With Today at Ms.—a daily newsletter from the team here at Ms. magazine—our top stories are delivered straight to your inbox every afternoon, so you’ll be informed and ready to fight back.

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BY MARTHA BURK | Today, women workers make 82 cents when compared to men, and 70 cents for Black women, 65 cents for Latinas and 59 cents for Indigenous women. The earnings gap is even larger when the value of benefits, including health and life insurance and performance bonuses, is included in the equation.

Disclosure of pay data by gender and race to the EEOC may pave the way for transparency to the public at large—and much-needed action to close gender and racial pay gaps once and for all. It’s been 60 years. Isn’t that long enough?

(Click here to read more)

Lawmakers have experienced a surge of threats and confrontations in recent years, coinciding with a rise in violent political speech. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)—pictured here in August 2019 at a vigil for victims of mass shootings—has said she has feared for her life since becoming an elected official. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

BY RUBY EDLIN | In 2022, voters elected the most diverse Congress in history—but that’s not saying much. Congress remains overwhelmingly male and white: Legislators of color make up just 25 percent of the government body, while the overall U.S. electorate is 41 percent people of color. That gap is as wide as it was 40 years ago.

One barrier to fair representation is abuse and intimidation—according to a new report from the Brennan Center. Officeholders at all levels of government face this abuse, but the amount of abuse is disproportionately high for women and people of color. ; It’s interfering with their ability to govern effectively—and it’s making them think twice about staying in politics.

(Click here to read more) 

Joan Little at a press conference on Jan. 31, 1978. In 1974, Joan Little was charged with first-degree murder after she stabbed a prison guard who sexually assaulted her; she became the first woman acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defense against sexual violence. (UPI / Bettmann Archive / Getty Images)

BY ANGELA DAVIS | “A little more than 100 years ago … rape served not only to further [the Black woman’s] oppression but also as a means of terrorizing the entire Black community. It placed brutal emphasis on the fact that Black slaves were indeed the property of the white master. … The social incentive given to rape is woven into the logic of the institutions of this society. It is an extremely efficient means of keeping women in a state of fear of rape, or of the possibility of it.”

For more ground-breaking stories like this, order 50 YEARS OF Ms.: THE BEST OF THE PATHFINDING MAGAZINE THAT IGNITED A REVOLUTION (Alfred A. Knopf)—a collection of the most audacious, norm-breaking coverage Ms. has published.

(Click here to read more) 

Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on

Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

Today, we’re talking about pleasure. Writer, activist and organizer adrienne maree brown believes deeply that the only reason we can continue to resist oppressive structures, and the only reason to resist oppressive structures is to experience the fullness of pleasure in our lives. Pleasure can be hard to come by, specifically if you live with a marginalized identity, are disconnected from your body, or have experienced a weaponization of pleasure. But adrienne says that especially then, pleasure is important to fight for and access. Today we’re digging in with adrienne as she takes on the task of proving to all of us that finding pleasure is worth it.

We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!

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