News stories tagged with "gender"

(05/04/12) Discussion of women in the workplace was reinvigorated several weeks ago when Democrat Hilary Rosen chastised presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife, Ann Romney, for--quote--"not working a day in her life." That set off another round of "mommy wars": sharp discussion of whether women are better off working to provide for their families or staying home with their children. And it raises an important question - why, 40 years after the women's movement, it's still so difficult for women to balance their families and their jobs.

Madeleine Kunin was Vermont's first female governor in 1985. She's now 78 years old and has published a new book - "The New Feminist Agenda: Defining the next revolution for women, work, and family." The book issues a clarion call for women, men, businesses, and government to make sure that workplace and family rights for women top their agendas.

Sarah Harris spoke with Kunin about her book.

Correction: Madeleine's age was initially reported as 79. She is in fact 78 years old. more

(02/16/11) Civil War buffs are commemorating the war's 150th anniversary this year. As part of an occasional series of conversations about the Civil War and its North Country connections, Todd Moe talks with a local re-enactor about women soldiers. Some women served as nurses, spies or camp cooks during the war, but others marched into battle. Forbidden from the military during the Civil War, hundreds of women disguised their gender by wearing uniforms and using masculine names. Canton Civil War re-enactor Martha Maine takes on the persona of her great grandfather, Harrison Carter Maine. She says patriotic, eager for adventure, or to accompany their husbands, hundreds of women assumed male identities to win the right to fight.

Maine speaks on "Women Soldiers in the Civil War" at a Brown Bag Lunch program at noon this Thursday at the St. Lawrence County Historical Association in Canton.

(08/27/10) Women are the traditional leaders in Iroquois culture. Their models of government and leadership were seeds for the U.S. Constitution and the women's suffrage movement. But the reservation system, Indian boarding schools, and racism helped weaken the matrilineal connection among the Iroquois people. This weekend, a hundred Iroquois women will convene at a heritage center in Akwesasne. They'll use conversation and sweat lodges, and also Power Point and Facebook, to try to reassert women's traditional roles amidst the fast pace of modern life. David Sommerstein reports.

(04/08/09) Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage. Lawmakers in the state Senate and House mustered two-thirds majorities to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto yesterday. There was a chorus of cheers and whistles at the final vote, which capped a battle with echoes of the debate that led to Vermont's first-in-the-nation civil unions law nine years ago.

Beth Robinson, chairwoman of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, says the vote shows that fairness, justice and love are more powerful than one man's veto pen. Supporters of same gender marriage outnumbered opponents yesterday, with a sea of yellow buttons visible in the gallery. A sign planted outside the Statehouse said "Let Love Win." Opponent Craig Bensen says his side was outspent. The President of the state Senate, Peter Shumlin, tells Jonathan Brown that Vermonters should be proud of the debate over this controversial issue.

(12/04/08) New York's top judge is retiring. A state commission named possible replacements, but not one candidate is a woman. Governor David Paterson calls this an insult. He's asking the Attorney General to look into the selection process. Karen DeWitt reports.

(04/20/04) Hate speech and hate crimes are on the rise on college campuses across the country. St. Lawrence University is coping with several recent cases of violence, threats of violence, and discrimination. The incidents range from racial and homophobic slurs to a phoned death threat and a physical assault on a campus running trail. As David Sommerstein reports, the incidents have sparked a debate over how to confront a very persistent problem.

(04/20/04) David Sommerstein talked with St. Lawrence University students outside the student center to learn how they see discriminatory harassment issues on campus.

(02/10/03) Race, class and gender are the focus of an annual magazine being produced by a few students at SUNY Potsdam. Jody Tosti met with the woman who's putting the publication together.

(02/26/01) If you've ever brought your car in for repairs and left feeling like the job wasn't done right, you're not alone. In a AAA survey of a million motorists, nearly half said their auto repairs were unsatisfactory. The list of complaints included not fixing the problem, causing new problems, and under-estimating the bill. To avoid repair shop stereotypes, women are learning more about their cars and doing some of the repairs themselves. Jody Tosti spent the day with a group of women learning the basics of car care.