Hi John,

Sooooo I may have caused the even worse heat wave in July. I apologize for that, but at least we suffered together?

Honestly, I don’t know what’s worse: having my eyes blinded by the sweat dripping into them or having my ears blasted with the same anti-abortion, racist, homophobic rhetoric over and over again across different events, and even infiltrating my social media feeds in the form of TikToks of tradwives and podcasts from men who think they know what’s best for women. Every time a man steps up to a microphone to talk about a woman’s place, a trans person’s body, and a retroactive and harmful vision for the future, I wonder if even though we have the right to free speech, maybe not everyone should have the right to a microphone. But we’ll come back to that later…

Pay Black Women Our Fair Share! 💸💁🏾‍♀️

I wore my “Pay Me What You Owe Me” swag constantly this month not just because it’s purple (my favorite color) and not just because of my love for Rihanna (an iconic artist and businessperson), but because there’s never a bad time to educate people about the Black women’s pay gap. July 9 this year marked Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, our annual reminder that Black women make less than white women and white men, and that once again illustrates the impact that our racist, sexist society has on Black women. Top that off with the fact that the federal minimum wage hasn’t been increased for 15 years, we clearly have so much progress to close the pay gap and ensure workers are fairly compensated.

Being Coy About Salaries Isn’t Cute!

There might be glimmers of hope thanks to my Gen-Z counterparts speaking out about pay transparency in the workplace. A Washington Post feature this month highlighted a group of young women, mainly women of color, who have disclosed their salaries on TikTok to bring awareness to the pay gap.

As my colleague Andrea Johnson states in the article, “Gen Z is saying, ‘This is what we expect. We’re not even going to apply to your job if you don’t list it.’” A few brave people are working to make a brave thing (sharing and negotiating your salary) the norm and are putting pressure on organizations and corporations to change their policies. You can join their fight by telling your representative to co-sponsor the Salary Transparency Act!

Must Do’s and Must Reads ✅📖

• Before we jump into the back-to-school season, read about the Biden administration’s updated Title IX rule, which protects student survivors, LGBTQI+ students, and pregnant and parenting students, and is set to go into effect tomorrow!
• SCOTUS got you down? Gain hope in the judicial system by reading our blog spotlighting the women of color (who are Doing the Darn Thing) in the U.S. District Courts.
• Calling all Hearsay heads! Season two is in full swing and TODAY you’ll get to hear our first live studio recording plus an interview with Rep. Barbara Lee about what it means to be a woman in politics. Listen here!
• Find and donate to your local mutual aid network. With the unbearable climate, anxious economy, and the SCOTUS ruling on encampments and unhoused people, mutual aid networks are making sure that their communities and neighbors have everything they need.

Person Who Lived Rent Free in my Head in July: Talia Hibbert 🥰📚

Visiting a romance-focused bookstore in New York City was one of the highlights of my month (maybe my year?). As my adult reading journey ran through my head in flashbacks, I fondly remembered how reading Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert started it all for me. Talia’s well-written, diverse, and funny romances are perfect for any beach, flight, or night-in you have this summer. If you’ve never read her books, you can thank me later.

Feminist Moment of Joy 🧊

Now about what I said earlier about men having access to microphones…I just think that people who aren’t men sound better through microphones.

NWLC is not the only group to have a podcast, but I would be willing to bet that we are the only people to have this much fun while doing a podcast. Kicking off season two with a launch party and our first live recording in Baltimore was a dream (that I didn’t even know I had) come true.

Gabbing with Lark and Hilary, glancing at my mom and my partner in the front row, and sharing our important conversation with an audience reminded me of why I applied to work at the Law Center, why I have continued to explore all of the opportunities here, and why I jumped at the opportunity to write this newsletter. It also gave me yet another reason that men shouldn’t be starting podcasts as their go-to side hustle. We’ll take the mic from here.

Long-windedly and eagerly,

Jessica Baskerville
she/her/hers
Media Associate
National Women’s Law Center