According to the NY Times, 97 million votes rolled in for the midterm elections (with more to count), a massive increase compared to last midterms in 2014, which was a mere 79 million. More than 100 women will be serving in the House next year, a record in U.S history. The highest number of women in Congress just…
NEWS
DESIGNER KATE SPADE HAS DIED AT 55
American designer Kate Spade, known for her colorful, feminine line of clothing and accessories, was found dead in her apartment on Tuesday morning. According to police, a housekeeper found Spade, 55-years-old, hanging from a scarf in her bedroom. Spade and her husband, Andy, founded Kate Spade in 1993, one year before they married. The two…
37 DOWN, ONE MORE TO GO: ILLINOIS RATIFIED THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
On May 31st, Illinois became the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a proposed amendment that would federally ban gender-based discrimination. ERA, first drafted in the 1920s by suffragette Alice Paul, was approved by the majority of Congress in 1972. Despite approving it, Congress set a seven-year deadline for three-quarters of the states…
CELEBRITIES AFFECTED BY HARVEY WEINSTEIN RESPOND TO HIS ARREST
Last Friday, disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was formally arrested in New York City on charges that he raped one woman and forced another to perform oral sex. He appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court for only 10 minutes. Weinstein's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, paid his $1 million bail. The charges against Weinstein include first-degree and third-degree…
2018 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL CLOSES WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS & CONFRONTATION OF #METOO
The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival came to a close on May 19th. The concluding ceremony took place at Grand Théâtre Lumière where the Master of Ceremonies, Edouard Baer, welcomed the Feature Film Jury (presided over by Cate Blanchett) for the announcement of this year's winners. Following the presentation of the prestigious Palme d'Or to director…
SARA ZIFF OF THE MODEL ALLIANCE JOINS BILL DE BLASIO TO SIGN THE STOP SEXUAL HARASSMENT ACT
Last week, Sara Ziff, founding director of the Model Alliance, joined New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at the signing event for the Stop Sexual Harassment Act, a package of 11 bills to combat workplace sexual harassment. Ziff, herself a former model, founded the Model Alliance after witnessing and experiencing exploitative situations during photo…
IOWA PASSED THE MOST RESTRICTIVE ABORTION BILL IN THE UNITED STATES. NOW WHAT?
On May 4th, Iowa governor Kim Reynolds signed one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the United States. Dubbed the "heartbeat bill," the new legislation would ban abortions after six weeks, the point at which doctors can detect a faint heartbeat in a fetus. However, many women don't even realize they're pregnant at six…
BILL COSBY’S CONVICTION & THE FUTURE OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT
On April 26th, a jury found Bill Cosby guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, the former director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team, in 2004. Cosby intially met Constand in 2002 through a mutual friend. Before the assault, the two shared a mentor-mentee relationship. In 2005, after confiding in her mother…
2018 PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS INCLUDE RONAN FARROW, JERRY SALTZ & KENDRICK LAMAR
The full list of 2018 Pulitzer Prize winners has officially been released. This year's Pulitzer Prize Board, which includes The New York Times op-ed columnist Gail Collins, author Junot Díaz and Steve Coll, the Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, jointly awarded The New Yorker and The New York Times the public service prize for their reporting…
AFTER 8 YEARS, GENDER BIAS LAWSUIT AGAINST GOLDMAN SACHS WILL PROCEED
A judge has officially allowed an eight-year-old lawsuit claiming that Goldman Sachs discriminated against over 2,300 women on the basis of gender to proceed. United States District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that these thousands of women could pursue claims alleging discrimination in terms of pay, promotions and performance reviews against Goldman Sachs as a class action lawsuit.…
THE LATEST ON DONALD TRUMP’S AFFAIRS: KAREN MCDOUGAL FILES LAWSUIT
In his book "The Art of the Comeback," Donald Trump declares, "There’s nothing I love more than women, but they’re really a lot different than portrayed. They are far worse than men, far more aggressive, and boy, can they be smart." Considering his countless demeaning statements on women (another one being, "I have seen women…
LEGENDARY PHYSICIST STEPHEN HAWKING DIES AT 76
Another visionary to pass away this week, physicist Stephen Hawking has died at age 76. His children, Lucy, Tim and Robert, confirmed the news in a statement: "We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for…
#PRESSFORPROGRESS: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2018 EVENTS
With conversations on sexual misconduct and violence against women dominating the media, it's clear that gender equality is still a distant goal. Unfortunately, data shows that the gender gap is widening—the World Economic Forums' Global Gender Gap Report estimates that it will take 217 years to reach gender parity across the world. International Women's Day has…
PATRICK DEMARCHELIER, KARL TEMPLER, GREG KADEL & MORE IMPLICATED IN NEW REPORT ON SEXUAL MISCONDUCT IN FASHION
In a new report led by the renowned Boston Globe investigative team depicted in Oscar-nominated film "Spotlight," a number of new photographers and stylists have been implicated in the fashion industry's ongoing problem with sexual harassment and misconduct. The report, which was published on February 16th, names highly influential photographers Patrick Demarchelier, David Bellemere, Greg Kadel,…
THE OBAMAS’ PRESIDENTIAL PORTRAITS UNVEILED
The official portraits of former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. on February 12th, 2018. This year's affair was particularly notable, not only because Barack Obama was the first African-American president, but also because he and and his wife both chose African-American painters…
DEMOCRATS WEAR BLACK TO SUPPORT TIME’S UP AT TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION
On the evening of January 30th, 2018, Donald Trump gave his first State of the Union address at the United States Capitol. His speech, which emphasized an "America First" mindset and attempted to unite Democrats and Republicans with this rhetoric, was met with boisterous applause from the right and silence from the left. The starkest…
ROSE MCGOWAN’S MEMOIR ‘BRAVE’ CONFRONTS ABUSE OF POWER IN HOLLYWOOD
Released this morning, Rose McGowan's memoir "Brave" is a deeply personal, no-holds-barred look at the rampant abuse of power by men in Hollywood. The book delves into McGowan's allegations against Harvey Weinstein, including an incident in 1997 that McGowan had not previously gone into detail about. The actress writes that at Sundance Film Festival that…
WOMEN’S MARCH 2018: HUGE TURNOUT FOR SECOND YEAR OF PROTESTS
One year after the first Women's March stormed Washington D.C., Los Angeles and New York City, thousands of protestors continued to support equal rights at the second annual wave of rallies and marches in major cities across the United States last weekend. Mayor Bill DeBlasio reported a turnout of 200,000 in New York City, and…
LARRY NASSAR, FORMER OLYMPIC DOCTOR, SENTENCED TO 40-175 YEARS
Larry Nassar, former doctor for the American gymnastics team, has been sentenced to 40 to 175 years in federal prison for sexually abusing scores of patients, among them Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles. The sentence comes after a seven-day trial in which over 150 young women testified about the abuse…
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN HAS ENDED, BUT CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS MAY REMAIN AFFECTED
Donald Trump's government shutdown began at midnight on January 20th, 2018 after Congress failed to agree on legislation to appropriate funding to government operations and agencies. The last shutdown occurred in October 2013 during the Obama administration and lasted 16 days. After a three-day standoff, Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed to pass a spending bill…