Women's Rights in the USA: Policy Debates and Gender Roles

Women’s Rights in the USA is a rigorous examination of the intersection of gender roles and public policy and the implications for feminist activists. The book places full information on state and federal statutes and court decisions in the context of the ebb and flow of debates that have engaged the public since the founding of the Republic. This fifth edition includes updates on all topics and expanded attention to same-sex marriage and lesbian issues, pay equity, conservative trends in courts, and women in elective politics.

This text is a resource for the inquiry into women’s rights politics and policies. It is a record of the changes in the major areas affecting gender roles and the status of women: constitutional law, political participation, reproduction, family law, education, work and pay, work and family, sexuality and economic status. It is more than a recital of laws, statutes and court decisions. The chapters focus on the development of the changes in debates over these issues and how the debates produce laws and provide the environment for their administration and interpretation. It also highlights the role, and impact, of feminists in the debates.

Dorothy E. McBride is Professor Emerita of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University and co-convener of the Research Network on Gender Politics and the State. Her books include The Politics of State Feminism; Comparative State Feminism; Abortion in the United States: A Reference Handbook; and Abortion Politics, Women's Movements, and the Democratic State, among others.

Janine A. Parry is Professor of Political Science at the University of Arkansas and director of the Arkansas Poll.