“𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺: 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘵𝘶𝘣 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵.”

“𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺: 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘵𝘶𝘣 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵.” — The Handmaid’s Tale

I rarely post on Fridays, but I have a fire in my belly today—for both good and bad reasons.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but Women’s Studies programs are under attack across the United States. They are disappearing at an alarming pace.

My alma mater, Texas A&M, just canceled theirs.

Universities in Kansas, Iowa, and California are closing or restructuring their programs. In fact, at least 31 gender- and women-focused campus centers have closed at 23 universities since 2023.

Why is this happening?

In large part, because many of these programs have expanded to include broader topics—like diversity and gender identity—that have become politically contested.

The U.S. Department of Education has warned public universities that they risk losing essential funding over these disputes.

Look, I hate politics (on both sides of the aisle, frankly), and I don’t want to turn this into a political argument. That’s not my lane.

And I totally believe that LGBTQ and trans issues are important for ongoing understanding and dialogue in our society.

My concern this morning is as a woman and a feminist.

Women’s Studies programs matter.

Why? Because gender inequality hasn’t disappeared—it’s just become more subtle and complex.

In the United States, women represent 51% of the population and earn nearly 60% of college degrees earned.

And yet:

🤮 Women earn ~84–85% of what men earn with comparable skills
🤮 We hold only 29% of executive leadership roles and less than 10% of CEO positions
🤮 The majority of medical research still focuses on male subjects (70% male vs. 30% female)
🤮 Women make up just 28% of Congress and 32–33% of state legislatures
🤮 And we receive virtually no education about our reproductive timelines—leaving many women unprepared to navigate the intersection of career and family-building.

These trends may not have a profound impact on older generations.

But they will shape the lives of our daughters and granddaughters.

That’s why I’m honored to be speaking at the National Women’s Studies Association on May 6th about:

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘍𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥.”

🔗 Register and read more here:

I hope you’ll join me for this important conversation. We owe it to future generations to wake up and pay attention to the detrimental change that is happening right under our noses.