Hi John,
My name is Jessica Baskerville, and I’m the Media Associate at the National Women’s Law Center! It’s so nice to e-meet you. 🌟💜🤠
A little bit about me: I’m a Zoomer (which I also hate myself for saying) who loves reading romance novels, tries to be the best plant mom possible, prides myself in being an August Leo, wishes that I wasn’t starting off my summer with an ankle brace, and needs a soundtrack for everything. (The latest Spotify playlist that I’ve been bumping can be found here.)
Somehow, I’m about to celebrate my two-year anniversary at NWLC and, while I don’t look great in hats, I’ve worn many during my tenure: news roundup curator, press release drafter, co-host of our podcast, Hearsay, and merch model (which I’ll talk more about at a later date). I’m so excited to wear the “newsletter writer” hat and get to know y’all along the way.
First Thing’s First: Unions Are Great for Everyone, Especially Women!
In case my colleagues haven’t told you enough already: unions are good for women, and we have the numbers to prove it. This month, on May Day, NWLC released a fact sheet created by our research and workplace justice teams that shows just how influential and crucial unions are for women, and specifically women of color, in the workplace.
The data shows that women who are members of unions have more economic security and greater access to benefits, something that I can speak for as a union member. This fact sheet comes as union drives and votes continue to pop up all across the country from coffee shops, to amusement park characters, to resident advisors.
As a proud Black woman and member of NWLC United, I could go on and on about all of the great parts of being part of a union. Instead, I’ll leave it to the professionals to share why unions aren’t just helpful, but crucial.
ICYMI… it was another big news month!
- Fertility Coverage… Just in Time for Pride Month! 🏳️🌈In a major win for LGBTQ+ people across the country, insurance company Aetna agreed on May 3 to settle a class action suit where NWLC's plaintiffs alleged discrimination while seeking fertility treatments. In the settlement, Aetna agreed to compensate class members and modify their policies to ensure equal access to fertility treatments. After the settlement was announced, named plaintiff Emma Goidel said in a statement: “This settlement is a big win for queer families. It means so many of us who hope to become parents or have more children can now begin the journey to do that with the same access to fertility treatment coverage as heterosexual couples.” It is a long overdue victory, but a victory nonetheless.
- Banned Books, Bad Behavior, Be Better! 📚 As the school year comes to a close, NWLC filed two complaints on May 13 with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), urging an investigation into book bans targeting content about race, racism, and LGBTQIA+ issues at a school district in Georgia and a school district in Florida. NWLC's complaint alleges that these school districts violated Title IX and Title VI because the book bans created hostile learning environments for students of color and LGBTQIA+ students. Book bans have been increasingly ravaging school districts across the country with extremists falsely claiming banned books are too "divisive" or "inappropriate" for students. We don’t know when the dog whistling will end, but we hope this is the start of calling it what it is.
- Something big is coming… 👀So I’m usually not one for suspense (I hate horror movies and reconsume the same content over and over again because I already know what’s going to happen), but I promise that this will be worth the wait! Want to be the first to know what’s coming? Text NWLC to 32434 to get the deets.
Must Reads and Listens 📖🎙️
- AANHPI Heritage Month is coming to a close, but it’s never too late to read a blog written by my colleague Jackii Wang about how AANHPIs can (and should) be the main characters or to revisit a blog that my colleague Da Hae Kim wrote in 2022 about equal pay for AANHPI women.
- As if I needed another reason to waffle on having children, an article in The Hill reported that child care can cost twice as much as rent in 11 states. Woof.
- Abortion funds once again remind us that they are the backbone: a Colorado fund is seeing increased demand, citing many people coming from Texas (where abortion is banned).Find a fund near you here!
- A little birdie told me that season two of Hearsay is launching in June and that you should get caught up on season one and brace yourself for a star-studded kickoff for the next season. (It’s me. I’m the birdie. And one of the co-hosts of Hearsay.)
Must-Do’s
Person Who Lived Rent Free in My Head in May
When something lives rent free in your head, you can’t stop thinking about it once you hear about it. No matter how few or many times you intentionally seek out the topic, person, or song, it is sitting at the front of your brain, ready to be retrieved whether you want it to or not. Sometimes when something is living rent free in your head, it’s a grudge or something negative, but this space is for me to share interesting, empowering, and timely topics that I recently was introduced to that I want to share with y’all!
This month, it's Cole Arthur Riley, Author and Creator of “Black Liturgies”
Cole Arthur Riley’s graphics have been popping up on my Instagram for over a year now, so it’s kind of crazy that I didn’t do a deep dive on her until this month. Her writings touch on liberation, rest, healing, community, politics, and Black personhood (among other things) and quote Black authors including Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, and Alice Walker. As a Black woman and a writer, Cole’s writings always hit the spot for me (this month she touched on grief and exhaustion quite a few times, which has deeply resonated,) and there’s something in her work for everyone willing to go in with open minds and hearts.
Feminist Moment of Joy ✊🏾
There’s a lot from the month to celebrate and process, but, as I order my outfits for Pride and brace myself for SCOTUS decision season, I have been reminiscing on the moments of love and solidarity that filled my month of May.
I kicked off the month surrounded by my NWLC United comrades in Rock Creek Park as we celebrated May Day. Belt bag locked in, cold drink in hand, all I could think about was how nice it was to be with friends in a wide open green space in D.C. Long gone were the thoughts of my probably-sprained-ankle-that-I-definitely-should-see-a-doctor-about-but-I-don't-have-time (spoiler alert: I found time.) I can still smell the food that grilled in the background while we laughed about silly things and cooed over our comrades’ children. In the midst and ahead of all the chaos, it is nice to pour into and soak in the community around us from time to time. Unions are good for women, unions are good for all, and unions are good for my braced ankle.
Until next time,
Jessica Baskerville
she/her/hers
Media Associate
National Women’s Law Center
