This book includes the relatively unknown stories of six important women who laid the foundation for improving women’s equality in the U.S. While they largely worked behind the scenes, they made a significant impact. In the group are two female political operatives who worked behind the scenes along with four female journalists who also occasionally worked within government to advance women’s rights during the 1950s through the 1970s. Much of it centers on Washington, D.C., as well as the more unlikely cities of Madison, Wisconsin and Miami, Florida. It includes the story of a women’s page journalist who published an official government report in her newspaper section when the White House refused to release it. This book documents the stories of women who organized to help gain employment for other women and also worked to raise the stature of homemakers. Numerous other issues for women were also addressed. The fight for equality became more visible in the 1960s although the foundation had been laid as early as the 1950s, fueled by the post-World War II era. Change was initiated by a mix of women in government and women in the news media – at times going back and forth in those positions. These particular women were chosen because of their interactions with each other as they rallied around a common cause and because their names were overshadowed by other women’s liberation leaders. It is not meant to be an exhaustive story of the fight for women’s rights but rather an addition to the great memoirs and scholarship that already exist.

Re-Evaluating Women’s Page Journalism in the Post-World War II Era tells the stories of significant women’s page journalists who contributed to the women’s liberation movement and the journalism community. Previous versions of journalism history had reduced the role these women played at their newspapers and in their communities—if they were mentioned at all. For decades, the only place for women in newspapers was the women’s pages. While often dismissed as fluff by management, these sections in fact documented social changes in communities. These women were smart, feisty and ahead of their times. They left a great legacy for today’s women journalists. This book brings these individual women together and allows for a broader understanding of women’s page journalism in the 1950s and 1960s. It details the significant roles they played in the post-World War II years, laying the foundation for a changing role for women.

Subject to Debate, Katha Pollitt's column in The Nation, has offered readers clear-eyed yet provocative observations on women, politics, and culture for more than seven years. Bringing together eighty-eight of her most astute essays on hot-button topics like abortion, affirmative action, and school vouchers, this selection displays the full range of her indefatigable wit and brilliance. Her stirring new Introduction offers a seasoned critique of feminism at the millennium and is a clarion call for renewed activism against social injustice.

Women and Politics: Paths to Power and Political Influence examines the role of women in politics from the early women's movements to the female politicians in power today. The revised fourth edition includes: a new preface analyzing the 2020 elections, focusing on the historic victory of Kamala Harris and the gendered and racist critiques she endured on the campaign trail. recognition of the centennial of women's suffrage, with greater attention to Black and Indigenous women's often overlooked contributions to the fight for suffrage and expanded rights election results from the historic 2020 elections when more women filed congressional candidacies than ever before and women’s numbers in both Congress and state legislatures reached record highs. analysis of the gender gap in voting in 2020, focusing on both race and gender. updates reflecting President Biden's historic cabinet picks, including Deb Haaland as the first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior and Janet Yellen as the first woman to lead the Treasury Department. coverage of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the nomination and confirmation of her replacement, Amy Coney Barrett.

A fascinating exploration of the private and public worlds of Molly Dewson, America's original female political boss. In the first biography ever written of Dewson, Susan Ware not only examines her political career as a trusted member of the Roosevelt team throughout the New Deal but also considers how Dewson's fifty-two year partnership with Polly Porter and her woman-centered existence strengthened her success as a politician. "Susan Ware's excellent biography of Molly Dewson restores one of Franklin Roosevelt's chums and an irrepressible battler for women in politics to her proper place in the history of the New Deal."--Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. "Rich, readable, and intriguing biography."--Estelle B. Freedman, Women's Review of Books "Readers should welcome Ware's spotlight on Dewson, which widens to disclose wonderfully human views of FDR and Eleanor and brings to life many virtually forgotten feminists of an era that threatens to fade into gray."--Publishers Weekly "Provides a lively and refreshingly concrete sense of everyday activities in reform and political circles. ... A wonderful account of the model of a modern political woman."--Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Times Literary Supplement Susan Ware is assistant professor of history at New York University, where she also coordinates the Women's History Program.

This book examines how women candidates, voters, and office holders shape U.S. political processes and institutions, lending their perspectives to gradually evolve American life and values. This book provides an encyclopedic sourcebook on the evolution of women's involvement in American politics from the colonial era to the present, covering all of the individuals, organizations, cultural forces, political issues, and legal decisions that have collectively served to elevate the role of women at the ballot box, on the campaign trail, in Washington, and in state- and city-level political offices across the country. The in-depth essays document and examine the rising prominence of women as voters, candidates, public officials, and lawmakers, enabling readers to understand how U.S. political processes and institutions have been—and will continue to be—shaped by women and their perspectives on American life and values. The entries cover a range of women politicians and officials; female activists and media figures; relevant organizations and interest groups, such as Emily's List, League of Women Voters, and National Right to Life; key laws, court cases, and events, such as the Nineteenth Amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment, the Seneca Falls Convention, the passage of Title IX, and Roe v. Wade; and other topics, like media coverage of appearance, women's roles as campaign strategists/fundraisers, gender differences in policy priorities, and the gender gap in political ambitions. The text is supplemented by sidebars that highlight selected landmarks in women's political history in the United States, such as the 2012 election of Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay U.S. senator.