Released on June 23, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today marks the 48th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation that set out to ensure equal educational opportunities regardless of gender.  This civil rights law has opened up doors that had long been closed to women and girls, allowing more to participate in athletics programs, earn scholarships, attend college, study in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math) and pursue advanced degrees. 

Title IX also assures equality in athletics, which has helped increase the number of women who participate in high school sports to an all-time high, from 300,000 nationwide in 1971 to nearly 3.5 million opportunities for girls to compete in 2018-19, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.  U.S. women medal-winners in the Olympics routinely break records. 

The language of Title IX is crystal clear: 

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 

But as we’ve seen in the decades since, Title IX can still be undermined by politics, prejudice, and discrimination.  Today, with President Trump’s backing, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is intent on weakening Title IX protections for LGBTQIA+ students and making it harder for survivors of sexual assault to be safe at school.  A new rule that DeVos is pushing would give new rights to the accused, reduce liability for schools, tighten the definition of sexual harassment and allow schools to use a higher standard in evaluating claims of sexual harassment and assault. A lawsuit has been brought to stop the administration from implementing this dangerous weakening of Title IX. 

Multiple studies have confirmed that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 4 transgender or gender non-conforming students are sexually assaulted on college campuses, and approximately 20 percent of girls have been the victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault while in high school.  

NOW is committed to strengthening Title IX protections and enforcement, ending the criminalization of trauma, and pushing back against the Trump Administration’s coordinated attacks on this vital civil rights law.  Fulfilling the promise of Title IX and ensuring that it remains a strong deterrent to discrimination and harassment underscores the importance of defeating Donald Trump and electing a new feminist majority to the U.S. Senate in November.  We need a government that proudly enforces Title IX, and not one that weakens it and, thereby, threatens the safety of all students. 

Released on June 19, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, June 19th, the National Organization for Women recognizes Juneteenth, a holiday honoring the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people were free in Texas. Although Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, this day marks the liberation of 250,000 Texans.   

On June 19th, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger publicly read General Order No. 3, which stated: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” This day quickly grew to become a holiday within Black communities that included food, dance, and community celebration and acknowledgment.  

President Trump tried to hijack this day of celebration by holding a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a city with its own history of violent racism – in 1921 white citizens killed and wounded several hundred African Americans, destroying their homes and businesses. Although he ultimately moved the date, this thoughtless act further proves how little he cares for the Black community.   

Juneteenth honors a time in our nation’s history when our country began the process of undoing the impact of centuries of slavery, and our work still continues today to dismantle structural racism. Our country is at a crossroads, and we must create a more just and equal society, especially for the Black community. Non-Black allies not only need to reconcile their own biases to become better allies but dismantle forms of complicity that perpetuate racial oppression.  

At the National Organization for Women, we are committed to antiracist feminism. We know that women of color will not be free unless we are intentionally being both anti-sexist and anti-racist. Every aspect of our work, from reproductive justice to constitutional equality, is motivated by our desire to include and honor women of color. 

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,

Released on June 18, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – NOW applauds Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for announcing the departure of police chief Erika Shields, and calling for the immediate termination of Garrett Rolfe, the officer who killed Rayshard Brooks in the parking lot of a Wendy’s drive through.  But firing Officer Rolfe won’t quiet the outrage, or address the injustice, felt by Black communities whose civil rights have been violated for generations. 

Before Rayshard Brooks there was Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed by a racist vigilante while running in a South Georgia neighborhood.  Before Ahmaud Arbery, there were countless others, and we know that without immediate change, there will likely be more names added to this heartbreaking list.    

Mayor Lance Bottoms, along with Georgia NOW, has advocated to end the cash bail and direct city funds away from the police department and toward community programs.  Georgia is fortunate to have leaders like the Mayor and the activists and leaders of Georgia NOW who have been on the front lines for racial justice – for example holding a rally centered around Breonna Taylor and bringing attention to no-knock warrants – but they can’t change the system alone.   

We demand a change to our entire culture so that racial prejudice will no longer pull the trigger on police violence and armed vigilantism.  The George Floyd Justice in Policing Bill introduced by House Democrats delivers on much needed police reform: it proposes a ban on chokeholds, establishes a national database to track police misconduct, and prohibits certain no-knock warrants, among other features. It also would make it easier to hold officers accountable in civil and criminal court. The versions favored by Donald Trump and Senate Republicans fall woefully short. 

We demand comprehensive, bold reform on both a national and local level, transparency in hiring practices and regarding citizen complaints against police officers, and vigorous prosecution for criminal conduct.  Officers must be held accountable for racially motivated police violence – both for their own individual actions and for their complicity in not taking action to stop other officers. And those officers who are willing to come forward, must continue to be encouraged to do the right thing, and not have to fear retribution.  

We demand justice for Rayshard Brooks and Ahmaud Arbery.  We demand justice for Black lives in Georgia and Minnesota—and every other state, city, and community in America.  Changing the names of police on the street, or chiefs at City Hall, is not enough.  We must end structural racism.  And we must do it now.  

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,

Released on June 18, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate’s vote to confirm Judge Justin Walker to the prestigious Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is a shameful example of how Mitch McConnell has turned the U.S.  Senate into a right-wing confirmation factory for unqualified, inexperienced, extremist federal judges.  Judge Walker is in many ways the worst of the worst.

He’s called the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its’ individual mandate an “indefensible position” and “catastrophic. “  

He praised his mentor Brett Kavanaugh’s vote to allow religiously affiliated employers to opt-out of providing standard birth control coverage to their employees. He’s also lauded Kavanaugh for being a “warrior” during his hearing process, calling Kavanaugh the victim, not the women who accused him of sexual assault.   

He wants to limit the federal government’s ability to protect women, civil rights, and workers.  

He has just seven months experience on a federal bench. 

Now, Justin Walker will take a seat on the court that’s regarded as the most important in the country, after the Supreme Court—and one that’s traditionally been a pipeline to the nation’s highest court.  

NOW is committed to opposing judicial nominees who share Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell’s contempt for the rights of women, particularly their constitutional right to reproductive healthcare.  We have our sights on the next election, where we can evict Mitch McConnell from the Majority Leader’s chair and elect a new, progressive, feminist Senate.  Today’s shameful vote to confirm Justin Walker reminds us that the stakes in this election couldn’t be higher.  

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,

Released on June 16, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, the four-year anniversary of the 2016 PULSE nightclub shooting and during Pride month, the Trump administration announced its final rule – a slap in the face erasing health care protections for transgender Americans. During a global pandemic when health disparities are revealing deep inequities in our system, this rule perpetuates continued discrimination, structural racism, transphobia, and homophobia.  

This action makes it easier for doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies to deny transgender people health coverage by reversing an Obama administration rule that protected against discrimination on the basis of gender identity as well as sex. The rule also removes language that protected women and trans people seeking abortions, birth control, and other reproductive care.  

Not only is this rule based in hateful ideology that must be eradicated from our nation, it also endangers the lives of transgender Americans. Twenty-two percent of transgender adults and thirty-two percent of transgender adults of color have no health coverage, which already significantly limits their access to healthcare. Trump’s rule shows complete disregard for the trans community and trans people of color, who also face an enormous threat of violence and hate.  

NOW encourages all activists to come together and help dismantle the barriers keeping people from getting the health care they need, both culturally and legislatively. With the Supreme Court decision yesterday, we will work to get this rule reversed through lawsuits and the passing of the Equality Act in the Senate. We must also elect officials who pledge support to the transgender community and who seek to make our nation a safe place for all people. Together, we can ensure that marginalized communities have equal access to a health care system that does not discriminate.

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NOW Foundation is an amici on this case and for many years has been asserting that Title VII covers LGBTQIA+ persons.  Here is a link to the actual Syllabus: https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/17-1618_hfci.pdf

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,