Welcome back to Woman Crush Wednesday, our weekly roundup of badass women in the news!
Before we get into today’s list — which includes a rebellious lunch lady and a pair of video game producers tackling sexual assault — I’d like to quickly poll our female readers: How many of you were catcalled this morning on your way to the bus this morning? Perhaps during your lunch break? Possibly in the Trader Joe’s parking lot?
I myself was leered at this morning, so I’d venture to guess that there are more than a handful of us out there — so, this week’s #WCW should serve as a pick-me-up for everyone who’s been fed up with big-mouthed nightmare dudes ever since the weather got a little warmer. (FYI: The Seattle-based feminist garage rock band behind this snarky pop-punk jab at the catcallers who enjoy making “city life a veritable minefield of misogynist misbehavior” also makes this week’s #WCW list.)
Here’s who we’ve been crushing on this week:
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Apple executives Jennifer Bailey and Susan Prescott, the first female keynote speakers at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. It’s one of many steps necessary to diversify Apple, but c’mon guys, we thought we’d be further along by now. (Grist)
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Stephanie Fawaz and Kirsten Rispin, students at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, for producing Decisions That Matter, an edgy, engaging graphic novel-inspired video game about sexual assault prevention. (Grist)
- Bree McKenna, of the band Tacocat. McKenna sat down with our own Eve Andrews to talk about the rise of women-centric bands in Seattle and how to survive as an musician in one of the fastest changing cities in America. (Grist)
- Kimberly Noble, a developmental neuroscientist and pediatrician from Columbia University. Noble just led one of the most comprehensive studies to date that examines how poverty influences a child’s brain development. Wealthier families, the study found, can afford to live in less polluted neighborhoods and purchase healthier foods — crucial elements for young, developing brains — that impoverished families cannot. (City Lab)
- Kari Spencer, founder of The Micro Farm Project, an urban farm in the middle of the Arizona desert. (Seedstock)
- Della Curry, the Colorado lunchlady in the middle of a national debate over school lunches. Curry was fired from her job after she gave away a handful of free meals to hungry elementary-aged children who couldn’t qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches. Curry’s actions violate federal law, but she argues the law needs to change. (NPR)
Stay tuned for next week’s roundup!
