There have been so many horrifying stories about male predatory behavior since the Harvey Weinstein story broke earlier this month, but one quote has truly stood out.
In a damning memo about her boss, a Weinstein Co. employee named Lauren O’Connor neatly explained how the Hollywood producer could get away with sexually harassing so many women.
“The balance of power is me: 0, Harvey Weinstein: 10,” she reportedly wrote.
That one sentence sums up more than the situation with Weinstein, now accused of sexual harassing or assaulting more than 50 women. That same power imbalance exists in every corner of the country, in the White House, Congress, the media, police departments, academia, most big law firms, and nearly every major corporate boardroom, corner office and C-suite.
“Weinstein is the embodiment of the power differential that plays out all over the workplace in the United States,” said Teresa Boyer, the director of the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership at Villanova University.
More than a dozen women have accused President-elect Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, ranging from forcible kissing to assault. Many Americans who did not support Trump’s candidacy have grappled with shock since his election. But for these women, his win is also deeply personal.
“I’ve gone out with my girlfriends and had a pinch or a grab here and there, and I’d turn around and they were gone. But I turned around and it was Trump,” said Mindy McGillivray, who claims that Trump groped her at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, when she was 23.
McGillivray told The Huffington Post that in her eyes, Trump is a “habitual offender,” one whose behavior could affect his presidency. “I hope it doesn’t, because this is who we’re stuck with, and in my heart, I want to forgive and move on,” she said.
Five of the biggest names on the U.S. women’s national soccer team roster filed a complaint against the U.S. Soccer Federation on Wednesday, demanding equal pay for equal work and calling for an investigation of what they believe to be U.S. Soccer’s discriminatory wage practices.
The complaint comes less than nine months after the women’s team hoisted up the gold trophy at the 2015 World Cup, a feat the men’s team has never accomplished.
While Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Hope Solo were the players who actually inked their names onto the filing, they emphasized they were taking action on behalf of the entire national team.
With the refugee crisis on the top of everyone’s social agenda, there is a population especially feeling the impacts of displacement and violence: women.
Actress Sienna Miller knows the trauma of women refugees well. She was inspired to go visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo after becoming knowledgeable of the rape epidemic there, where one woman is raped every five minutes.
Her visit, she said, showed just how devastating the situation was.
“I met two year olds that had been gang raped,” Miller, who is an International Medical Corps global ambassador, said.
“The impact of what you see is completely heartbreaking and at the same time really galvanizing in terms of the need for all of us to pay attention to the world we are living in.”
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Actress Sienna Miller speaks about women in crisis at the 2015 Social Good Summit on Sept. 28, 2015.
Pope Francis will allow Roman Catholic priests to absolve women who have had abortions if they seek forgiveness during the upcoming Holy Year of Mercy, the Vatican announced Tuesday.
The pontiff said he will allow priests “discretion to absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it” during the special year, beginning December 8.
“I am well aware of the pressure that has led [women] to this decision,” he wrote in the announcement. “I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal.”
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Pope Francis: Women Who’ve Had an Abortion Can Now Be Absolved of Sin
Tech companies are looking for ways to design devices that not only appeal to women but are explicitly for women.
That’s unfortunate.
This summer, Google announced a version of Google Glass embedded in Diane von Furstenberg frames, and is working with Luxottica on more. Rebecca Minkoff and Case-Mate said they might but have not yet released a line of wearables and tech accessories.
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Ringly’s Bluetooth-enabled rings send notifications through vibrations or flashing lights about incoming messages or imminent meetings.
For one-night stands, size does matter, but it’s not penis length that women are concerned about — it’s girth, a new study suggests.
In the study, 41 women viewed and handled penises made on a 3D printer. The models were blue, and ranged in size from 4 inches long and 2.5 inches in circumference to 8.5 inches long and 7 inches in circumference. They were asked to pick which of the 33 models they would prefer for a one-time partner, and which they would prefer for a long-term partner.
For one night stands, women selected penis models with slightly larger girth, on average, than those they selected for long-term relationships.
Women are carrying the bigger burden of Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S., according to a new report — making up not only most of the cases, but paying more of the cost of caring for the growing population of people with the mind-destroying illness.
The new report from the Alzheimer’s Association paints Alzheimer’s as a disease that disproportionately affects women, both as patients and as caregivers. It points out that women in their 60s are about twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s over the rest of their lives as they are to develop breast cancer.
Women who get a flu vaccine while they’re pregnant lower their risk of having a child with autism.
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Greg Poland, MD, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic has been studying the flu virus for a quarter century. He says you can think of the flu vaccine as an “anti-autism vaccine.”
It’s a startling statement, but it is backed up by several recent studies. Dr. Poland says pregnant women who get influenza have double or triple the risk of having a child with autism. So preventing flu during pregnancy is vital.
Ten years ago, I was almost 60 pounds more than I am now.
I had cut my hair short, added a few highlights and really had this frumpy vibe going on. I had two kids at the time, ages 6 and 2. I was trying to be taken seriously as a good mommy and had let myself go. I was eating a ridiculous amount of sugar. I cared way too much about what other women thought of me. I formed new friendships with the moms from school and they frequently revolved around food. I hated the way I looked, but I fit in. After seeing the pictures from a trip to Disney with my family, I wondered how I let it happen. I knew I was wearing a size 14 and at five feet tall, it looked like I was wearing an even bigger size. I had a double chin and knew if I didn’t stop this weight train, I’d be even bigger.
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James' World 2 