Gender
She's Doing It: Rabbi Holly Cohn
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When I was told by my good Midland TX friend Dr. Norman Gould that the congregation I belonged to when I lived in West Texas had hired a woman, Rabbi Holly Cohn, as its first fulltime spiritual leader, I knew instantly that I wanted to write about her for this “She’s Doing It” column. I found her optimism and devotion to her calling inspiring. And I was also struck by how women are playing an ever-larger role in religion and religious observance.
This piece was originally published on the Sisterhood Blog of the Jewish Daily Forward. “Rabbi Holly in Mojoland” was my original title. I’d love to know your reactions. And whatever your religious persuasion, what have been your own experiences as women have been taking on increasingly significant roles as members of the clergy?
She’s Doing It: In New Book, PunditMom Examines Mothers in Politics and Activism
This week’s She’s Doing It features popular blogger ‘PunditMom’ Joanne Bamberger. She is not only illuminating women’s clout and influence both online and in the political realm but uses her voice to get out the message of the importance of political motherhood and mothers in politics. Joanne is an amazing example of No Excuses Power Tool #8, “Employ Every Medium”…
Friday Round Up: Women Who Make Us Laugh
This week, I’ve been preparing to emcee the National Women’s Political Caucus “Good Guys” Gala at the Caucus’s 40th anniversary convention. Emcees are supposed to be somewhat humorous, and I got to thinking about how some people (remember when the curmudgeonly Christopher Hitchens lobbed the idea in Vanity Fair?) like to say women aren’t funny. Especially feminists. So this week’s Friday Round Up is devoted to women who make us laugh…
She's Doing It: And in combat boots!!
Did you know women are the fastest growing group of armed forces veterans with estimates of growing from 1.8 million in 2010 to 2.1 million by 2036? I didn’t until I read some recent reports.
Women have made great strides throughout the U.S. Military, serving in almost every position now. This is a big change in an organizational culture designed by men for men. Change as we know, can create chaos, or at least the feeling of chaos. This week’s “She’s Doing It” celebrates those brave women in uniform, and looks at how they are using No Excuses Power Tool #5, “carpe the chaos” when Janie comes marching home.
Read MoreSeriously? Must a Woman Be Like a Man to Get Ahead?
That question comes up every time I speak with women about their career aspirations.
A second question just as surely follows: if we can’t be authentically who we are, why would we want to “succeed” in male-dominated organizations or professions? Many women who leave the corporate world to stay home with children or enter entrepreneurial or nonprofit fields—or alternately, remain quietly in their jobs put only to find themselves doing the work but not getting the promotions—say they do so because they don’t want to become like men.
Yet all signs point to a potential breakthrough moment for women even as we debate the pros and cons of taking on male camouflage.
Read MoreIs Marriage Equality at a Tipping Point?
Watching the historic June 24 vote that sealed the deal for New York to become the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage was goose-bumpy exciting. In this guest post, journalist Tracy Baim speculates on whether New York represents a tipping point, as some have speculated.
While opposite-gender marriage slips into a minority percentage of the population, the movement for gay marriage equality shows no signs of slowing down.
Read MoreFriday Round Up: Women in Sports Gain Power and Prominence
It’s not your mom’s Title IX any more.
Even I, who used every excuse to avoid the miserable girls’ gym classes in my pre-Title IX high school days, and rarely read the sports page now, couldn’t avoid noticing this past week how in the world of sports & gender equity, women athletes are visibly ramping up the action and reaping the results of almost four decades of access to competitive sports and many thanks go to crusader Bernice Sandler.
Read MoreFriday Round Up: Does Gender Matter Anywhere Anymore?
After my keynote at the AAUW national convention last Sunday, I overheard an attendee tell her friend about the graphic I’d used of a hot dog with “No More” written in mustard on it. I didn’t have to say a word when I put the graphic on the screen for the entire audience to start laughing at the shared awareness that I was referencing now-former NY Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-Stupid). And that by implication I was referencing the fatigue and disgust so many people feel about the seemingly unending waves of philandering politicians who thus far have been almost entirely male.
Read MoreFriday Round Up: The X's have IT!
While the flurry of puns and bad jokes are still ringing in our ears, it has finally happened that another high-ranking, supposedly tech-savvy Congressman resigned in a press conference that hearkened back to the days of Richard Nixon’s resignation.
Read MoreFriday Round Up: Why Are There Y Chromosomes Edition
No, this Friday Round Up isn’t only about the weenier-than-almost-anyone-ever Rep. Anthony Weiner. I start there because how can I not? But we’ll quickly move on to the meta-picture of gender power.
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