Gender Issues

Women's Issues

Minnesota

• Minnesota NOWMinnesota Indian Women's Center - a non-profit social and mental health services organization. - Contains a variety of links to sites dealing with feminist issues.
• Minnesota Women's Press - A biweekly newspaper that explores women's ideas and issues.
• Minnesota Women's Legislative Timeline -  Significant Legislation Passed by the Minnesota Legislature Since Suffrage (1919-2020)
• Office on the Economic Status of Women (OESW) - [No longer staffed] Advised the legislature and provided basic information and statistics on women in Minnesota.
• Violence Free Minnesota - A statewide membership organization working to end violence. Formerly known as Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women. The member programs of the coalition include local, regional, and statewide organizations advocating on behalf of battered women and their children.
• Women's Foundation of Minnesota - "WFM champions economic, political and social equality for women through fundraising, grantmaking, research and public advocacy. " Includes a link to their research and reports.

Research, Statistics, and Advocacy Groups

• Center for American Women and Politics - Statistical data compiled by Rutgers University related to women elected to or serving in state and national government offices in the United States. The Fast Facts page provides links to current and historical data.
• Center for Reproductive Rights - Their mission is to promote women's equality worldwide by guaranteeing reproductive rights as human rights. Links to information include abortion and contraception.
• ERA Minnesota - An advocacy group working to add an Equal Rights Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution.
• Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs - Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy - an office that produces a Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota report and a Gender Policy Report.
• Institute for Women's Policy Research - A non-profit research group that works with policy makers, scholars, and advocacy groups around the nation to promote research on policy issues critical to women. Includes a link to Status of Women in the States.
• NARAL Pro-Choice America - A network of three organizations that provides information on abortion and reproductive legislation. Their webpage, State Governments, provides information on current legislation in the states.
• National Organization for Women - Read the full text of NOW's current press releases and learn about the group's position on a variety of topics.
• National Partnership for Women & Families - A non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the promotion of fairness in the workplace, quality health care, and policies that help men and women meet the dual demands of work and family.
• National Right to Life - The NRLC is the nation's oldest and largest organization of pro-life advocates. Their State Legislative Center provides information on current legislation in the states.
• National Women's Law Center - This group works to protect and advance the progress of women and girls in the areas of family economic security, health, employment and education. Includes a section of their website of resources for state policy makers.
• Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) - Part of the United States Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs.
• Women's Bureau - A division of the U.S. Department of Labor. The bureau serves and promotes the interests of working women. A great site for labor-related statistics. They also publish the Women in the Labor Force: A Databook.

Men's Issues

Minnesota

• Minnesota Fathers & Families Network - A statewide network whose mission "is to initiate, promote and support effective programs and to educate on public policy to enhance the responsible involvement of fathers in the lives of children, families and the community." Includes links to publications.
• Twin Cities Men's Center - An educational non-profit that offers a variety of support groups and resources for Twin Cities men. National and Greater Minnesota resources can be found on their resources page.
• University of Minnesota's Aurora Center's Resources for Men - The Aurora Center serves survivors of sexual violence or harassment.

Research, Statistics, and Advocacy Groups

• American Men's Studies Association - An organization dedicated to "the critical study of men and masculinities by encouraging the development of teaching, research and clinical practice in the field of men's studies."
• Men’s Health Network - affiliated with American Journal of Men's Health (AJMH)
• National Organization for Men Against Sexism - Advocacy organization promoting men’s feminism and anti-sexism.

LGBTQ+ Issues

Minnesota

• NAMI Resources for the LGBTQ Community - NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
• OutFront Minnesota - Minnesota's leading advocacy organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Provides links to numerous LGBT and Allied Organizations.
• Same-Sex Marriage in Minnesota - A guide compiled by the staff of the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library that discusses recent changes to Minnesota's same-sex marriage laws.
• Quatrefoil Library - A library and community center for that focuses on LGBTQ+ issues.

Research, Statistics, and Advocacy Groups

• American Institute of Bisexuality - A group which promotes awareness and understanding about bisexuality.
• Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) - Group whose goal is to ensure that all students have a safe learning environment at school. Includes access to their Research reports.
• Human Rights Campaign - National organization working for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Provides access to maps of state laws & policies which includes laws and legislation affecting LGBT people by state, and Equality from State to State which provides information on current state LGBT legislation.
• Lambda Legal - National group dedicated to achieving the recognition of the full civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, the transgendered, and people with HIV or AIDS. Provides information specific to Minnesota.
• Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law - Independent research on public policy and laws related to sexual orientation. Includes a number of publications on the economic impacts of extending or denying rights to homosexuals.
• National Center for Transgender Equality - A transgender advocacy organization.
• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force - A national organization working for the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
• Palm Center (formerly the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military (CSSMM) - A group dedicated to the promotion of interdisciplinary studies related to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and other marginalized sexual identities in the United States military. They provide online access to their Publications.

Other Information

Minnesota

• American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota (ACLU-MN) - Group dedicated to defending the rights of all Minnesotans.
• Minnesota Department of Human Rights - Minnesota agency responsible for investigating charges of discrimination.

National

• Anti-Defamation League - Group dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, bigotry, and extremism.
• Civilrights.org - Provides current civil rights news and information.
• Human Rights Watch - The largest human rights organization in the United States.
• Southern Poverty Law Center - Group dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry. Includes a Hate Map of active hate groups by state.

The sites listed on this page are not created, maintained, or endorsed by the Minnesota Legislature.