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What You May Have Missed in March

Women's Equal Pay Day

• On March 14th, we recognized Women's Equal Pay Day, the date that women have to work until in 2023 to make what men did in 2022. Our Deputy Legal Director, Seher Khawaja, spoke at NYC's Equal Pay Day Rally hosted by PowHerNY and the NYC Council Women's Caucus. Watch a short clip of her remarks here. 

Gender Pay Gap in the Pandemic

• Also on March 14th, the NYS Department of Labor released their report on the gender pay gap in New York and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that featured a story about a Legal Momentum client who we assisted in using NYS workplace protections to assert her rights as a DV survivor and challenge her workplace's actions. Read the report and its policy recommendations here.

Coverage in New York Magazine

• On March 21st, our client's story of getting drug-tested without her knowledge or consent during labor, and subsequently being subjected to an invasive, months-long child welfare investigation, was published in New York Magazine. The piece sparked positive discussion of how this practice is a further attack on reproductive rights. You can find a roundup of some of those reactions here. 

Informed Consent Legislation

• On March 23rd, as part of our Reproductive Justice efforts, we shared our letter addressed to the NYS Legislature supporting legislation that would end the practice of healthcare providers nonconsensually drug-testing pregnant patients and reporting those results to child protective services.

Raise the Wage Act

• On March 24th, we joined a group of advocates and community groups to demand that the NY State budget include bills that will uplift women and working families, including the Raise the Wage Act to raise and index the NYS minimum wage. Read our letter of support, signed by over 40 women's community organizations, and watch a clip of Seher Khawaja's speech here. 

Time for Our Fundamental Rights to Transcend History

• And on March 31st, we closed out Women's History Month with Seher Khawaja's Op-Ed published in JURIST arguing that post-Dobbs, courts must chart a course forward that moves away from history and centers around principles of human rights and equity.

If you like what you see, don't hesitate: Share now and help Legal Momentum continue protecting the rights of women and girls!

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