Women’s reproductive health care advocates can rest easy for the moment, as Congress has passed a resolution to continue funding the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year that does not include such onerous anti-woman provisions as the re-imposition of the Global Gag Rule.
Just two days before the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, the Post reported on a “shift” in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s approach toward promoting women’s rights. Apparently women in Afghanistan are getting the shaft because gender equality does not make the list of USAID’s main concerns.
NOW applauds Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) for chairing a first-ever Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday on ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Eight years have lagged since the last hearing for the human rights treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.
All of us at the National Organization for Women are saddened by the passing of our friend, colleague, educator, activist, and philanthropist, Dr. Dorothy Irene Height. Dr. Height lived a full life, accomplished so much for the greater good, and left a legacy of empowerment and inspiration for girls and women of all ages and all races.
The National Organization for Women congratulates former NOW president Kim Gandy on her new position as vice president and general counsel at the Feminist Majority and the Feminist Majority Foundation. Gandy served in the national NOW office for 22 years, including two terms as the organization’s president, ending in July 2009. She recently completed a resident fellowship at the Harvard Institute of Politics, where she taught a series of seminars on “Winning Across Progressive Movements.”