A collection of thoughts on the future by female visionariesscientists, philosophers, and psychospiritual writersincludes contributions from Jean Houston, Joanna Macy, Sue Bender, Joan Borysenko, Caroline Myss, Marion Woodman, and Gloria Steinem, among others. Reprint.

"The Future of Women's Rights" identifies the emergence of various trends threatening the advance of gender equality, women's human rights and sustainable human development. These phenomena include the impacts of globalization and neoliberal economics, developments in biotechnology, the neo-conservative backlash against women's rights, monopolistic ownership patterns over information technologies, the rise of identity politics marginalizing women's issues, and the increase in violent conflict and war. The contributors to this volume are united in seeing a pressing need for women's movements to evaluate their methods, with a view to making their future political work more effective. They identify current issues and trends in the world, thinking through how these may impact women and the work of women's movements.

"Updated and with a new preface by the authors."--Cover.

Anita Harris creates a realistic portrait of the "new girl" that has appeared in the twenty-first century--she may still play with Barbie, but she is also likely to play soccer or basketball, be assertive and may even be sexually aware, if not active. Building on this new definition, Harris explores the many key areas central to the lives of girls from a global perspective, such as girlspace, schools, work, aggression, sexuality and power.

Since the publication of the first edition of this book, former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun's campaign for the presidency in 2004 and the widespread discussion of a run in 2008 by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton have significantly raised the profile of women on the national political stage. At the same time, progress in electing women to the U.S. Congress and state legislatures has stalled. The essays in Women and Elective Office: Past, Present and Future, which feature research on women as political candidates and officeholders, address this paradox. Recruitment patterns, media portrayals, and voter reactions to women candidates are analyzed along with the impact of women in office relative to the challenges they face. The 2nd edition includes increased coverage of women on the congressional level, women officeholders of color, and analysis of women parliamentarians worldwide. In total, Women and Elective Office offers a comprehensive look at the experiences and influence of women politicians today, while considering women's prospects for political leadership in the twenty-first century.

Repeatedly declared dead by the media, the women’s movement has never been as vibrant as it is today. Indeed as Stanford professor and award-winning author Estelle B. Freedman argues in her compelling new book, feminism has reached a critical momentum from which there is no turning back. A truly global movement, as vital and dynamic in the developing world as it is in the West, feminism has helped women achieve authority in politics, sports, and business, and has mobilized public concern for once-taboo issues like rape, domestic violence, and breast cancer. And yet much work remains before women attain real equality. In this fascinating book, Freedman examines the historical forces that have fueled the feminist movement over the past two hundred years–and explores how women today are looking to feminism for new approaches to issues of work, family, sexuality, and creativity. Freedman begins with an incisive analysis of what feminism means and why it took root in western Europe and the United States at the end of the eighteenth century. The rationalist, humanistic philosophy of the Enlightenment, which ignited the American Revolution, also sparked feminist politics, inspiring such pioneers as Mary Wollstonecraft and Susan B. Anthony. Race has always been as important as gender in defining feminism, and Freedman traces the intricate ties between women’s rights and abolitionism in the United States in the years before the Civil War and the long tradition of radical women of color, stretching back to the impassioned rhetoric of Sojourner Truth. As industrialism and democratic politics spread after World War II, feminist politics gained momentum and sophistication throughout the world. Their impact began to be felt in every aspect of society–from the workplace to the chambers of government to relations between the sexes. Because of feminism, Freedman points out, the line between the personal and the political has blurred, or disappeared, and issues once considered “merely” private–abortion, sexual violence, homosexuality, reproductive health, beauty and body image–have entered the public arena as subjects of fierce, ongoing debate. Freedman combines a scholar’s meticulous research with a social critic’s keen eye. Sweeping in scope, searching in its analysis, global in its perspective, No Turning Back will stand as a defining text in one of the most important social movements of all time.

'We will change things from within' Sherin Khankan is a pioneer, founding the first mosque for women in Europe and leading the way for a more progressive form of Islam. In this remarkable work, she shares her journey growing up between east and west to then becoming one of the first female imams in Europe. Addressing controversial issues such as radical Islamic groups, the right of Muslim women to divorce and the patriarchal structure of Islam, this is an eye-opening and empowering manifesto for change.