Women's News Wrap

Hello and happy weekend! Get ready for a lot of fascinating women’s news, but first — have you heard about “tradwives” and stay-at-home girlfriends? I recently discovered they’re trending on TikTok, with videos of women relaxing on a wealthy partner’s dime. Some applaud them for rejecting girl boss hustle culture and embracing “feminine leisure,” but others fear the trend reinforces historical gender stereotypes. I’m curious to hear your thoughts!

Here’s what else is on the rise:

World

• A group of older Swiss women achieved a climate action milestone. The Senior Women for Climate Protection sued the Swiss government for failing to shield its people from the impacts of climate change, and this week, Europe’s highest human rights court ruled in their favor.

  • The group argued that protection from climate change is a human right and a women’s right, noting that older women are disproportionately vulnerable to extreme heat and other effects.

• Poland’s parliament took a step toward loosening the country’s near-total abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in Europe. Lawmakers passed four bills that would ease restrictions, but the measures are likely to face opposition from Poland’s right-wing president.

Business and Tech

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a reporter she’s developing new legislation to ban nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfake images after seeing a counterfeit pornographic picture of herself. 

  • She’s one of many grappling with the consequences of AI image-generation technology, which makes it easier than ever to falsify nudes—The New York Times reported on the “epidemic of deepfake nudes” that teen girls now face at school.

• It was a good week for Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman. The company’s stock price increased 70% after it forecasted a “milestone” year for revenue growth. 

• Women made big moves in the media industry. Anastasia Nyrkovskaya became the first woman CEO at Fortune Magazine, and Terry Tang was announced as Executive Editor of the L.A. Times.

Education

• President Biden canceled $7.4 billion of student debt and announced a new plan to provide additional student loan relief. Its measures would help people who are disproportionately burdened by debt, like Black and Latino borrowers. 

  • Black women have the most debt of any demographic, and women overall hold two-thirds of the nation’s student debt, so they surely stand to benefit if the plan is finalized.

Politics

• Arizona’s Supreme Court ruled the state can enforce a 160-year-old law that bans nearly all abortions and criminalizes providers. The ban could take effect in a matter of weeks.

  • The aftermath brought chaos to the Arizona Legislature. When Republicans refused to consider repealing the law, Democrats responded with shouts of, “Shame! Shame!” 

  • Donald Trump criticized the state for going too far with its ban, contradicting his previous assertion that abortion regulations should be left up to states.

• Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is getting pressure to retire and make way for a younger appointee during the Biden administration. Commentators cite her age and diabetes diagnosis as reasons she should retire, but disability leaders argue this is ableism.

Culture

• Taylor Swift tracks are back on TikTok ahead of her album release next week. She’s the only Universal Music artist with songs on the platform after the company removed all its content in February.

• Beyoncé became the first Black woman to reach number one on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Plus, her collab song with Post Malone, “Levii’s Jeans,” caused a spike in the classic denim brand’s share price.

Further Reading