Why I’m Excited About the Future of Feminism

Two and a half weeks ago, I was thrilled to open the annual conference of the National Organization for Women in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque felt like the perfect place to meet up with activists and map out action plans to move the feminist agenda forward. Just a year ago, the women of Albuquerque formed an emergency coalition, Respect ABQ Women, to fight against a dangerous municipal anti-abortion ballot measure.

#RealPay and Inclusive Feminism

NOW’s #RealPay campaign was meant to draw attention to how race affects the gender pay gap, but it was also meant to highlight what “mainstream” feminist discourse has been struggling with for decades: inclusion.

NOW Applauds Focus on Communities of Color in “My Brother’s Keeper” Initiative, Urges President Obama to Include Girls and Young Women of Color

The National Organization for Women (NOW) applauds President Obama’s refocusing the nation’s attention, through the “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative, on the deep racial disparities in education, economic well-being, housing and health care facing people of color. At the same time, we share the concerns expressed by over 200 African American men in their letter urging the president to expand this promising initiative to include girls and women of color — who live in the same households, suffer in the same under-resourced schools, and struggle to overcome a common history of limited opportunities caused by various forms of discrimination.

The Wage Ravine

It’s tempting to look solely at the wage gap and think the only thing keeping men and women from economic parity is 23 cents. We tend to ignore the other ways women, especially LGBTQ-identified women, women of color, and LGBTQ-identified women of color, are saddled with undo economic burdens because complication is hard.