What it means to be successful in many careers today is best captured by Slaughter (2012): "The American definition of a successful professional is someone who can climb the ladder the furthest in the shortest time.... It is a definition well suited to the mid-20th century, an era when people had kids in their 20s, stayed in one job, retired…

At the turn of the century approximately a thousand white Southern women braved the consternation of friends and sometimes family, and traveled hundreds of miles to attend the best Northern women's colleges for an education unavailable to them in the South. For many, the experience was revolutionary: they developed self-confidence, independence,…

Describes the work and personal experiences of two female school superintendents, how they view themselves as professionals, the concerns they have in relation to their jobs, and how these concerns relate to their being women. How they balance their roles as women and superintendents is explored. (SLD)

When rural women do not participate in relevant decision making, development projects risk diminished effectiveness and may increase already onerous workloads. Consisting of 139 Mapuche women textile artisans in Chile, the Casa de la Mujer Mapuche provides its members with income, role models, and a platform to express women's needs and…

In this document, personal experiences in counseling working women are recounted to add the dimension of personal ambivalence to the body of knowledge about discrimination against women, particularly the weak self-concept of women vis-a-vis their position in the work force. The paper begins with a discussion of role learning, in which women exist…

This paper develops a theoretical framework for examining how families interact with the society under conditions in which the expectations for sex roles are changing. The difference between mandated and voluntary change is examined and the cost-benefit ratio to families for participating in the process of change is evaluated in different…

Gender neutral public policies are those that are either silent on the question of the existence of significant gender differences or incorporate a perspective which mandates that such differences be ignored. Prominent voices today contend that gender neutrality favors males and have held the male standard as the one for which women should aspire.…

In 1977, when women in West Germany (the Fedeal Republic of Germany) got the legal right to be employed outside the family against their husband's will, paragraph 1356 of the Civil Code, defining housework as the woman's duty, was abolished. Until then, heavy social pressure kept women close to home; in most cases, the choice of an outside…

Discusses the women's movement using a social movement analysis focusing on success in creating social change. Examines why some women become feminists and others antifeminists and the characteristics of social movements' backlash reactions. Material was drawn from 24 women in five countries who used a structured outline to express their…

Research on tokenism processes is reviewed and coalesces around two conclusions. First, gender constructs different social contexts for token women and for token men. Second, gender is most usefully conceptualized as a status variable, not something internal to the individual. Gender serves as a status marker such that women's subordinated status…

Efforts to establish, test and analyse hypotheses regarding cross-country variations in women's economic status are hampered by the lack of a readily accessible and easily used information resource on the various dimensions of gender inequality. Addressing this gap, this paper introduces the Gender, Institutions and Development data base (GID)…

Assesses the contribution women make to the social reproduction of working class families in Puerto Rico. Analyzes the role of women in the industrialization of Puerto Rico (especially since 1940) and the impact of women's earnings on the household economy. Suggests that increased female migration may result from the continuing export-led…

Discusses choices that Hispanic women must struggle with in light of new educational and professional opportunities and the influence of Hispanic culture, which defines a woman by her family relationships. Discusses how Hispanic professional women sustain a shaky balance of career, marriage, and motherhood. (LP)

This document contains a systematized inventory of the measures relating to the legal and social status of women adopted in various regional and world forums. The inventory was used to study the legal situation of Latin American and Caribbean women, defined according to the resolutions and mandates of the United Nations system. Organized by forum…

One of a series emanating from a three-year project concerned with the role of women in the English-speaking Caribbean, this publication examines women's work in the Caribbean. The project's purpose is to establish a data base for teaching, research, and planning purposes and to develop guidelines for a cohesive social policy that recognizes…