They decided to break that silence.

***

More than 70 percent of hotel housekeepers in the United States are women. Their labor is the backbone of an industry that markets comfort but often denies dignity to those who create it. At Sonesta Select Austin North, the women who knew every hallway, every cart and every stain were treated as if they were disposable. What they experienced is a common issue when those doing the hardest work have the least power.

(This essay is part of a collection presented by Ms. and the Groundswell Fund highlighting the work of Groundswell partners advancing inclusive democracy.)

The post Disrupting Intimidation: How Texas Hotel Workers Are Shaking Up the Industry  appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

The weight of society’s expectations of working moms on a normal day is crushing. As the mother of two young children, an attorney fighting for due process for immigrants in the second Trump administration and a clinical law professor, I know this firsthand.

The post Santa Is a Woman appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

The post Women’s Labor Makes the Holidays Possible appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Despite being awash in revenue, and serial reports of fraud, waste and illegal use of taxpayer funds, these antiabortion clinics are positioning to realize a long-term goal: to “replace” Planned Parenthood and Title X programs and secure federal taxpayer funds to advance an agenda that promotes childbirth and undermines evidence-based healthcare. 

As right-wing politicians decimate the reproductive health delivery system for low-income and uninsured Americans, the UPC industry is ramping up the narrative that their unregulated pregnancy clinics are the answer to the maternal healthcare deserts their policies have created. 

Most media observers are predicting the Court will rule for the crisis pregnancy center, First Choice. If it does, unregulated pregnancy clinics nationwide will be further emboldened to resist any state oversight, including of their medical services. A bold, innovative, multi-front action by reproductive justice advocates, public health professionals and pro-choice officials is the only way we ensure they can’t succeed. 

The post The Supreme Court Case That Could Shield Unregulated Pregnancy Clinics From Oversight appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

This week:
—137 women and girls are killed by intimate partners or family members every day.
—Congress votes overhwlemingly to force the Justice Department to release their Epstein files.
—Donald Trump snaps at women journalists: "Quiet, piggy" and "you are an obnoxious—a terrible, actually a terrible reporter."
—Violence against trans women remains high.
—DACA recipients are being targeted and detained under the Trump administration.
—Higher-income college students often receive more financial support than they need, while low-income students struggle.
—Tierra Walker died from preeclampsia in Texas after being repeatedly denied an abortion.
—Viola Ford Fletcher died at age 111. She was the oldest living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. 
—North Dakota’s total abortion ban was reinstated after the state’s Supreme Court reversed a temporary injunction from a lower court. There are now 13 states with total bans.

… and more.

The post Keeping Score: 137 Women Are Killed by Partners or Family Per Day; Bipartisan Push for Epstein Files; Trans Day of Remembrance and Native Women’s Equal Pay Day appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

Enhanced premium tax credits expire at the end of this year. Enrollees currently receiving premium tax credits at any level of income will see their federal assistance decrease or disappear if enhanced premium tax credits expire, with an average increase of 114 percent to what enrollees pay in premiums net of tax credits.

The impact will be greatest for those whose unsubsidized premiums are highest: older Marketplace enrollees and those living in higher-premium locales.

The post Where ACA Premiums Could Spike Most in 2026 if Congress Lets Enhanced Tax Credits Expire appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

The post They Came for Nurses. What They’re Really Coming for Is Women’s Power—and Your Healthcare appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

People across industries—artists, founders, caregivers, cultural influencers, nurses, educators, nonprofit leaders, small business owners and parents—can give the country an unfiltered look at why they step away from work, and what it costs to do so without paid leave.

OOO replies range from clever to catastrophic. Some name the person they are caring for; others reveal the exhaustion of trying to do it all. All together, they show a country exerting caring in every direction and a policy landscape that hasn’t caught up.

Among those making the rounds:
—"I'm OOO because inexplicably school ends at 3 and work ends at 5 at best. ... I can't keep up, I need sleep, I'm getting a cold, everything is expensive and unnecessarily hard, and the holidays are coming."
—"I'm OOO because my parents are getting older and I can’t manage their RX and 500 unread emails at once. In-home care is $60K and I have limited PTO. WiIl get back to you ASAP!"
—“Hi, sorry to miss you! I’m OOO because I just gave birth, but like 1 in 4 women in the U.S. I’ll be back at work in a couple weeks.”

The post Are We Ever Off Work, or Just Out of Office? The OOO Messages Exposing America’s Care Crisis appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

These are women at a pinnacle of professional achievement, who are still beholden to structural barriers. This is not a sports issue. It is a feminist issue.

The post Calling Foul: Breaking Down WNBA Pay and Why It Matters appeared first on Ms. Magazine.

This week:
—Democratic candidates won elections across the country.
—At Crooked Con last week, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) laid out her priorities for when Democrats regain power in Congress: "We’ve got to fix the Voting Rights Act, we have to deal with the money in politics, we have to deal with the Supreme Court and we need immigration reform."
—ICE targeted childcare workers and is accused of inhumane detention conditions.
—Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement in 2027.
—Trump's approval ratings continue to fall, a year out from the 2026 midterms.
—Many popular lubricants aren't safe for vaginal health.

… and more.

The post Keeping Score: Democrats Dominate Key Elections; Federal Government Reopens After 43 Days; ICE Targets Childcare Centers appeared first on Ms. Magazine.