WOMEN'S FUND OF MISSISSIPPI UPDATE
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E-News for the Week of May 10, 2010
Forbes blog on what a third female justice could mean for the Supreme Court
If Elena Kagan is confirmed, it would be the first time in U.S. history that three women would serve on the Supreme Court at the same time. Having Kagan as No. 3 could start breaking apart the myth that one woman, or even two, is enough in any important decision-making group, from corporate boards to government agencies.

In her current role as solicitor general, she represents the U.S. in litigation at the Supreme Court level. Earlier in her career, Kagan clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall, served as a U.S. Senate staff member and worked as a White House lawyer and domestic policy aide for the Clinton Administration.
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American Academy of Pediatrics makes a controversial change to its policy on female circumcision (New York Times)
The American Academy of Pediatrics is suggesting that American doctors be given permission to perform a ceremonial pinprick or "nick" on girls if it would keep their families from sending them overseas for the full circumcision. AAP committee members believe that a "just-say-no policy may end up alienating families, who are going to then find an alternative that will do more harm than good."

More than 130 million women and girls worldwide have undergone female genital cutting, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. It is mostly performed on girls younger than 15 in countries including Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia. Consequences can include severe complications with pregnancy, childbirth and sexual dysfunction.
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Citizenship Law Fans Women's Fears in Arizona (Women's E-News)
Arizona's new law on citizenship documentation is expected to take a heavy toll on immigrant women, particularly those with children and those in mixed-status marriages. According to some nonprofits, "Simple acts like walking to a store as well as life-changing decisions like taking refuge in a domestic violence shelter will be more complicated because immigrant women are required to have their papers on them at all times in case they are stopped by police."

Advocates also predict that many families will be torn apart given the large number of people with a family member--usually a U.S.-born child who is a citizen--who may be left behind. The Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington-based, nonpartisan research organization that focuses on the Latino population, found that 73 percent of the children of unauthorized parents are citizens.
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Strategies and policies for helping low-income mothers achieve economic security (Change.org)
In March 2010, the unemployment rate for women who maintain families was 11.3 percent - the highest rate in the past 25 years. The authors of this article--2 CEOs of women's funds--urge for a fundamental shift in the way the United States views assistance to low-income families.

"We need to strengthen public assistance programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) so that the emphasis is on helping women improve their skills and education rather than being pushed into any available job  - no matter how low-paying or lacking in career potential. Additionally, federal efforts should support programs that combine on-the-job work experience with services that help low-income women overcome barriers to employment, including child care, transportation and tenuous housing. We cannot assume we've done our job as a nation if we have simply funneled women off of public assistance and into low-paying dead-end jobs with no hope for a better future."
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Equality Now featured in article on non-profits taking a stand against funding from Craigslist, which has seen record profits from sex ads trafficking girls (Salon)
Craigslist is expected to bring in a whopping $36 million this year off of "adult services" ads. The explicit and controversial section, which hosts advertisements for "sensual massage" and "full body rubs," is predicted to drive an estimated 22 percent revenue increase, according to new financial projections. These figures raise the question of whether the king of online classifieds is profiting from prostitution.

Law enforcement claims that Craigslist is the "largest source of prostitution" in the country, and an advocate for sexually trafficked girls told the New York Times it's "the primary way children are bought in the country." (Just last week, the FBI charged 14 mafia members with using the site to sell sex with underage girls.)
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The Women's Fund of Mississippi is dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls by promoting social change and economic self-sufficiency through advocacy and strategic grantmaking.