Making the California Legislature 50 Percent Female Should Be Easy

The Gender Quotas Used in European Countries Offer a Straightforward Path to Parity—and More Democracy

A few months ago, the new mayor of South Pasadena appointed 18 people to the voluntary local commissions that advise the council in the San Gabriel Valley city.

Routine? Yes, except for one thing. All 18 appointees were women.

The appointments by Mayor Marina Khubesrian might have seemed like a small-town stroke for gender parity in representation. Before the appointments about one-third of all appointees on South Pasadena commissions had been women; after, slightly more than half of all commissioners were women, just like the population of the city itself.

But the …

by Joe Mathews | April 15, 2019

Women Rocked the Ancient World—But Ruling It Was Harder

Nefertiti, Cleopatra, and Hatshepsut Commanded Empires and Flipped Gender Roles While Pushing Against the Patriarchy

By Reed Johnson | August 9, 2018

Cleopatra shattered the glass ceiling of power in ancient Egypt. Boudica, the fearsome first-century Celtic Iceni queen, “leaned in” by leading a bloody uprising against the occupying Roman army.

But …

How One of Nixon’s Greatest Critics Changed Journalism

Mary McGrory Opened the Door for Women in the Political Newsroom—and Angered Plenty of People in the Process

By John Norris | December 8, 2015

In 1973, when the Watergate hearings were at full pitch, word leaked to reporters that Richard Nixon’s White House counsel was going to release the president’s now-infamous “Enemies List”—an index …

Can Gloria Molina Still Slay Giants?

The L.A. City Council Race Will Put the Longtime County Supervisor’s Legacy on the Line

by Jaime A. Regalado | January 21, 2015

Memories are short in Los Angeles, so many of us don’t know–or have forgotten–the history behind arguably the biggest story of this Southern California political season: Gloria Molina’s bid to …

Why Don’t Women Rule the World?

Before Hillary Clinton Wore Pantsuits, Hatshepsut Governed Egypt with a Fake Beard and an Iron Fist

by Kara Cooney | November 3, 2014

This November, nearly 200 women are running for Congress. Most are not going to win, if the past is any guide. Of the 535 representatives and senators currently serving, only …

Why Do We Only Remember Bra-Burning?

Our Memory of the Women’s Liberation Movement Is Jarringly Incomplete

by Jennifer Lee | June 6, 2014

Imagine an America where women had the right to vote but could be rejected for a job because of their gender. Imagine an America where women were refused admission to …

women and politics