Since 2003, the National Organization for Women and the NOW Foundation has honored resolutely courageous, fearless and bold women from a variety of fields at our annual Intrepid Awards Gala. On Thursday, July 17, we will continue that tradition and recognize five phenomenal women at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Borrowing inspiration from the rise of powerful women in politics, this year the National Organization for Women's national conference is honoring the super woman in all of us. Our theme this year - "No Capes, No Masks, No Boundaries: Feminist Super-Women Unite!" - celebrates the breakthroughs that women are making: our power, our progress, and the strength that women exhibit every day in the face of adversity. We need not be superhuman heroes who fly or dodge bullets -- our pride, passion and resilience make us extraordinary.

Since 2003, the National Organization for Women and the NOW Foundation has saluted resolutely courageous, fearless and bold women from a variety of fields at our annual Intrepid Awards Gala. This year we will be honoring five amazing women on July 17 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

How long do working women have to wait? And how many will be short-changed before Congress restores their ability to seek redress for pay discrimination?

It has been one year since the U.S. Supreme Court upended years of court precedent and effectively gutted a civil rights statute that gave victims of paycheck discrimination the right to sue their employers. In the decision, a 5-4 majority of the Court said that Lilly Ledbetter should have made her claim within 180 days of the company's first offense -- her first discriminatory paycheck -- nearly 20 years earlier.

California made history again today. In a 4-3 vote, the state's highest court ruled that gay and lesbian couples should be granted legal rights to marriage. "The California Supreme Court did what was right, and that is to give everyone - regardless of sexual orientation - the fundamental right to civil marriage," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "This decision will allow thousands and thousands of committed couples to be legally married in the highest populated state in our country."

Today the House of Representatives recognized Alice Paul for her role in winning women's suffrage by passing legislation to award her the Congressional Gold Medal. Paul was one of the leading figures responsible for the passage of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote and penned the early version of the Equal Rights Amendment that would enshrine women in the Constitution. This long overdue honor recognizes Alice Paul as one of the great women in history for her work to promote women's rights, freedom and equality.

The National Organization for Women PAC is stepping up to the plate yet again in their efforts to elect Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic nominee for President. In addition to phoning female supporters and organizing on-the-ground to galvanize women voters, last month NOW PAC started an Internet ad campaign.

The National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW PAC) joins our national and Florida allies in calling on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to count their votes now.

"We live in a nation where our young women and men have been sent to Iraq to fight for democracy, while here at home 1.7 million voters in Florida are disenfranchised," said NOW PAC Chair Kim Gandy.

Wednesday, April 30th at 10 a.m., NOW PAC and other groups will be demonstrating in front of the Democratic National Committee, urging DNC leaders and the DNC Credentials Committee to count the Florida votes.

The National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW PAC) congratulates Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on her strong win in the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. NOW PAC is proud to have played a part in educating voters and getting them to the polls on April 22.

"Lilly Ledbetter and millions of women like her may never recover the pay they lost during their lifetimes," says NOW president Kim Gandy. "But NOW calls on the Senate to pass the Fair Pay Act to ensure that pay discrimination victims get their fair day in court."

Created to empower women in business, health, economics, and public policy, our Summit on Economic Justice for Women will address issues from healthcare and immigration to living wage jobs and pay disparities.

Hillary Rodham Clinton won rousing victories in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island on Tuesday, proving once again that not only is she a fighter, but also that she can win key battleground states the Democrats need in November.

Women own just five percent of commercial broadcast TV stations and six percent of all full-power radio stations. Whenever the FCC allows big media companies to gobble up more stations, it leaves fewer outlets for women and people of color to purchase.

"We are well into the 21st century, yet women ski jumpers still are not permitted to compete at their sport's highest level," said Kim Gandy in a statement issued at a Women's Ski Jumping USA rally held in Vancouver, Canada.

"Media misogyny has reached an all time high, and David Shuster's remarks on MSNBC about Chelsea Clinton are only the latest example," says NOW President Kim Gandy.

Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and chair of the NOW PAC, and Eleanor Smeal, co-chair of the NOW Advisory Board, comment on the Super Tuesday results. "The women's vote carried Hillary Clinton to victory in delegate-rich states that will put her ahead in the ultimate delegate count. Her historic race has energized the gender gap, which is key because women make up the majority of voters in the general election," said Kim Gandy.

Where were the women? This was a common cry from the monitors in the National Organization for Women Foundation's 2008 Feminist Super Bowl Ad Watch.

NOW President Kim Gandy says, "this Sunday the NOW Foundation and feminists across the country will be calling personal fouls on the worst Super Bowl commercials and awarding extra points to the ads that best demonstrate the concept of playing fair."

The National Organization for Women has enormous respect and admiration for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D- Mass.). For decades Sen. Kennedy has been a friend of NOW, and a leader and fighter for women's civil and reproductive rights, and his record shows that.

Though the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee has proudly endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president, we respect Sen. Kennedy's endorsement. We continue to encourage women everywhere to express their opinions and exercise their right to vote.

On Tuesday, Jan. 22 NOW will hold its annual vigil at the U.S. Supreme Court, commemorating the 35th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision affirming women's constitutional right to abortion.

"Senator Hillary Clinton defied the media pundit machine and made history as the first woman to win the New Hampshire Democratic primary for U.S. president," NOW PAC Chair Kim Gandy said.

On October 31, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) formally requested that the House Judiciary Committee open an investigative file on U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent, of Galveston, Texas, regarding sexual harassment complaints. Kent was reprimanded by and suspended from the bench by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on September 28, 2007, but that suspension ends on January 1, 2008.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) applauds Congresswoman Jackson Lee for taking this crucial step, noting as a member of the Judiciary Committee that it is their "obligation as Members of the U.S. Congress to do all in our power to prevent all forms of sexual harassment, especially in the judicial arena, which is entrusted to administer these very laws which have allegedly been violated and over which we have oversight."

On Oct. 31, NOW President Kim Gandy will testify at a FCC hearing in Washington, D.C., on media ownership and the responsibility of TV and radio broadcasters to serve their local communities. Gandy also will speak at the Rally for Better Media outside FCC headquarters prior to the hearing.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation opposes the nomination of Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and we are proud to stand today with the Congressional Black Caucus and many allied organizations to ask the U.S. Senate to reject this nomination.

NOW President Kim Gandy says of the House vote that failed to override President Bush's SCHIP veto: "NOW decries the cruelty of denying the most basic health care to children whose parents cannot afford health insurance. The 156 House members -- 154 Republicans and two Democrats - who voted against the override have let down not only the vulnerable children of this nation, but also put an undue burden on single parents and low-income families who can only pray their children do not get sick or hurt."