I love love love this article. It took me a while to read it; it's pretty long, but it's so good!
It's about the current battle to get an amendment into the US constitution to protect equal rights for women, and it details some of the specific women fighting for it and what they're doing. If you have time to read it, do it!
Some interesting excerpts:
The fight on the national stage grew quiet, but the ERA has been reintroduced every congressional session since then. With the exception of 1983, when House representatives voted on it once more, the ERA has never again made it out of committee and onto the floor for a vote.
Rep. Maloney hopes this year will shift the tide.
"I spend 75% if not more of my time fighting to hold on to what we [women] already have, not advancing to the next level," Maloney says. "This is going to be the decade of the woman. We need to pass it by 2020 and finish the job."
..... The need, they say, is as evident today as ever. While more than 80% of countries guarantee gender equality in their constitutions, the UCLA's WORLD Policy Analysis Center found, 32 do not, including the United States.
....."The main opponent we face is lack of knowledge," Hager says. "Seven out of 10 Americans think we already have it. Nine out of 10 think we should have it. Why don't we have it? Because seven out of 10 think we do."
....Just look at the recent flood of state legislation meant to chip away at reproductive rights, they say. See how religious freedoms trumped women's rights when the Supreme Court allowed Hobby Lobby to refuse comprehensive birth control coverage. Peek into corporate boardrooms and notice the dearth of female CEOs.
Pay and other inequities hurt women -- and, by extension, families and communities (including men). Victims of domestic violence are less likely to leave if they can't stand on their own feet financially. And a lifetime of wage discrimination means women and their families also pay a price later when it comes to Social Security benefits.
There's some powerful stuff here.