Recently, my friend’s elementary-aged son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. His parents sought counsel from my husband and me because my husband also has Type 1 diabetes. We were able to help them understand quite a bit about what to expect in terms of the disease and how it is managed and that felt good.
A few days later I realized that I needed to have a different conversation with his mother. You see, we have an adult child with a different chronic illness with medications that are exorbitantly expensive even with insurance. We took a walk, and I…
From COVID relief to space exploration, these women excel
Women in science face an uphill battle in every way. From being passed over for grants, tenure, or program acceptance to dealing with sexual harassment from peers, women entering fields of science may feel like they face a Sisyphean challenge. However, they are contributing to the progress even if it only feels like claiming an inch of ground at a time. For this reason, we would like to celebrate and elevate some of the women scientists over time who have made significant and far-reaching discoveries that improve and affect all of our lives daily.
Katherine Johnson (1918–2020)
Lessons from Taiwan during the pandemic
In January of 2020, I was seriously worried about COVID-19. That’s not because I was some seer who knew that the disease would turn into a worldwide pandemic, rather, my 25-year-old son was leaving our home in North Carolina to travel back to Korea where he had just finished a year of teaching. He was to gather his belongings and then travel to Taiwan where he had a new teaching position. Of course, I was worried that he would contract the virus thousands of miles away from us and we would have no way…
As we move into Women’s History month, I cannot help but reflect on the fact that we still need to set aside a month to highlight the contributions of women to the world. But here we are. So for this week’s newsletter, I want to lift the names of women who are doing some of the hard work to make the world better today for all of us.
Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan
Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan is a woman with a mission. As an attorney, she works for underdogs and does not flinch in the face of powerful adversaries. She is most famous for her…
A letter to my oncologist.
Dear Oncology Doctor,
I write this letter to thank you for saving my life. Without you and the entire cadre of doctors and nurses involved in my cancer treatment, I would not be here today. I understand you are working hard to save as many lives as you can, and for that, I am eternally grateful.
I also imagine you would like to know how your patients are doing once they leave your care. And more importantly, how you might make some improvements in your care that will lead to the best outcomes. So, I write this letter not to…
Indigenous women doing the work
The Women Working to Solve Cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
Many Americans are unaware of a large number of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) in the U.S. and Canada. The federal government only collects data on women from federally recognized tribes, so large swaths of Indigenous women are left out leading to a gross undercount. Even with the undercount, Indigenous women are ten times more likely to be murdered than the national average according to the Department of Justice data. While there are several reasons for the undercount, which will be discussed later, raising the issues and working toward solutions is imperative to bringing justice for these women and…
How Federal Recognition Can Support the #MMIW Cause
Within the Indigenous communities stretched across this nation and into Canada, there are thousands of missing and murdered women. In fact, according to a 2017 Centers for Disease Control report, “Native women suffer from the second-highest homicide rate in the United States.” In recent years, there have been calls to solve many of these cases, primarily by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s movement (MMIW). While there are many barriers to a solution for this problem, one unspoken issue impedes any significant progress. Who is actually responsible for investigating cases of missing Indigenous people?
Only a Constitutional amendment can truly protect women’s rights.
With the election of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, we enter into a critical time for the achievable passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). With the House controlled by Democrats and the Senate split with a tie-breaking vote by VP Harris, the ERA can finally have its day for consideration. However, the long overdue passage of an amendment that would write women’s equal rights into the Constitution has some hurdles to leap before becoming law.
A quick update
During the Trump administration, first Nevada in 2017, then Illinois in 2018, and then Virginia in 2020 all ratified the ERA…
Setting women up for successful employment post-pandemic.
The headlines from December’s United States jobs report sent a chill down many an economist’s spine. Of the 156,000 jobs lost, they were all to women while men gained 16,000 jobs. Most observers note that the hospitality and leisure industries lost the most jobs, and these are places where women traditionally dominate the workforce.
But that is not the only reason that women are losing employment. Many women are stepping away because they have no other choice. Single mothers who cannot work from home must stay home to care for and support their children through virtual school and caregiving. This…
We need more than just paid maternity leave.
Yesterday, Meghan McCain, daughter of deceased Senator John McCain, returned to her seat on the daytime talk show, The View, after taking maternity leave. McCain is the most conservative voice on the show and surprised the audience by making a pitch for legislated paid maternity leave. However, her pitch caused many to question why it took her own experience for her to come around to her new support for paid family leave. I decided to write her a letter asking her some hard questions while welcoming her to the cause.
Dear Meghan McCain,
First, I want to congratulate you on…
