What’s Current: Two women sue Nike for sexist discrimination

  • Two women, Kelly Cahill and Sara Johnston, have filed a lawsuit against Nike, saying the company  “has intentionally and willfully discriminated” against women. Their claim says that Nike payed them less than their male counterparts, that they were passed over for promotions, and that they were subjected to sexual harassment from male employees.
  • The New York Times reports on how the state fails battered women in Italy, where 150 women per year are murdered by their male partners and 22,000 women who have fled their homes are in shelters.
  • In Iran, women are prohibited from entering soccer stadiums. Parisa Pourtaheria recently became the first female photographer to cover the sport when she climbed onto the roof of a house to take photos of the match being played inside the stadium.
  • A new guide for Australian judges directs them to believe women who disclose abuse by their husbands in family court proceedings. The guide says:

“Although there is a widespread belief in the community that mothers frequently fabricate allegations to influence family law proceedings, the research to date indicates that it is more likely that they will be reluctant to raise allegations for fear of having their motives questioned, and that the making of false allegations is much less common than the problem of genuine victims who fail to report abuse, and the widespread false denials and minimization of abuse by perpetrators.”

Lisa Steacy

Lisa Steacy is an Assistant Editor at Feminist Current. She has a B.A. in Women & Gender Studies from the University of Toronto. However, the women she met in her five years as a frontline worker and collective member with Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Shelter deserve almost all of the credit for her feminist education. She lives in Vancouver with her partner and their cats.