Women's News: Why girls are unhappier in school

Hello Risers! Thank you so much to all of you for reading and sharing women’s news. Your enthusiasm and support for this newsletter are incredible.

So on that note, here’s what’s on the rise this week:

Spotlight

Despite outperforming boys academically—showing higher graduation rates and college attendance—girls report significantly lower satisfaction with their school experiences.

• A recent survey of middle and high schools in New York City revealed greater stress levels and less perceived support from teachers among girls compared to boys. 

• The gap is particularly acute for Black girls, who not only report the lowest satisfaction but also confront challenges like racial and gender biases. Asian American girls feel the highest levels of pressure. 

• The trend highlights broader mental health challenges among young girls, who face growing societal pressures, increased social media use, and after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a 2021 survey by the CDC, 60% of teenage girls reported feeling “persistent hopelessness or sadness,” compared to only 30% of boys. 

• To address these disparities, experts call for more targeted student support, inclusive teaching practices, and even single-gender schools.

World

• Paraguay's first national sex ed curriculum has ignited controversy as critics warn its emphasis on abstinence and traditional gender roles will perpetuate sexist stereotypes and exacerbate teen pregnancy rates.

• An Afghan woman published a video of herself singing outdoors in defiance of the Taliban’s new vice and virtue laws. Despite fears of reprisal, 23-year-old Efat says she will continue to fight against the erasure of women from public life.

• South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered a crackdown on the creation of fake sexually explicit images, a growing crisis in the country. Women and girls make up the vast majority of deepfake porn victims, with many perpetrators evading serious punishment.

• Aminata Thiam, one of Senegal’s few female beatmakers, is teaching women to create hip-hop rhythms, aiming to diversify the male-dominated field of beatmaking.

Business and Tech

• Young girls are developing dangerous rashes and burns after using anti-aging products seen on social media platforms like TikTok, where influencers use “Get ready with me” videos to share their makeup and skincare routines. 

Politics

• IVF and abortion access were at the forefront of the Trump campaign last week as the former president attempts to reframe his position on reproductive rights.

  • Trump said that, if elected, he would require the federal government and insurance companies to cover the cost of in vitro fertilization treatments. 

  • He also suggested he would vote to loosen Florida’s six-week abortion ban, then retracted that stance after pushback from party conservatives.

  • Trump’s efforts to appear more moderate reflect the GOP’s struggle to confront reproductive rights, balancing its conservative base with a pro-abortion majority and distancing itself from a track record that includes the Alabama frozen embryo ruling and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

• Kamala Harris gave her first major TV interview (here are three takeaways), then joined President Biden for a joint campaign event in Pennsylvania, where she voiced support for labor unions and opposition to a proposed foreign takeover of U.S. Steel (a position that Trump and Biden also hold).

• Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson released her new memoir, Lovely One, detailing her journey to the nation’s highest court.

• Meanwhile, Justice Sonia Sotomayor is helping develop a theater adaptation of her children’s book, Just Ask!: Be Brave, Be Different, Be You. The musical, which highlights children with disabilities, will debut in January in Kansas City.

Sports

• At the Paralympics, eight women competed in wheelchair rugby (AKA “murderball”), double the number of female athletes who played the historically male-dominated sport in the 2021 Tokyo Games.

• Also at the Paralympics, archer Jodie Grinham became the first athlete ever to win a medal while pregnant when she and her seven-month bump scored gold and bronze wins.

• Star tennis player Coco Gauff was eliminated from the U.S. Open during the Round of 16, leaving Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka as favorites to face off in the final.

Culture

• Sabrina Carpenter’s new album, “Short n’ Sweet,” beat out Travis Scott to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the year’s third-largest debut after Beyonce and Taylor Swift.

• At the Venice Film Festival, Nicole Kidman highlighted efforts to improve the ratio of female directors in Hollywood, noting the increased number of women at this year’s festival as evidence that “we are changing it.”  

• TikToker Jools Lebron has shut down attempts by others to trademark her viral phrase, “very demure,” saying in a recent video that the situation has been “handled.”

Further Reading