At Catcall, we’re all about turning catcalling on its head and calling out the patriarchy with stories that inspire the shes, theys and gays and highlight the work that needs to be done to dismantle systemic inequalities. We’re proud to bring you the Babe Weekly with the latest headlines, stories, and stats in feminist news.

The road to equality — progress and setbacks

Idaho House OKs legislation to defund abortion providers

On March 2, the Idaho House of Representatives approved legislation that, if passed by the Idaho Senate, would halt public funding to “abortion providers”  — that includes schools, public health departments and other health care providers that so much as tell a patient that abortion is an option. Read more here.

At India’s farmers’ protests, these women are reclaiming their space

Female farmers in India have been protesting controversial agriculture laws for the last three months, but over time, the protests have come to symbolize the lack of recognition and denial of rights to women farmers. Read more here.

An absolutely crucial voting reform measure just passed the House. What’s next?

On March 3, the US House of Representatives passed H. R. 1, aka the For the People Act. If passed by the US Senate, the bill aims to cut out voter suppression tactics—including outlawing gerrymandering—and creates a national system of automatic voter registration. Read more here.

A crucial moment for women’s rights in Afghanistan

The US made a deal with the Taliban that could bring Afghanistan some long-awaited peace, but it didn’t come with the promise of preserving equal rights, and women could lose the progress they have made in the country. Read more here. 

‘This Is The Reality Of Black Girls’: inauguration poet says she was tailed by guard

On March 5 inaugeral poet, Amanda Gorman, was tailed by a guard in Los Angeles as she approached the building she lives in. The guard told her she looked suspicious and offered no apology when Gorman showed him her keys and buzzed herself into the building. Read more here.

Stories and achievements

RBG could become one of a handful of women with a monument at the US capitol

If passed, a bill introduced to the US House and Senate by the Democratic Women’s Caucus on March 2, would give Ruth Bader Ginsburg a permanent place in the US capitol. The bill seeks to create a monument “in a place of prominence” of the second female justice on the US Supreme Court, who died in September. RBG would be one of a few women given this honor—only nine out of 100 monuments in the capitol’s National Statutory Hall Collection depict women. Read more about the bill here. 

In the numbers

2021’s best & worst states for women

Even though women outnumber men in most states, almost two-thirds of minimum wage workers in the US are women; women are represented by less than 30% of elected officials in the US House and Senate; and in the last year, women have lost their jobs at a higher rate than men. WalletHub took a look at 26 different aspects of life relating to economic and social wellbeing, health care, and safety in all 50 states to find out which states are best for women to live in. Among the best states were Minnesota, Maine, and Vermont, while Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi were among the worst. Get more stats and numbers here.

US gets an “F” in reproductive health and rights 

The Population Institute’s annual report card rates where US states stand in reproductive rights and takes a look at access to family planning, sex education, and abortion services, across each state. Only 18 states scored a “B” rating or higher, while 27 scored a “D” or below. Read the full report here.

Private companies increased diversity on their boards in 2020…barely 

Him For Her and Crunchbase’s Study of Gender Diversity on Private Company Boards found the percentage of companies studied that include at least one woman on its board of directors rose from 40% to 51% in the last year. That still leaves almost half of US private companies with boards comprised of no women. And only 3% of women on those boards are women of color. There’s still plenty of work to do. Read the full report here.

Portrayals of black women in Hollywood signals progress, but colorism persists

The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media released the results of its Representations of Black Women in Hollywood report. Key findings from the report revealed that while Black girls and women make up 6.5% of the US population, they made up only 3.7% of leads/co-leads in the 100 top-grossing films of the last decade; only one-in-five (19.0%) of Black leading ladies from the past decade have a dark skin tone; and most Black leading ladies (57.1%) from popular films in the past decade are depicted with hairstyles that conform to European standards of beauty. Read the full report here.

Quote of the week

“In a sense, he was right. I AM A THREAT: a threat to injustice, to inequality, to ignorance. Anyone who speaks the truth and walks with hope is an obvious and fatal danger to the powers that be.”

Amanda Gorman, the 23-year-old inaugural poet who was followed by a guard as she returned to her home in Los Angeles last week.