The Oscars

Lack of representation of middle aged women in movies is a commonly noted concern regarding women in the media. A 2014 study showed that actresses hit their peak salary at age 34, while actors hit their peak at age 51. While men’s salary remains stable after this peak, there is a drastic reduction in salary …

Removing the Veil: The Real Path to Prostitution

“Sexual exploitation is a practice by which person(s) achieve sexual gratification or financial gain or advancement through the abuse of a person’s sexuality by abrogating that person’s human right to dignity, equality, autonomy, and physical and mental well-being… it is the right of every human being to live free of exploitation… sexual power is a …

Honor: The Inherent Barrier for Career-Driven Women in the Middle East

When discussing the status of women in the workplace, more often than not our attention is drawn to hardships faced within the work environment itself – sexual harassment, inequality in pay, and limited opportunities for advancement. These same challenges are also equally –if not more present– for women in the Middle East. The Middle Eastern …

Hope Through Small Acts

A better future for women means that it is a better future for all. I believe that when women are equally valued to men, atrocities such as honor killings, child brides, employment discrimination, pay gaps, and sexual assault will be seen as what they really are: horrors that have plagued this world for far too …

It’s 2017, so get up and do something to empower women!

It is the start of a new year. I am reenergized, filled with hope, and excited for the uncertainty of the year ahead. I have several new goals for 2017 in a year that is sure to be full of change. I will move to a new place and start a new job this year, …

Generational Expectations of Motherhood, Education and Society in Mexico

My great-grandmother was born in 1909 in Guadalajara, Mexico to a military general. Her mother passed away soon after her birth and her father died in the Mexican Revolution. She was adopted by a family with a large hacienda—or estate—and lived with them until she married my great-grandfather. Mexican tradition called for a man courting …

Girls Not Brides—Stolen Childhoods

  Child marriages occur all over the world, regardless of culture, religion, country or custom. The practice destroys childhoods and limits the future of girls–even if the marriage is consensual.   “I was 11 years old when I quit school, that’s when we got married. He left me when I was 4 months pregnant. He …