On March 7, in celebration of International Women's Day, the newly-formed National Coalition on Immigrant Women's Rights (NCIWR), comprised of grassroots and advocacy organizations nationwide, is honored to brief members of Congress and staff about the need for comprehensive immigration reform that addresses the needs of women and their families.

The National Coalition on Immigrant Women's Rights (NCIWR) will address members of Congress and their staff on the dire need to improve the lives of immigrant women living in the United States. NCIWR is a coalition of progressive, grassroots women's organizations advocating for immigration reform legislation that ensures the rights of all immigrant women, and their families, living and working in U.S.

"NOW is so pleased that Harvard will finally have a female president — and it has only taken them 371 years. Larry Summers, we couldn't have done it without you," said NOW President Kim Gandy.

Today the National Organization for Women marched with more than 500,000 people in Washington, D.C. — calling for an end to the war in Iraq. NOW President Kim Gandy addressed the crowd on the National Mall.

"NOW is marching Saturday because our daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, friends and partners are dying in Iraq. We want our soldiers to return home, but not in flag-draped caskets," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "Countless Iraqis are dying as well, all for a war based on lies and greed."

NOW has worked since 1966 for economic justice, especially equal pay and fair wages for women, many of whom must work multiple jobs to support their children and families. Our members have lobbied hard, and we celebrated when 315 members of the House of Representatives recently voted to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.

The National Organization for Women is proud to be a part of this powerful coalition calling for an end to the war in Iraq. Saturday's mobilization of people coming to our nation's capital from all over the country will demonstrate one more time to the Bush-Cheney administration and to Congress the level of disapproval at the continuation of the disaster this war has brought to Iraq, to the Middle East, to the United States, and to the world.

NOW President Kim Gandy responds to Bush's State of the Union speech: "He didn't extend his conciliatory tone to the programs he offered, or to the ones he didn't offer. And warm words can't change the sorry shape the country is in, after six years of Bush and the Republican-led Congress running it."

The National Organization for Women (NOW) celebrates Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign announcement as a proud moment for women everywhere. Reflecting the dreams of suffragists at Seneca Falls in 1848 and the vision of NOW's founders 40 years ago, this weekend Clinton became the first woman ever to enter the race for U.S. president as the clear frontrunner for a major party's nomination.

Today marks the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that recognized a woman's constitutional right to abortion. The National Organization for Women, the first women's organization to call for an end to criminal abortion laws nearly 40 years ago, and a leader in the ongoing fight for reproductive rights, health and justice, salutes the doctors, counselors, clinic owners and activists who stand up every day for a woman's right to make her own childbearing decisions.

On Monday, Jan. 22, NOW will hold its annual candlelight vigil in the shadow of the U.S. Supreme Court, commemorating the 34th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision affirming women's constitutional right to abortion.

The House passed, by a bipartisan vote of 253-174, a bill that would allow federal funding of stem cell research utilizing donated human embryos, and would have the effect of greatly expanding the number of stem cell lines available to researchers. "Congress is finally dealing with important issues concerning women's health and economic survival," says NOW President Kim Gandy.

By a vote of 315 to 116, the House of Representatives, under the ambitious new leadership of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), passed a bill today to increase the minimum wage. The legislation proposes to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour over two years.

With the U.S. Capitol serving as a backdrop for this historic moment, NOW leaders and feminist activists will celebrate the most powerful woman in the United States, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), with a gesture that says: Way to Go!.

The House of Representatives today defeated H.R. 6099, the fetal anesthesia bill. Though the bill did not get the two-thirds vote necessary to pass (required because the House was operating under a suspension of the rules), it is still disturbing that this deceptive, scientifically unsound bill received ANY votes.

On Monday, Dec. 4, the National Organization for Women will join students and civil rights leaders at the U.S. Supreme Court for a rally to promote diversity and protect the anti-segregation principles of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Today the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued final approval to manufacturers Allergen Corporation (formerly Inamed) and Mentor Corp. for general marketing of silicone gel-filled breast implants to women of all ages for reconstruction purposes and women 22 and older for augmentation purposes.

Feminists continue to celebrate the results of the 2006 midterm elections and recognize the hard work and resolve that brought many new women's rights supporters to Congress. As much as we enjoy -- and quite frankly deserve -- a good celebration, it's not too soon to ask: What next?

Women's Rights Leaders to Release Analysis and New Exit Poll showing that Women Emerge in this Election Cycle as Critical Voters and Leaders for the New Political Agenda

"Women voters cleaned House. We turned out on Tuesday to turn out the politicians who were tuning out our concerns. Women are fed up with the 'stay the course' strategy in Iraq, the so-called economic recovery that has left most of the country behind, and the relentless efforts to limit women's reproductive rights," said NOW President Kim Gandy.

Just one day after millions of women and men cast their votes to determine the direction of this country, nine Supreme Court justices will consider the constitutionality of the United States' first abortion procedures ban—a ban enacted by the Bush administration and its friends in Congress.

NOW leaders and members will closely watch the 2006 midterm election returns on Tuesday night, Nov. 7. NOW President Kim Gandy will be available to comment throughout the week on how the new Congress will impact women's issues, as well as the prospect of Nancy Pelosi becoming the first woman Speaker of the House. Also on NOW's radar are a number of state ballot initiatives, including abortion, affirmative action, same-sex marriage and the minimum wage.

Women voters will play an important role in next week's midterm elections as they register their feelings about the current state of affairs in the U.S.

"Today same-sex couples moved one step closer to the dream of full marriage equality in the United States," said National Organization for Women (NOW) President Kim Gandy. "The New Jersey Supreme Court confirmed that same-sex couples deserve the same rights, benefits and responsibilities granted to opposite-sex couples through marriage."

"'Separate but equal' has never really been equal for girls, and that has been true of recent experiments with single-sex schools. Segregation was wrong in the past, and it's wrong now," said NOW President Kim Gandy.