The Persistent (Page 7)

Persisting Through Politics

The Day After the Big Day

This isn’t the note I was hoping to write. Harris lost. Trump won.

History Lessons

As America Votes Harris vs. Trump, One Woman’s Legacy Looms Especially Large

How Shirley Chisholm, who ran for president against all odds, forever altered the landscape for women in U.S. politics.

U.S. Election 2024

‘Blame Women’—How the Trump Campaign Is Courting Voters...and Donors

With hours to go before voting begins, the Trump campaign is trying new tactics to establish a MAGA future—and many of those attack women.

A watercolor painting of the author Jessica Valenti. She has short hair in a bob and is wearing bright lipstick.

Persisting Through Politics

How Angry Should Women Voters Be?

The journalist Jessica Valenti chronicles the pro-life movement in forensic detail in her new book. Ahead of the election, she says, voters need to get angry.

An illustration shows a woman running a race. She looks back at other versions of herself as she runs.

Essays

The Pain and Joy of Not Running the Marathon

Sure, I can run a marathon. But I can also not. And maybe, just maybe, in a few years I’ll be able to.

People sit on bleachers. Above them, giant letters spell out the words VOTE EARLY.

U.S. Election 2024

What’s Really Fueling U.S. Voters?

In the end, the election may boil down to different ideas about female and male roles; to gender equality and gender traditionalism.

A drawing shows a group of women protesting with signs and candles. One woman holds a microphone.

Afghanistan

‘If We Don’t, Who Will?’—How Women in Afghanistan Are Speaking Out

It is dangerous to protest in Afghanistan. But it is also dangerous to be a woman. That’s what keeps Afghan women speaking out in whatever ways they can.

A photo collage depicts Rwandan school girls overlaid by arrows and an airplane.

Education

All’s Well In School. But Come University, Rwandans Wonder: Where Are the Women?

Rwanda’s young women aren’t making it to university. Cultural and societal factors are to blame.

A black and white photo of Hilary and Bill Clinton relaxing in the Roosevelt Room in the White House.

Work

How I Met Your Other

Why, by dint of a husband being important, does his wife somehow become a less-than, no matter her qualifications?

Watercolor of Lilly Ledbetter, with a blonde bob, white shirt and black jacket.

History Lessons

Remembering Lilly Ledbetter: A Life of Grit and Persistence

Lilly Ledbetter, for whom America’s Fair Pay Act of 2009 was named, has died. She was 86.

A photo of a woman, seen from behind, wearing a denim jacket with Trump 2024 on it.

Politics

What They See In Him: The Women Who Know They’re Voting for Trump

Some women are still backing Trump, even though they don't love his behavior—and they're even more enthusiastic about JD Vance.

An illustration of a woman, shown twice, in the first version she says, I'm Great! In the second version, I'm Great?

Worklife

The Compelling Case for Careful Self-Promotion

Women are told to lean in and dare to lead, to be a girlboss and to speak up. But nothing is easy about this. And none of it is risk-free.

Claudia Sheinbaum waves from the window of a car. She is smiling broadly.

Politics

How Do Feminists Feel About Mexico's New President? It's Complicated.

Is Mexico's new president good for women? It depends who you ask.

Deborah Copaken stands outside a store in Cairo in jeans and a utility jacket, with a camera around her neck.

Culture

Lee and Me

I wanted to be the objectifier of men and their wars, quirks, and shortcomings, not the objectified. Why was this so hard?