Hi John,

My name is Gemma Simoes Decarvalho, and I’m the new Writer and Editor at the National Women’s Law Center!

It’s so nice to (virtually) meet you all. Since you’re going to be hearing from me a lot, I thought I should give you a sense of who (exactly) you’re dealing with:

I’m an overly emotional Pisces who lives in a catastrophically messy apartment in Washington, D.C. Outside of work, I have yet to develop any kind of meaningful hobby. In the meantime, I firmly believe in the joy of eating cake for breakfast, the superiority of wired headphones, and the healing properties of (languishing) late-night walks under (preferably warm-toned) streetlamps while listening to (mostly) melancholic music.

For reference, please enjoy this crushing cover of ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All.” Now, let’s get into what’s been going on this month.

It’s Been Five Years Since #MeToo Went Viral. Has Anything Changed?

Yes! But there’s more work we can do.

Before the #MeToo movement, sexual harassment wasn’t something you talked about publicly. It was something you “dealt with” or “shut up about,” because “what else did you expect” as a woman in the workplace, where abuse was catastrophically commonplace and ignored.

#MeToo gave us a framework to have our deeply personal experiences heard.

Founded in the wake of #MeToo, the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund has helped survivors of sexual harassment and retaliation speak up and seek justice. And they’ve succeeded: The majority of Americans agree that, compared to five years ago, workplace harassers are more likely to be held accountable.

Policy makers have also responded to the millions who said #MeToo. Since the hashtag went viral, 22 states and D.C. have passed more than 70 workplace anti-harassment bills. That’s an incredible legacy. But it’s also incomplete.

Tarana Burke founded the ‘me too.’ movement to center the experiences of Black survivors. And yet, they’re exactly who the policy response has left behind.

According to our new report, women of color and people who experience intersecting forms of discrimination are not fully protected in many #MeToo reforms.

To end workplace sexual harassment, lawmakers must craft legislation that centers those survivors. And as we craft the next chapter of #MeToo, we must remember that survivors are not one-dimensional characters, and their multi-dimensional stories are the ones we must amplify and tell.

Read: Low-wage fast-food workers, sexual harassment and the #MeToo era: One woman's story | Here & Now (wbur.org)
Read: #MeToo Five Years Later: Progress & Pitfalls In State Workplace Anti-Harassment Laws - National Women's Law Center (nwlc.org)

Teamwork Makes the Dream (Union) Work!

At the National Women’s Law Center, we are very proud to be unionized—one example of how we live out our values. And that union is now living proof of what we can accomplish when we, as workers, work together.

This October, our union signed its inaugural collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

To put it simply, this is how we feel about our CBA: 🎉🎉🎉🎉 YAY!!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

To put it complexly, here are the things in our CBA that we’re most YAY!!! about:

• A 20% increase to the NWLC salary floor
• Guaranteed annual cost-of-living salary increases
• Increases in sick and bereavement leave
• Increases in office closures, holidays, family and medical leave, annual leave, and study leave
• A commitment to a hybrid workplace, including telework and remote work eligible positions
• Greater health insurance and retirement benefits

To put it more seriously, I am so grateful to the NWLC United Bargaining Committee who worked selflessly to make this contract happen.

“The success of this first CBA is living proof that unions help women and gender-expansive people. It recognizes our staff’s humanity over our labor, and it doesn’t just help us—it provides material resources for our families, it is an investment in our communities, and it is an opportunity for radical rest and joy.”

–NWLC United Bargaining Committee

As we approach the end to another long year, I hope that we can all find more radical rest and joy.

You Matter!

No, that’s not just a positive affirmation written on my mirror.

It’s an official proclamation from Fast Company, who has named the National Women’s Law Center on their 2022 “Brands That Matter” list.

We’re very grateful for this honor—and very excited that our advocacy feels authentic and relevant to our audience!

Must-Do's:

• The midterms are coming, the midterms are coming! Make sure you’re registered and ready to vote.
• The Iranian government doesn't want us talking about the #MahsaAmini protests. Use your social media to amplify her story.
• Call on the U.S. government to bring Brittney Griner, the basketball star inhumanely imprisoned in Russia, back home.
• Tell the D.C. Council to pass the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which would help protect domestic workers against sexual harassment and discrimination.

Must-Reads:

• There’s a feminist revolution in Iran. Will anyone step in to help?
• “It is now about vengeance; I am here for every minute of my life I have been humiliated for being a woman.” In their own words: Iranians on the Mahsa Amini protests.
• Is American democracy screwed? Maybe… or maybe not. Here’s what some smart folks, including our President Fatima Goss Graves, have to say on the matter.
• What’s at stake in the midterm elections? Not much, aside from our basic bodily autonomy.
• It’s okay to ask your coworkers how much money they make. Actually, it’s good for feminism. Here’s why.
• What has #MeToo tangibly accomplished? A lot (but there’s still more to do).
• Trans youth are already under attack. Adults are next.

• You know when you get a Dum-Dum, and there’s a mystery flavor. That’s what this recommendation is. High risk (you could get grape) but high reward (maybe it’s cherry instead).

Feminist Moment of Joy

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has only been on the Supreme Court a few weeks… but she’s already made a profoundly positive impact:

“In perhaps the most notable exchange at the court so far this term, Jackson pushed back on Alabama's position that the Constitution demands race neutrality when states go about redrawing congressional districts every decade. The history and tradition of the 14th Amendment, Jackson asserted, was about confronting racial discrimination.”

And not only were her remarks powerful—they were understandable. As Fatima Goss Graves noted:

Judge Jackson "has such a teaching quality to her approach to the law, the deliberate way in which she explains and her level of preparedness. I think it is a really beautiful and important offering to the public to help them understand the work of the court and the law in this moment."

Frivolous Fun

I care about gender justice. I also care (too much) about (way too many) kinds of media. And this month, I wanted to share my latest obsession with you:

Love.

Like I said, I’m an overly emotional Pisces. So, this adds up.

Right now, I’m reading (well, mostly crying through) an essay collection called Conversations on Love. It chronicles how we find love, how we sustain it, and most devastatingly, how we go on surviving once it’s gone for good. And it’s not just about romantic love—but about the friends, parents, siblings, and even strangers who come into our lives and alter them forever.

As the dedication page reads, this book is “For anyone lost in longing.” And even if you’re nothing like a Pisces, I think it will make you (gutturally) cry.

Okay, enough about me. If it isn’t already clear, I am very chatty and could drone on (and on) for all of email eternity. Now, I would love to hear more about you!

Firstly, what celebrity breakup rocked your world? Secondly (and more importantly), I would love to know what initially compelled you to subscribe to this newsletter.

I can’t wait to hear from you, and I’m very excited to be here 😊

Talk to you soon,

Gemma Simoes Decarvalho
she/her/hers
Writer and Editor
National Women’s Law Center