Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Jen Psaki is in the spotlight, German business hasn’t made much progress for women during Angela Merkel’s tenure, and it’s been one year since we lost RBG. Have a peaceful Monday.
– One year without RBG. Can you believe it’s been one year since we lost RBG? Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She left behind an opening on the court, of course, but also an enormous legacy—one that includes a transformation of women’s rights in the United States.
It’s an anniversary that would be sad at any time, but for many, its timing this year is particularly poignant. As Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center, told CNN: “There’s no way she would have wanted the court to be in the place that it is today. But we can’t go back and change that fact. I don’t think it undermines the dramatic work she did, for decades and decades, to protect women.”
Goss Graves was in part referring to the court’s current conservative majority. But no matter what you think about Ginsburg’s successor on the bench, it’s hard to think about the anniversary of the justice’s death without reflecting on what’s changed for reproductive rights in that time.
Without Ginsburg and a liberal majority, the court has allowed Texas to move forward with the country’s most restrictive anti-abortion law. (For more news on that front, read this moving essay by Texas Dr. Alan Braid about why he’s violated the new law to provide an abortion to a woman outside the state’s six-week limit.)
What would Ginsburg think today? She devoted her life to women’s legal rights—including reproductive freedom—so we can guess that she, like many, would be disheartened and outraged.
Katie Gibson, a Colorado State University, put it this way for CNN: “Her legacy certainly deserves celebration, but people placed so much weight on her shoulders, looked at her as a savior, that they might not have been prepared for this moment now that she is gone. … Her plea for collective action was somewhat lost in the cultural frenzy that celebrated Justice Ginsburg as a heroic individual, and I think we are seeing the consequences of that now.”
So on this anniversary, let’s remember Ginsburg’s legacy—without losing sight of the bigger picture.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet, Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women, is coauthored by Kristen Bellstrom, Emma Hinchliffe, and Claire Zillman. Today’s edition was curated by Emma Hinchliffe.
- Awards season. At last night's Emmy Awards, one of the most notable prizes went to Michaela Coel for writing her HBO series I May Destroy You. The actor, writer, director, and series creator told viewers to "write the tale that scares you"—even if it means disappearing for a while to "see what comes to you in the silence"—and dedicated her award to survivors of sexual assault. New York Times
- Child support? A ProPublica investigation finds that single mothers who apply to receive welfare assistance are often required to disclose personal details like the identity of their child's biological father and when exactly they became pregnant. Sometimes that information is used to track down a father to compel him to pay child support—which state governments then keep as repayment for the welfare. ProPublica
- Behind the podium. During Jen Psaki's time in the spotlight as White House press secretary, the word most often used to describe her has been "professional." Her briefings aren't carried on cable news like Trump White House press briefings were, but eight months in Psaki has a growing fanbase. New York Times
- Checkmate. A quick line in the Netflix drama The Queen's Gambit mentions a real-life female chess grandmaster. "There’s Nona Gaprindashvili, but she’s the female world champion and has never faced men," a commentator says during one of Anya Taylor-Joy's character's matches. The real Gaprindashvili is now suing Netflix for $5 million, claiming the show belittled her accomplishments by saying she "never faced men." Netflix says the claim has "no merit." LA Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Confluent CMO Stephanie Buscemi joins the board of Iterable. Jada Jackson Hill joins Listeners On Call as VP of care management. Former Farmers Insurance chief growth officer Amanda Reierson joins Thumbtack as head of marketing.
Repair, Remake, Reuse H&M USA premieres a new short film exploring the circular life of garments, intended to both inspire and educate viewers on the responsibility of the fashion industry to change how products are made while providing consumers with sustainable options. Learn more here
- Second act 🔥. Christine Nairn played her last game as a professional soccer player for the Houston Dash this weekend. This week, she's starting training to join the Houston Fire Department. The 30-year-old's career change is drawing attention to the different types of careers female athletes often pursue when their time playing comes to a close. Wall Street Journal
- Merkel's legacy. How has the German business world changed for women during Angela Merkel's 16 years in office? Not much. Only one listed company has a female CEO, women's workforce participation rate—while high compared to some European neighbors—hasn't budged, and the country's tax system still penalizes dual-income families, critics say. But some of the refugee families who came to the country during the migrant crisis of 2015 and 2016 see her impact in a different light: some have named their children after the chancellor.
- Pregnant people. There's a growing shift away from the term "pregnant women" to the gender-neutral "pregnant people." In this interview, the ACLU's Louise Melling discusses why that language change is important and where some backlash to the shift comes from. The Atlantic
Amy Schumer shares her surgery story to raise endometriosis awareness Vanity Fair
A candid, vulnerable Selma Blair explains why she invited cameras to document her MS journey Variety
Halle Berry's fight for the director's chair New York Times
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