100 Women We Love: Katherine Franke

“This is an incredible time to be working on the expansion of LGBT equality and sexual rights,” says Katherine Franke. “Marriage rights seem a greater and greater possibility, if not reality, in more parts of the country—no matter what the Supreme Court does with the two cases it will decide in June. That said, the ‘to-do’ list remains long.” Franke is one of the nation’s leading scholars on feminist, queer, and critical race theory, as well as Columbia University’s Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law, and Director of Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law. Franke travels the world addressing gender-justice issues, regularly contributing her insights to the Huffington Post, the Gender & Sexuality Law Blog, and Slate. She also sits on the executive committee of Columbia’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender, and the board of directors of the Center for Constitutional Rights—roles that informed Wed-Locked, her new book on the curious role of the right to marry within larger civil-rights struggles. And her efforts toward full equality remain tireless. “We also need to refocus on the challenges faced by gay single parents, the over-criminalization of trans and gender-nonconforming people, and the persistent employment discrimination that is unaddressed by federal law,” she says. “Let’s get to work!” –QW