Marcia G. Yerman

Marcia G. Yerman

Bio

Marcia G. Yerman, based in New York City, writes profiles, interviews, essays, and articles focusing on women’s issues, human rights, the environment, politics, health, culture and the arts.  Her work has been published by the New York Times, AlterNet, EmpowHER, Moms Clean Air Force, RoleReboot, The Raw Story, Women News Network, RH Reality Check, Women Make News and The Women’s Media Center. She has permanent verticals at The Huffington Post, OpEdNews, and Medium. Her articles are archived at mgyerman.com. 

Marcia G. Yerman Articles

Bias against women employees accounts for as high as 40 percent of the pay gap. Image: AAUW/The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap .pdf.

Equal Pay Day: What You Need To Know

Despite our dependence on caregiving to grow and function as a society, compensation for this labor remains unfairly low. Another factor is the “motherhood penalty”: Women with children earn less than women without kids. On the flip side, fathers get a “daddy bonus,” earning more than men without children. When women move out of the workforce to raise a family, it impacts their lifetime earnings.

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Campus SaVE Act Responds to College Campus Sexual Violence

Students starting college this coming fall (as well as those returning) will be the first to benefit from the Sexual Violence Elimination Act (SaVE), which will require colleges to have “prevention and awareness” programs about sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and domestic violence in place.

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"Women could be denied insurance based on “previous situations,” including C-sections, postpartum depression, and even rape and domestic violence."

National Women's Health Week: Sort Of

In a poll just released by Pew, only “23 percent of women are satisfied with the way things are going in the country today.” So make a point to call your elected representatives.
Tell them you want affordable and comprehensive healthcare.

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Film still courtesy of HBO.

Abortion: Stories Women Tell

Abortion: Stories Women Tell, directed by Tracy Droz Tragos, looks at one of America’s most contentious debates through the prism of personal stories.

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Donald Trump's first 100 days were not great for women's rights. (Image Credit: Flickr/Gage Skidmore)

What 100 Days Of Trump Has Meant For Women

The Trump administration seems determined to turn America back to the days of the 1950s. Unequal pay, gender-rating in insurance plans, less access to birth control, and a roll back of reproductive rights are all on the list. Here's what his first 100 days in office looked like for women's rights.

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Wishful Thinking cover.

Kamy Wicoff's Wishful Thinking: A Lesson In Feminist Time Travel

Using the fantastical construct of time travel via a phone app, Wicoff enables Jennifer to pack 35 hours into a 24-hour day. This allows Jennifer to spend more time with her children, attend their school functions, put in extra long hours at the New York Housing Authority (much to the chagrin of her female co-workers), and even engage in a promising new romance.

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Ready your DVRs.

The Affair Returns to Showtime

Yes, there’s plenty of sex. However, the show is far more than just thrusting bodies in motion. Specifically, in a scene that included brief full-frontal male nudity, my takeaway from the encounter was not about the man’s genitals or his verbalizations in the throes of passion. Rather, what was meaningfully clear was that the woman’s emotional core was elsewhere. The sexual interlude served to underscore her internal state.

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Hillary vs. Carly, Presidential Showdown

Hillary Clinton, Carly Fiorina, And Unanswered Questions

So what does it all mean for women candidates past and future? (I won’t even include Sarah Palin in this discourse because she has become more of a performance artist, as evidenced in her slam poetry endorsement of Trump). I do wonder why Fiorina was able to get away with delivering her points of view in ways that often struck me as spiteful, condescending, or harsh to the ears. I didn’t attribute it to her gender. Rather, I don’t find her terribly sympathetic.

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Rosh hashanah.

My Rosh Hashanah Promise . . . To Me

A friend of mine, who self-identifies as a life coach, repeatedly tried to push a concept on me termed “self-care.” I always thought it was her version of wrapping selfish behavior in an appealing package, tied up with a bow of convenience. My resolution borrows from that premise, but it is rooted much deeper than just doing what is best for my own physical and mental health.

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Twenty percent of women and 5% percent of men will be sexually assaulted while attending college. Image: Holt McDougal.

Sexual Assault On Campus: We Believe You

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but for those whose lives dramatically changed when they entered the realm of rape survivor, there is no 30-day expiration date.
This is made abundantly clear by Annie E. Clark and Andrea Pino, the co-founders of End Rape on Campus (EROC). They also have edited the book, “We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out.”

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