of sexually active women who did not want to become pregnant were not using contraception to prevent it. While the reasons for not using contraception varied, new reports urge the importance of making it affordable. A study done a Title X funded center showed that patients given a voucher for free contraception were 40% more likely to adopt any form of birth control.  

Read the full story here.  

 

Rest in Power: Peg Yorkin, Feminist Trailblazer and Supporter of Women in Politics 

Ms. Editors, Ms. Magazine 

Peg Yorkin, U.S. feminist, philanthropist, and strategist, passed away on Sunday, June 25, 2023, at the age of 96. Yorkin was a co-founder and only chair of the board of the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF), the publisher of Ms. Magazine. Two of Yorkin’s favorite campaigned include the Feminization of Power, aimed to increase the number of women to elected office, and the FMF campaign, organized to bring the abortion pill, mifepristone, to the United States – both campaigns were extremely successful. Yorkin was also a leader in the Los Angeles arts scene.  

Read the full story here.  

 

‘Vote, run, win and lead’: Counting Black women’s seats at the table 

Errin Haines, The 19th* 

In 2011, Glynda Carr and Kimberly Peeler-Allen started Higher Heights for America with the mission of, “a national movement to grow Black women’s political power from the voting booth to elected office.” Carr wanted to define the problem – she knew that there was an issue with underrepresentation of Black women in office, but there was no quantified data. Higher Heights, in collaboration with the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) published the first Black Women in American Politics report. The report outlines, “… the record number of Black women running for and winning seats in Congress, state legislatures and mayoral offices, as well as the progress and challenges for Black women running for statewide and federal office.”  

Read the full story here.