The fourth installment of the “States in the Resistance” blog series highlights how state lawmakers and advocates continue to push back against the federal rollback of gender justice.

The summer might be winding down, but there’s still much to celebrate, even in unexpected places. I’m counting down the days until Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields festival later this month (which NWLC is partnering on!). And NWLC recently launched our State Playbook for Gender Justice that breaks down the major threats to gender justice and outlines policy solutions state policymakers can — and are — enacting to protect their communities and show us the way forward to a world where people of every gender can thrive.

From impactful wins to unshakeable advocacy, state courage and collective power is contagious. Here are some ways states have been leading in 2026:

Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri among states expanding contraception protections

Have you seen Freeda Womb? The giant, 20-foot inflatable IUD making its way around the American South? She feels like the perfect mascot for a growing wave of state laws increasing access to contraception.

Just this session:

• Virginia enacted the Right to Contraception Act, prohibiting restrictions on the sale, provision, or use of contraceptives, including birth control, emergency contraception, and IUDs.
• The Georgia governor also signed a strongly bipartisan bill allowing pharmacists to dispense certain kinds of birth control to patients without a prescription.
• Maryland lawmakers passed a bill requiring higher education institutions to make all over-the-counter contraception methods available on campus.
• Most recently, Illinois expanded birth control access for minors without additional consent from a parent or guardian, while Missouri and Tennessee enacted laws requiring private health care plans to cover a yearlong supply of contraception.

All this goes to say, Freeda, we hear you!

Maine, Virginia, and Connecticut legislators are closing the wage gap

Keeping pay secret means gender and racial wage gaps can easily grow unchecked, but Maine, Virginia, and Connecticut advocates and legislators are fighting back by requiring employers to include a job’s wage range on employment postings. Salary transparency is a critical step toward pay equity, ensuring employers are accountable for setting pay fairly, and workers have the information they need. Today, nearly 20 states have enacted pay transparency laws!

Nebraska, Kentucky, and others successfully fend off anti-LGBTQIA+ bills

As we learned from watching the World Cup, a proactive and unrelenting defense can be the unsung hero of any match. State policymakers and advocates showed up for the LGBTQIA+ community during this legislative session through powerful, community-driven defense.

• Community members and advocates in Nebraska successfully defeated all anti-trans bills introduced this session, countering attacks on health care access and attempts to impose rigid definitions of gender.
• In Kentucky, a similar effort led lawmakers to shut down every anti-LGBTQIA+ bill. Georgia and Minnesota also defeated all anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation.
• In Maine, coalitions helped thwart a ballot measure that would have banned trans kids from participating in school sports and effectively ending the legal recognition of trans students.
• Nevada advocates and community members defeated a similar ballot proposal in their state too.

Go Defense!

Colorado and Illinois counteract civil rights rollbacks

Since Trump took office, the federal government has gutted key civil rights enforcement, from dropping disparate impact cases to cutting critical employment data reporting on race and gender. State lawmakers aren’t letting this stand. Colorado responded by requiring continued collection of employee demographic data under state law to help root out discrimination. Illinois also amended its Human Rights Act to preserve protections against discriminatory disparate impact workplace policies.

State lawmakers protect rights for pregnant and parenting students

As the Trump administration eviscerates the U.S. Department of Education, states are stepping up to protect pregnant and parenting students’ right to equal educational opportunity. This spring, Virginia and Maryland enacted legislation requiring data collection on student parents to better support their needs — and Maryland now requires community colleges to adopt plans to support these students. They join a growing number of states strengthening protections for pregnant and parenting students.

***Whether it’s a giant inflatable IUD rolling through the South, a coalition stopping yet another anti-LGBTQIA+ bill, or states building stronger protections for women and girls one law at a time, it is clear to me that there is resistance in every corner.