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February 17, 2013 

THIS week is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Betty Friedan’s international best seller, “The Feminine Mystique,” which has been widely credited with igniting the women’s movement of the 1960s. Readers who return to this feminist classic today are often puzzled by the absence of concrete political proposals to change the status of women. But “The Feminine Mystique” had the impact it did because it focused on transforming women’s personal consciousness. In 1963, most Americans did not yet believe that gender equality was possible or even desirable. Conventional wisdom held that a woman could not pursue a career and still be a fulfilled wife or successful mother. Normal women, psychiatrists proclaimed, renounced all aspirations outside the home to meet their feminine need for dependence. In 1962, more than two-thirds of the women surveyed by University of Michigan researchers agreed that most important family decisions “should be made by the man of the house.” (more…)

On May 7, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing, “Local and Private Sector Initiatives to Combat International Human Trafficking.” Chair Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) heard testimony regarding government and private sector efforts to prevent and respond to human trafficking within the U.S. and Read more…

Sen. Ben Cardin has decided to join others in a Resolution to extend the Equal Rights Amendment ratification deadline rather than pursue his three-state strategy.  Please see Sen. Mikulski’s website for the full details: http://www.mikulski.senate.gov/media/pressrelease/5-9-2013-3.cfm Here are lists of  Representatives and Senators in District 6 who have endorsed this Resolution Read more…

The next Equal Pay Day is Tuesday, April 9, 2013. This date symbolizes how far into 2013 women must work to earn what men earned in 2012. Equal Pay Day was originated by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap Read more…

The Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed in 1923 by Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party. It was passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification, which is achieved when a proposed amendment is accepted by three-quarters (38) of the states. By the Congressionally imposed Read more…

Feminist Majority Foundation  April 05, 2013

U.S. District Judge Edward Korman ruled on Friday morning that the morning-after-pill or “Plan B” must be made available over the counter for any girl, regardless of her age. The decision comes as part of a lawsuit against the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by reproductive rights organizations to remove the age and sales restrictions on emergency contraception. (more…)