The Gender Report

Countless special reports related to 9/11 have been released thus far leading up to Sunday’s 10-year anniversary, including The New York Times’ “The Reckoning.” One project, however, places special emphasis on the women – “Beyond Bravery: The Women of 9/11“by CNN’s Soledad O’Brien.

In the Reporter’s Notebook for the piece, O’Brien states that the documentary aims to address the question of a little boy during a visit of a female firefighter from 9/11 to his classroom: He asked her “how she could be a ‘fireman’ if she was a girl.” The documentary aims to tell the stories of 9/11’s women and give voice to their heroism and their challenges.

The project includes a look at the book “Women At Ground Zero” written by Susan Hagen and Mary Carouba. Here’s a sample segment from the documentary:

The documentary is set to air at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Sept. 11. More sample segments can be viewed along with the reporter’s notebook and a link to an educator and parent guide here.

In addition to this documentary on CNN, a number of other news outlets have provided stories about women’s experiences including the following:

• “F-16 pilot was ready to give her life on Sept. 11” (Washington Post)
• “9/11 attacks left these women widows, but time lends to courage & support programs teach new skills” (NYDailyNews)
• “Survivor rises from the ashes” (NYPost)
• “Daughters of 9/11” (Huffington Post Women)
• “Women and 9/11: Special Reports” (Women’s eNews)
• Opinion: Heroic women of 9/11: Where are their memorials? (Washington Times)

Did you find other 9/11 coverage of women? Share your findings in the comment section below.

In other news

The New York Times‘ first female executive editor, Jill Abramson, stepped into the position on Tuesday. Several posts related to the beginning of her tenure as editor circled the web, including a memo announcing her leadership team.

• “Thoughts from Jill Abramson, executive editor” (NY Times interview by the public editor)
• “NYT’s Abramson names leadership team” (Romenesko)
• “Five pieces of advice for Jill Abramson” (Gawker)
• “Abramson faces toughest test of any NYT boss” (Reflections of a Newsosaur)
• “Jill Abramson takes top post at New York Times” (Harvard Crimson)
• “Abramson replacement sought” (Yale Daily News – regarding her having to step away from her teaching role)
• “The new feminine face of the media elite” (Forbes)
• “Jill Abramson’s day-one challenges” (The Atlantic)
• “10 glass ceilings yet to be shattered” (BBC News – in honor of Abramson’s new position)

Abramson herself sent out a tweet Tuesday regarding her new role:

The announcement that Abramson would succeed Bill Keller came in June, making her the first woman to hold that title in the paper’s 160-year history. Read our post following that announcement here.

This is the Gender Report’s Week in Review, a weekly post that highlights some of the major stories related to gender issues this week. Some of these stories may have already appeared in our News Feed or in the week’s Gender Checks. We’ll at times include a longer analysis of stories as well as bring attention to stories that may have slipped through the cracks of the week’s news cycle.