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:

In Harriet Tubman’s home state of Maryland, a new school bears her name

Nicole Asbury, Washington Post

The newest elementary school in Gaithersburg, Maryland has been named after American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman. The new school is the first in Tubman’s home state to bear her name. Brenda Wolff, President of the Montgomery County School Board, said that a school named after Tubman, “… should have happened a long time ago.” During her life, Tubman made between 13 to 14 trips via the Underground Railroad, leading roughly 70 enslaved people to freedom.

Read the full story here.

Which one state has never sent a woman to Congress?

Mike Allen, Axios

As of 2022, Vermont remains the only state to not have sent a woman to Congress. Currently, the Green Mountain State has a congressional opening which three women candidates are looking to fill. Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray, Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, and Sianay Chase Clifford, a social worker and former Capitol Hill aid, will compete in the August 9^th primary hoping to fill the seat vacated by U.S. House member, Democrat Peter Welch who is looking to move along to the Senate. Two Republican women are also registered to run for the seat.

Read the full story here.

Overturning Roe v. Wade Could Make Maternal Mortality Even Worse

Maggie Koerth and Amelia Thompson-DeVeaux, FiveThirtyEight

According to data from The Commonwealth Fund, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rates compared to the top ten wealthiest nations in the world. Multiple studies have shown that states with stricter abortion laws also have the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the country. As Roe v. Wade (1973) hangs in the balance, some are concerned that the maternal mortality in the US will increase if the Supreme Court case is overturned.

Read the full story here.

Shirley Temple Black’s Remarkable Second Act as a Diplomat

Claudia Kalb, Smithsonian Magazine

Mostly known for once being the world’s most famous child, in adulthood Shirley Temple Black became the United States delegate to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. At the conference, Black emphasized that people must unite with empathy and humility to restore the world for future generations, ending with, “We are trustees of the earth they will inherit.” Black’s 23-year-career as a diplomat was largely hidden because her adulthood autobiography was unpublished. Now, people are making sure her second act as a diplomat receives recognition.

Read the full story here.

‘This is our time’: How women are taking over the labor movement

Chabeli Carrazana, The 19^th*

Over the past ten years, 60% of newly organized workers have been women. Recently, women have been the faces of the largest labor movements in the US, including: “baristas who have unionized over a dozen Starbucks since late 2021, the bakery workers who recently went on strike for four months to secure their first union contract, the call center workers — mostly women of color — who went on strike in Mississippi, and the 17,000 Etsy sellers who went on strike last month to combat transaction fee increases.” Studies have shown that unionization has more benefits for women than men, often creating a path to equal pay for women.

Read the full story here.