Dear gender equality fans, 

I’m sure you all saw the amazing headline in the Washington Post about how women’s equality and domination has been achieved.

By Angie Gomez

Since the first local elections in 1948, politics in Puerto Rico have long been defined by two political parties, the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and the New Progressive Party (PNP), with smaller, third parties being largely locked out of leadership positions. In total, 13 governors have led the island, and all have come from either the PPD or PNP. Six governors have been elected from the PPD, including the first woman to hold the position, Sila María Calderón. From the PNP, six have also been elected but after former governor Ricardo Rosselló resigned in 2019, Wanda Vázquez assumed the office and became the first woman governor from the PNP. 

By Julia Tallant 

“La Campaña en el ENM 2011 Bariloche” byHipólita is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

The recent legalization of abortion in Argentina affirmed its position as a regional leader in progressive social policy and underscored the importance of women politicians in these legislative advances. The success of this progressive legislation comes after the coalescence of the feminist civil society movement and the growing numbers of women legislators.

“There are chapters in every life which are seldom read, and certainly not aloud.”

So wrote Carol Shields in her award-winning novel, The Stone Diaries. And like many great authors, she was right in more ways than one. Specifically, the “seldom read” chapters are often those written by women. Throughout her long and lauded career, Shields had an unmatched commitment to highlighting the voices and work of women writers. In her memory the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction has been created to acknowledge, celebrate and promote women writers from America and Canada 

Author’s Note: Many disabled people choose to use identity-first language (“disabled people”). In contrast, others prefer person-first language (“person with a disability.”). This blog post mostly uses identity-first language. However, it is a personal decision, and I wish to stress the importance of respecting the individual choices of people with disabilities. Thank you.

Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash