Chloe at Feministing.com writes about the small number of women in late night comedy. 

Last Thursday, the Paley Center for Media and the Writer’s Guild of America East hosted a panel on women in late night comedy writing. The five panelists and the moderator, all women (and all white), were or used to be writers for The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and assorted other late night comedy shows. The panel, convened in response to a spate of articles last year about the dearth of women in late night, was supposed to tackle a host of pressing questions. Why are there so few women hosts? Why are there so few women writers? How can we change the numbers? Unfortunately, it didn’t really answer any of those questions.

Dr Shamina Ali is featured this week in "Global Feminist Profile" by Tatiana Mckinney. Dr. Shamima Ali, Executive Director of the Fiji’s Women’s Crisis Center, has worked tirelessly to improve women’s rights throughout Fiji and the Pacific.

In December 2009, She received the Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand first ever Human Rights Defender Award. Ali is a member of the Fiji Human Rights Commission, Its role is to protect and promote human rights for the people of Fiji and to help build and strengthen a culture of human rights in Fiji.

“Amnesty International New Zealand should be commended for establishing this award. While I’m the recipient, one must remember the many other human rights defenders in Fiji and the rest of the Pacific who work just as hard. The work doesn’t end – every day we are challenged anew. And this award gives me further encouragement never to give up defending our rights. This is what makes us human” said Mrs. Shamina Ali.

Reema on abortion gang has a question for anti-choicers. Recently, many anti-choicers have been going on and on about a new Gallup poll that states that more Americans identify as “pro-life” than pro-choice.

They seem to be using this new poll as a way to say “haha! you lose!” to pro-choicers (which would be kind of cute if these people weren’t grown adults), but that’s to be expected of them.

Whenever this subject comes up, I always wonder, how many of the self proclaimed “pro-lifers” who participated in this poll would actually be accepted into the anti-choice movement by the people who are bragging about these statistics? Would anti-choice leaders and anti-choice activists accept all of these people into their movement?

What about the people who call themselves “pro-life” because they are personally opposed to abortion, but still support the legal right to choose? What about the people who consider themselves “pro-life” but make exceptions because the pregnancy endangers her life? Because she’s suicidal? Because the pregnancy was a result of rape and/or incest? Only if she pays for it with her own money? Because there is a fetal anomaly present? Are the anti-choicers who go on and on about the “pro-life majority” going to accept these people into their movement?

Valerie Young at MomsRising.org gives us the new data from the Pew Research Center about the decisions women make about marriage and family. We have some surprising changes.

New data from the Pew Research Center reveal some surprising changes in the decisions women make about marriage and family. Over the past 20 years, non-Hispanic white women had fewer children, and now account for just over half of US births. The birthrate among black teenage girls has fallen by 50%, and there are more births to women over 35 than women under 20. The average age for first-time motherhood is 25. Only 1 out of every 10 births occurs to a teen-aged girl.

It’s far easier to calculate changes than to identify the reasons for them. As their labor force participation increases, women may delay giving birth for career advancement and/or financial security. New fertility technology, for those who cannot get pregnant, or waited too long to try, is making parenthood possible later in life for those who can afford it. Mothers today are likely to be better educated, which also may delay motherhood.An issue that always breaks our hearts.

Dan Rather writes in the Huffington Post about child prostitution, focusing first on Portland, Oregon.

Child prostitution has become a national problem in this country. Yes, I know that you have trouble believing that. You don’t want to believe it, so you tend not to.

"Widespread sex trafficking in children?", you may be saying to yourself. "Sure, it happens overseas in places like Thailand and Moldova, and while there may be some of it here there’s not that much of it in our country."

Based on a months long investigation and some reportorial digging, I’m here to tell you that you are wrong. We all are. We’re in denial.

In covering news for more than 60 years, I’d like to think that few stories shock me anymore. But this is one of them. We ran across it late last year and the more we dug, the more disturbing it became.

Eighty-year-old men paying a premium to violate teenage girls, sometimes supplied by former drug gangs now into child sex trafficking big time? You’ve got to be kidding. Nope. That’s happening and a lot more along the same lines.

The International Day against Homophobia & Transphobia was this week. We need a world in which anyone can feel and live freely. Melissa McEwan writes about that on Shakesville.

Today is the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia, which was "launched with the idea of creating a worldwide community of activists and committed people, sharing the ideal of a world without homophobia nor transphobia in which everyone can freely live their sexual orientation and the gender identity they wish to live in."

Like many days which mark the advocacy for social justice (International Human Rights Day, Blog Against Sexism Day, Blog for Choice Day, Day of Silence…), I feel the best way I can honor this day is to reaffirm my commitment to being an ally and working my teaspoon to contribute whatever I can not just on this day, but on every day.

Support for sex, gender, and sexual orientation equality is and has always been central to my feminism. It’s not just because lesbians, bisexual women, and trans women are my sisters, but because the rights of gay men, bisexual men, trans men, and cis, trans, and intersex androgynes to live a life on their own terms, too, to define themselves and express their sexualities and do with their bodies whatever they want, is inextricable from my ideal of a fluid sex, gender, and sexuality spectrum along which all people might exist free from harassment, marginalization, and violence.

Last but not least, if you missed our radio show you can check it out here. It was an interesting and very helpful conversation between Judith Warner and Rock and Roll Mama Lindsay Reed Maines about "kids with issues."

You want more feminist links? Check back here next Tuesday! And, if you have links to share, please email them to us or leave them in the comments.