The back-to-back political conventions offer female anti-war protesters in Code Pink a chance to showcase their particular brand of daring and endurance. This week two members tried to upstage Sarah Palin and two more disrupted John McCain's speech.

Women in and around the Republican National Convention are expressing wildly divergent views about Sarah Palin, a religious conservative selected as McCain's running mate. Even GOP pro-choice advocates are divided.

If Sarah Palin were a male V.P. candidate with five children there might not be much to discuss. But in a country with so little child care Tanya Melich is stuck wondering how she's managing and who's paying the babysitters.

Republicans were greeted by anti-war marchers as they opened their national convention yesterday with some key speakers absent. Among the protesters were welfare mothers and former recipients, who say the war is hurting poorer women.

Prolonged joblessness is tearing bigger holes in the U.S. unemployment insurance system, critics say. They want an overhaul that starts qualifying part-time, short-term and low-income workers, among whom women are prevalent.

With Sarah Palin as the first female GOP vice presidential pick, John McCain is hoping to strengthen support among women and anti-choice voters. His party has deployed a "Pink Elephant" campaign to attract female voters at its convention this week.

Michelle Obama's speech earlier this week was so good Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich could taste it. But the media's wide-eyed surprise dismayed her with its suggestion than such an accomplishment by a black woman should be considered rare.

Women in both chambers of Congress issued political checklists and set their agendas during the Democratic convention. Equal pay is a top concern for female lawmakers but they also promoted party issues with an eye to the election.

Hillary Clinton once hoped to address the Democratic National Convention as the party's presidential nominee. Last night she pressed for party unity, but some supporters noted that the ceiling she cracked still stands.

Women's rights groups and female political leaders converged on Denver Monday at the Democratic National Convention to draw attention to women's issues. The most powerful woman in the country told one gathering that it is a "breakthrough time."

The Women's eNews team is taking The Memo to the conventions. We'll be blogging here all week long from Denver, site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

On the brink of the conventions Susan Feiner recommends tuning out the barrage of party talk and focusing on the question that worries so many women: Where are all the jobs? While Obama isn't perfect on employment policy he's way better than McCain.

Women's role in the Democratic convention in Denver vastly differs from the party's last meeting in the Mile High City in 1908. This time, women are running much of the show, starring in various roles and helping craft the script.

"Bad-mommy" bloggers update maternal angst and virtually and viscerally connect with each other in ways previous generations could only dream of. Many at the recent BlogHer conference left their keyboards behind for some quick reality checks.

Efforts to collect back child support from parents were ramped up over the last decade, hauling in $25 billion last year, but budget cutbacks are now hampering enforcement. Restored funding is part of Obama's campaign platform for healthy families.

Underage, underdressed girls' fundraising activities are more than merely tolerated. They seem to be fully sanctioned by the parents. Kimberly Gadette says that if this is the charity that begins at home, perhaps it's time to call in child services.

Activists are using the summer months to rally younger women's involvement in the November elections, with ballot initiatives in Colorado, South Dakota and California stirring special interest.

Lynne Rosenthal's lifetime commitment to supporting women's causes deepened as she read Ms. magazine. It helped direct her focus to a rising women's movement and her ability to give grew over time. Twelfth in a series on women funding serious change.