Blogs

Melinda Gates plans to use the Gates Foundation to revolutionize contraception worldwide. She is having the foundation cosponsor a summit of world leaders to raise funds with the goal of giving 120 million more women access to birth control by 2020, and she is pouring money into contraceptive research to seek new methods of birth control.

Article here: The Daily Beast

"An employer who discriminates against an employee or applicant on the basis of the person's gender identity is violating the prohibition on sex discrimination contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to an opinion issued on April 20 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The opinion, experts say, could dramatically alter the legal landscape for transgender workers across the nation."

http://www.metroweekly.com/news/?ak=7288

Last week Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker repealed that state's equal pay law. State Senator Glenn Grotham explains his vote in favor of repeal:

http://rt.com/usa/news/arizona-bill-conception-abortion-387/

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the Hastings Women's Law Journal's annual symposium. This year the Journal is proud to present: Cutting Edge Topics in Domestic Violence. Panels will run from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and be followed by a reception. We hope to see you there.

Please check out the Symposium tab for more information.

Intelligence Squared is a program that arranges Oxford-style debates on a wide range of timely and provocative topics. For this debate, the proposition is MEN ARE FINISHED:

In a modern, post-industrial economy that seems better suited to women than men, many are wondering if men have been permanently left behind. Education and employment statistics point to a clear and growing dominance in women’s status at home and in the workplace. Are men primed for a comeback or have the old rules changed for good? (Media links after the jump.)

SCOTUSblog, an essential resource for anyone that follows the Supreme Court, is having a (blog) symposium on same-sex marriage where they'll be publishing articles by leading voices on both sides of the debate. This archive link goes to a page that will aggregate articles as they're posted.

Other than the symposium announcement (complete with list of contributors) there are already a few articles posted:

A New Yorker piece on Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's COO and one of the most powerful women in business and technology, profiles her career and also outlines her perspective on women in the workplace (as well as criticisms of her view). Broadly, she thinks women get in their own way more than men get in their way, and that many problems would be solved by women being more assertive.

Cool interactive article from the NYT. You can choose who lives in the family and the article will tell you how many families with that makeup are in the US, as well as other social signifiers they have. For instance, there are 11,617 lesbian couples with a child over the age of 18.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/06/19/nyregion/how-many-househol...

Two Toronto parents are keeping the gender of their third child a mystery to those outside of the immediate family for now.

Read the story here:
http://www.parentdish.com/2011/05/26/genderless-baby/