Naomi Cahn

*Cross-posted from AlterNet.

President Obama’s strong support for same-sex marriage is strong support for the institution of marriage itself. It's a vital step toward a revitalized institution better equipped to address the needs of today’s families.



Those who think and talk...

*Cross-posted from AlterNet

“Access to Birth Control Coming Under Fire."
"Rep. Darrell Issa Bars Minority Witness, a Woman, on Contraception."
"States slash birth control subsidies as federal debate rages."

Headlines like these were unimaginable to many people two years ago. Not to...

Cross-posted from New Deal 2.0.

As we celebrated Valentine's Day this week we should be aware that underlying the many stories on the changing nature of marriage and relationships is a central irony: The college-educated middle class that embraced the sexual revolution is now leading the way back...

The Obama administration’s recent decision to require most religious-affiliated employers to cover birth control for their employees is good news for the women who work for religious employers and do not share the male hierarchy’s opposition to birth control. It is also good news for a country with one of...

A recent article in The Economist on the "sorry state of marriage in the United States" quoted Census data that show that, for the first time, married couples now make up less than half of all households. The article concludes:

Do not expect the Democratic...

This blog is co-authored by Naomi Cahn and Wendy Kramer.

As women postpone having children and face the ticking of their biological clocks, they may turn to donor eggs or donor sperm to help them have children. For women (and men) in Washington State, the fertility industry...

Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the country, and its employment decisions affect lots of people - and their families and communities. Ten years ago, in 2001, Betty Dukes, who is an ordained Baptist minister and a "greeter" at a Wal-Mart store in Pittsburg, California, sued...

Cross-posted from New Deal 2.0.

A new study of newlyweds found that increases in workloads were associated with increases in marital satisfaction for both men and women. The researchers expected this to change when the newlyweds became parents, and indeed it did -- for men. For...

New research shows that women are getting married at later ages - and that the divorce rate is going down. The results reflect some good news -- later marriages are more likely to last. Most importantly, however, these figures correlate with widespread changes in the American family.

First, the...

On Mother's Day, the Washington Post published an article, "Movement to keep moms working is remaking the workplace." The article celebrates women who are part of the "opt-in movement," in which "many mothers are willing to give up income if that means taking control of their schedules, and,...

Budget cutting is serious business, and it is part of a wholesale partisan attack on the lives of those who do not vote Republican. The House has voted to cut Title X, the program that provides low-income women with family planning; $75 million of the $317 million eliminated

While Congress is in the midst of trying to toughen abortion restrictions, Barbara Bush (junior) has joined the ranks of the children of prominent Republicans who endorse gay marriage. For many conservatives, abortion and gay marriage both strike at the heart of the family. But children...

After the crash, the downturn was dubbed a "mancession." As the meme continues to circulate, the Roosevelt Institute's New Deal 2.0 blog asked leading thinkers to help sort fact from fiction. Are men suffering more than women in a weak economy? Is Washington doing enough to address female...

Earlier this month, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a new policy statement on sexuality, contraception and the media. It emphasized that the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rates in the Western World, and that adolescents have among the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections of...

Who would you bet is more likely to graduate from college? The yet-to-be born children of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky or Tripp Palin, the child already born to Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin, who became pregnant at 17? Therein lies the secret of America's declining educational performance.

The United...

Every evaluation of the Obama presidency starts with the same basic dilemma. Obama took office facing the worst crises since Franklin Roosevelt. He promptly enacted a stimulus packages that staved off a depression, made good on health care reform sidetracked for half a century, and won the...

It is big news that women who go to college, join the workforce, and delay having children don't lose money when later on they do combine work and family. A recent study by researchers from the University of Maryland and UCLA looked at the economics of women who...

As part of the Roosevelt Institute's ongoing 'Feminomics' series, running on its New Deal 2.0 blog, we challenge the frame of the "abortion" debate and discuss who pays for politicizing women's bodies.

Politicians do not like to talk about sex (especially when they are caught cheating...

To commemorate Women's History Month, the Roosevelt Institute's New Deal 2.0 blog asked us to reflect on past accomplishments and explore today's key challenges as part of its ongoing 'Feminomics' series. On the heels of a health care bill passed that raised the issue of reproductive...

As part of an ongoing discussion of women and economic issues hosted by the Roosevelt Institute's New Deal 2.0 blog, we discuss how the Great Recession has exposed the fault lines of traditional family values.

The economy and biology are on a collision course. The latest news confirms...