Merck is the developer of the HPV vaccine Gardasil. The company has an independent website, gardasil.com, devoted to explaining the product, complete with social marketing tools to "help spread the word about cervical cancer and HPV." It features responses to "Questions about what you are hearing," as well...

As the nation's attention is riveted on the discourse about health care reform, another debate is taking place. Ironically, it crisscrosses with elements found in the larger conversation. These include the right of American women -- regardless of income -- to have accessible health care, the role of pharmaceutical companies...

Sakena Yacoobi is on a mission. Her goal is to bring education to Afghanistan, a country that has a 70 percent illiteracy rate. Her main focus is girls and women. She believes education can ameliorate the ravages of 35 years--and counting--of war. She speaks with an urgency that emanates from...

Human trafficking...the statistics are overwhelming. Approximately 800,000 people are illegally trafficked through international borders annually. 1.39 million people are trafficked into sexual exploitation. There are 16,600 people trafficked into the United States yearly, with America being one of the top ten destinations. New York City serves as a major portal...

This week, Marrying George Clooney: Confessions From a Midlife Crisis by Amy Ferris, is hitting the bookstores. On the back will be my blurb of recommendation:

Amy Ferris has successfully combined a rip-roaringly funny page-turner, with an unvarnished account of the personal history...

With First Lady Michelle Obama leading the charge to put the struggle for work/life balance front and center, the issue is finally getting top-level attention. Although both men and women in American society are overstretched (working two weeks longer per year than their Japanese counterparts and several weeks more than...

Last week I was in Vermont on Lake St. Catherine, a beautiful area where I attended summer camp for six years. I had made the reservations in February, although I had been worried about being away from my father for seven days. I took the leap...

Two years ago, I had a personal epiphany at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City. I joke about how I was so deep in revelatory thought that I fell down a few stairs. Yet it was the moment when it all clicked for me. The way that...

On July 25th, a "global day of action in unity with the people of Iran," I took part in an online project by artist and writers. I contributed an image and text to the website Panteas Roses entitled, "Stop the Rape."

I had been hearing stories about women demonstrators...

"What would you do if you woke up tomorrow and you were beautiful?" That question was asked of comedy star and actress Margaret Cho when she was a guest on a radio show. The person posing the question was a male disc jockey. Totally taken aback by the effrontery...

As new media continues to be an amplifying platform for previously under-recognized constituencies and agendas, women are looking to claim their piece of the pie. On May 12,
the "Women Who Tech" Telesummit took place. There was a full day of panels and plenty to listen...

We are now in the second day of the Michael Jackson story. I was on the phone with a friend when she broke the news to me. She had seen it via her computer, before any of the television outlets had the story. It was a surprise. It was almost...

On June 17th, in the elegant setting of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, The Women's Media Center held an awards event to honor 10
women for their specific contributions to the field. The evening, hosted by Elizabeth A. Sackler, was presided over by WMC co-founder Gloria...

Fifty-two days ago, my father was alive. When he got sick with pneumonia in March, we thought he would be okay even though the changes of the last years were evident.

At 92, his intellectual curiosity continued unabated. He actively monitored political events
via the New York Times...

In 2007, the dollars spent on breast augmentation surgery in the United States was $1.5 billion. By 2012, the numbers are projected to top 2 billion per year. Statistics from The American Society of Plastic Surgeons show that breast
augmentation headed the list of surgical procedures...

On May 26th, Radio City Music Hall played host to James Carville and Karl Rove for the final night of their Speaker Series. Even before Charlie Rose -- who tried to moderate -- said, "Welcome to the world heavy weight match," all I could think of was the hype...

While the media parses the ongoing debate between Obama and Cheney on patriotism, terrorism and torture, there is another story that begs for attention this Memorial Day weekend. It is the narrative of service to our country by women, which too often goes unacknowledged.

Enmeshed in the stories of...

Women are getting proactive about their health needs and rights. The financial downturn has made it crystal clear that women's economic status is intertwined with the health care equation.

On April 1st and 2nd in New York City, a National Women's Speakout for Action on Health Reform, combined with a...

Back for a second season on Showtime's Sunday lineup, in seven half-hour episodes that began airing this month, Tracey Ullman mixes over-the-top comedic entertainment with astute observation. As each segment opens to the strains of Dvorak's New World Symphony, the viewer gets a bird's eye look at the topography...

Two years ago in Brooklyn, New York, The Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art opened. It was a heralded moment, awaited by women artists who felt their time had finally come. They would now have a place of their own. Overdue recognition of their contributions would at...