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In the know: Women in the news 11/11-11/15

Know Your Value's weekly roundup of women in the news.
Image: Geena Davis Valerie Jarrett  Megan rapinoe
Getty Images

Social Network "Peanut" raised $5 million, expands to include women who are trying to conceive

The online social network Peanut announced on Thursday that it received $5 million in new funding. Originally a site for moms to connect with other mom friends, Peanut is expanding to include women who are trying to conceive. Since November 2018, the platform, which is community-oriented, has been growing by 20 percent each month. Women who are trying to conceive will be granted a separate login experience. Backers include Dropbox, Facebook and more.

Bernie Sanders dominates donations field from suburban women

Women are more politically engaged earlier in the election process than ever before, according to new data from the Center for Responsive Politics. While men still make up the largest donor group, a record 1 million women have already donated $131 million to presidential candidates. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has taken the largest piece of that pie, having received $17.1 million in donations from suburban women so far. The amount makes up for 40 percent of his contributions overall.

Geena Davis won an honorary Oscar for fighting for better media representation

Thanks to her commitment to empowerment for women and girls, actress Geena Davis recently won a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Governors Awards in Hollywood. Davis founded the Geena Davis Center Institute on Gender in Media, which is committed to analyzing and improving intersectional gender parity in Hollywood. The award was presented at the Oscars for decades and until recently, has been awarded to actors like Angelina Jolie and Oprah for their humanitarian efforts.

Image: Kering Women in Motion Honor Awards - 69th Cannes Film Festival
epa05308941 US actress Geena Davis arrive for the Kering Women in Motion Honor Awards during the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, 15 May 2016. The festival runs from 11 to 22 May. EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELOGUILLAUME HORCAJUELO / EPA

The world’s first lingerie brand for transgender women is here.

When U.K. entrepreneur Carmen Liu found that there was no lingerie for transgender women, she launched her own line. Liu, who is trans, but opted not to have gender reassignment surgery, found that she and other trans women had specific needs that were not being met by the market. Her brand, the GI Collection, was launched in February and sold out almost immediately. Despite an uptick in trans recognition in the lingerie industry, Liu contended that the products don’t reflect the ethos.

Valerie Jarrett: 3 reasons why you shouldn’t worry about being liked in the workplace

Being liked is an obsession for many women, but it often works against them, according to former White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett. Know Your Value founder Mika Brzezinski interviewed Jarrett, who served under President Barack Obama. Jarrett’s new book “Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward” documents her struggle with trying to be liked in the workplace instead of trying to be respected. She offered three important tips for Know Your Value readers who struggle with similar issues.

The female problem: how male bias in medical trials ruined women's health

Doctors, scientists, and researchers have been mostly men throughout history, leading to massive disparity in medical innovation. Women have been systematically excluded from clinical trials, according to a University of Berkeley study, often without justifiable reason. Some medicines were taken off the market recently because the clinical trials showed extreme male bias, and posed risks to women.

US women's soccer team granted class status in equal pay lawsuit

Since September, the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team has been fighting for class status in order to sue the federation for pay discrimination. On Friday, they won in federal court, meaning the women will be able to sue U.S. Soccer in a class-action lawsuit as a group, rather than as individuals. The California judge R. Gary Klausner wrote in his ruling that the pay structure would yield an “absurd result” in which women would have to work twice the amount of hours to earn the same as the men.

The token female Pixar story artist

Brenda Chapman started her career at Disney as the only woman in the story department. This profile by Vulture.com tracks Chapman’s career from being a “token female” to winning an Oscar for directing the animated Disney/Pixar movie“Brave.” Chapman discussed female protagonists throughout Disney history, and how her daughter Emma formed the basis of the “Brave” lead Merida, a strong-willed Scottish teenager.