Feminist Update
Your weekly update on all things feminism. Keep up to date on the election, the news, and what is going on in the world of women.
WGF Updates:
Former WGF Board Member and longtime WGF supporter Bracken Burns will be performing as John Hancock in the play 1776, a play about the founding of the United States of America, put on by the Old Schoolhouse Players’ “Broadway in the Country” series. Says Burns, “many times over the years my friends have said to me, ‘How come we never see you in knickers and a wig?’ Well, your prayers have been answered.” READ MORE>>
In the News:
Malala Yousafzai Opens School for Syrian Refugee Girls: On her 18th birthday, Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate and activist, opened a school in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. The school will be supported by the Malala Fund, Yousafzai’s non-profit organization. READ MORE>>
Becky Hammon Becomes First Female NBA Summer-League Coach: Though not an athletic feat per se, Becky Hammon’s appointment to summer league coach in the NBA shows that sports organizations are moving towards a trend of recognizing female intelligent both on the court and off. READ MORE>>
Record Company Offers Pay-Gap Discount to Women: Portland, Oregon-based record company M’lady Records has implemented a policy where women pay 77% of the price on mail-orders. This has been seen before, such as in Western PA-based <100, a pop-up market where women pay 77 cents on the dollar for goods. However, this movement sets itself apart because it is a permanent change. As for a potential decrease in profits, the owners “don’t care much.” READ MORE>>
Lena Dunham to Start Newsletter: Lena Dunham, writer, creator, and star of HBO’s Girls, will launch her newsletter “Lenny” starting this fall. The goal is to be more of a conversation than a newsletter, setting it apart from other young women focused editorial content from Jezebel, Feministing, and Rookie Mag. READ MORE>>
FIFA 2016 to Include Women’s Game for the First Time: FIFA, the world’s most popular soccer video game, will include female players and matches for the first time ever. FIFA blames technology and the inability to create accurate pony-tails as the main reason for the lack of women in the game in versions previous. The way female players are ranked will also be different, with men with the same score as a woman having more ability. READ MORE>>
Election Updates:
Hillary Clinton Says Women in the Workforce is not just an Issue for Women: In a speech on economic policy in New York City, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton spoke about the US’s lack of policies for working mothers in comparison to other countries as a contributing factor in the stalled growth of women entering the workforce. READ MORE>>
Featured Feminist:
Pearl Thompson Gets Her Library Card: Nowadays, it is a rite of passage for young kids to get their library cards. But what about 92-year-olds? Pearl Thompson, age 92, attempted to check out a book in 1942 but was denied because of the fact that she was black. She was sent to the library’s basement to read the book she needed. Though battling kidney disease and heart issues, Thompson made the trek to the library to finally get her card, in a celebration honoring her and the work she did in creating the Richard B. Harrison Library, a library that served blacks during Thompson’s time growing up. READ MORE>>