Women’s News: Beyonce's overdue victory

After 99 nominations across a 20-year career, Beyoncé finally took home the Album of the Year Grammy award for Cowboy Carter, an exploration of country music’s roots in Black innovation. She dedicated the win to Linda Martell, a pioneer of Black country.

• On top of making her the first Black woman to win the award since 1999, the victory ended the singer’s longstanding, controversial shutout from the Grammys’ most prestigious category. Despite being the most awarded artist in history, Beyoncé had never won the top prize – a slight that for years sparked anger and confusion among fans and industry insiders alike.

• She also landed Grammys for Best Country Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, notable victories after her exclusion from the Country Music Awards last year, which many critics felt was emblematic of the genre’s gatekeeping against Black artists.

• It was an undeniably women-dominated night, with Doechii becoming the third woman ever to win Best Rap Album and Chappell Roan scoring the Best New Artist award. 

• Lastly, may we all support our friends like Taylor Swift, who, despite going home empty-handed, spent the night cheering the winners, dancing to the performances, and waving her wine bottle around.

👉️ In Kenya, women are upending the male-dominated motorcycle taxi industry. There are now roughly a thousand “Boda Girls,” pink-clad female motorcycle drivers who transport women to hospitals and medical clinics.

👉️ Afghan women cricketers who fled the Taliban played their first game in three years. The players, now refugees in Australia, hope the charity match will “open doors for Afghan women in education and sport.”

👉️ In the U.K., a new program is training bus drivers to recognize when a woman rider is in distress and offer assistance by pulling over or taking her to a secure location. Three months into the program, drivers have intervened “numerous times” to keep women safe.

👉️ Japan announced it will halt funding for a U.N. women’s rights panel after the committee recommended the country end its male-only imperial succession.

👉️ Captain Rebecca Lobach was identified as the third crew member of the Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a passenger plane last week.

• Lobach, who had logged 500 hours of flight time before the fatal crash, has become a focal point in the debate ignited by President Trump’s suggestion that diversity initiatives played a role in the accident.

• National Guard Pilot Jo Ellis, a transgender woman, was previously falsely identified on social media as the captain of the helicopter.

👉️ The number of sexual misconduct complaints at the FBI has increased by 50% since 2021, when the bureau launched a new enforcement initiative. The rise in claims may indicate greater reporting, but advocates say it reflects a continued struggle to protect women in the agency’s male-dominated culture.

👉️ According to a recent report, women now account for a third of the world’s high-growth entrepreneurs. Moreover, they represent the majority of business founders in Chile, Colombia, Iran, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Venezuela.

👉️ Ariel Investments, a Chicago-based asset management firm, launched a new fund to invest exclusively in women’s sports. Its first investment will be a stake in a yet-to-be-named NWSL team in Denver.

👉️ Carol Tomé, the CEO of UPS, had a colossal day at work last week—she announced the company will cut its Amazon business in half by 2026, a decision she described as “taking control of our destiny.” Shares dropped 18% after the announcement. 

👉️ Japanese giant Takeda Pharmaceutical is getting its first woman CEO, with Julie Kim slated to take on the role in 2026.

👉️ Caroline Kennedy wrote a letter urging senators to reject her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for health secretary, calling him a “predator” and unfit for the position.

• During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy said he would implement the President’s anti-abortion policies, a stark reversal of his prior stance in favor of reproductive rights. A Senate committee will vote on his nomination today.

👉️ Two Congresswomen are proposing a resolution to allow new parents to designate a proxy to vote on their behalf for 12 weeks after giving birth. Both lawmakers recently had babies and, under current rules, were unable to vote while on leave.

👉️ The Defense Department announced it will no longer reimburse service members who travel across state lines for reproductive services like abortions or fertility treatments.

👉️ Women who experience food insecurity during pregnancy are more likely to suffer complications like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, according to a new study. Those who received food assistance while pregnant did not report the same higher risk.

👉️ A New York doctor was indicted for prescribing abortion pills to a patient in Louisiana, the first criminal charge against an abortion provider since the end of Roe v. Wade.

👉️ Angel Reese will be the first female basketball player to have a McDonald’s signature meal. The “Angel Reese Special,” a BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese, hits your local drive-thru in February.

👉️ Eight weeks after a crash left her with a seven-centimeter gash in her side, skier Mikaela Shiffrin returned to competition, taking tenth place in the World Cup slalom.

👉️ The trial of Luis Rubiales, the former Spanish soccer official who gave an unsolicited kiss to player Jenni Hermoso, began this week. Rubiales faces charges of sexual assault and coercion and could serve up to four years in prison if convicted.

👉️ Rebecca Yarros’s new “romantasy” book, Onyx Storm, the third in a five-volume series, became the fastest-selling adult novel of the past 20 years, with 2.7 million copies sold in its first week. 

👉️ Issa Rae’s comedy movie One of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and SZA, has exceeded box office expectations, marking a significant win for a film led by Black women.

👉️ On top of her Grammy win, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour is officially set for 2025. The singer made the long-awaited announcement on social media over the weekend.

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