A typical annual session of the Iowa Legislature sees hundreds upon hundreds of ideas proposed in bills. Before lawmakers begin their work for 2024 this morning, Fearless is taking a look at a few of the topics most relevant to Iowa women and girls that could come up.Republicans control the agenda; they Read more…
BY MICHAEL CRUMB, BUSINESS RECORD SENIOR STAFF WRITER While progress has been made in increasing the availability of quality, affordable child care in recent years, more needs to be done, state lawmakers said in a recent panel discussion during a forum on challenges facing child care providers in Iowa.The discussion occurred Read more…
(Editor’s note: A press release for this award popped into my email recently. It made my week. I had not seen Barbara Mack’s name in print for so very long. Mack, a longtime Iowa State University professor and First Amendment lawyer, was a previous recipient of the Young Women’s Resource Read more…
It has been a privilege to cover women’s issues for Fearless and for the Business Record in 2023. As I typed “women’s issues” just now, I cringed. Women’s issues aren’t just women’s issues. They affect everyone. They have significant implications for everyone – and for the economy. As I looked back at Read more…
By Seeta Lee New Year’s resolutions are hard to avoid. A change in the calendar brings a refreshing opportunity to say, “This is when I finally do the thing!” Sadly, diet culture, fatphobia and the wellness industries are all too aware of this urge to renew ourselves. They latch onto Read more…
For many elementary-aged children in Iowa, one of their first public tastes of inequity comes while staring down at the muddy blacktop while their wealthier classmates play in the snow. I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s in western Iowa. Children who didn’t have snow pants or snow boots Read more…
No matter their age or income or other circumstances, Iowa women tend to worry about being prepared for retirement. Other Iowa women are just trying to survive until the next paycheck. “The long-term goal is retirement. But you’ve got to take small steps to have that healthy retirement that we Read more…
Individuals and institutions have become more aware of how to support survivors of sexual abuse — but major mistakes remain common, an advocate says. Rachael Denhollander was the first woman to talk publicly about being sexually abused by Larry Nassar, a Michigan State University physician who was also the women’s Read more…
It’s still dark outside when women from the Beacon retrieve bicycles parked at the front of the building or set out for the bus stop, ready to pedal or ride to their jobs that morning and, hopefully, into new lives. The staff at the Beacon sees the effects of complex Read more…
(Editor’s note: Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse former U.S. national team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse, is the Chrysalis Foundation’s 2023 “Inspired” keynote speaker. As part of Fearless’ coverage of Denhollander’s Nov. 13 visit to Central Iowa, I interviewed two Iowa women whose jobs involve making Read more…