“Ain’t Your Mama”
Jennifer Lopez
Pop star Jennifer Lopez released the video to her new single, “Ain’t Your Mama,” late last week. In it, she appears as several archetypal females, including “1950s housewife” and “1980s secretary,” while declaring through song and dance — and even a quote from Hillary Clinton — that she will no longer do the heavy lifting around the house. Reactions to the video were polarized, with some praising it as a “politically charged” “rallying cry,” and others saying it lacks “any relevance to contemporary discussions of gender politics,” and that its message “isn’t necessarily all that new.” What do you think?
Meet the Woman Who Fights Extremism by Creating Job Opportunities
Lisa Desai and Yasmeen Qureshi, Women in the World
Political instability and terrorist attacks following the 2011 Arab Spring have hit Tunisia’s economy hard, leaving many people jobless and vulnerable to extremist ideas. Leila Ben Gacem, a Tunisian business owner, is working to inspire hope and change through job creation. Her company, Blue Fish, is working with young artisans and designers to create modern products and bringing them to market. “There is so much culture and heritage that has not been invested as an economic opportunities,” she says. “That was really the goal to work with artisans and see how their business can be more sustainable.” Hers is an inspiring story of how female entrepreneurs are affecting change in the world.
The Most Successful Female Everest Climber of All Time Is a Housekeeper in Hartford, Connecticut
Grayson Schaffer, Outside
Divorce. Abuse. Lack of reading and writing skills. Being a single parent. These are just some of the challenges faced by Lhakpa Sherpa, a Nepalese immigrant living inWest Hartford, Conn., on the path to U.S. citizenship, who also happens to be one of the greatest female mountain climbers in the world. Sherpa has bested Mount Everest six times — and plans to attempt a seventh ascent soon. Yet even serious climbers are unaware of her accomplishments. This detailed look into her life is well worth the time investment.
Dude, Where Are The Women? #AllMalePanels In Global Development
Malaka Gharib, NPR
Conference attendees often get a feeling that something is … off. Panel after panel of expert speakers are often entirely male, even when the topic is diversity itself. Irritation has become great enough to spark the Twitter hashtag #AllMalePanels, and posts that feature photographs and tongue-in-cheek humor to get at the serious lack of women on stages at many of these professional events. This piece calls upon multiple experts — female and male — to discuss the issue, providing a comprehensive look at why the problem persists, and what could be done to rectify it.
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