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Reflections on women and the law in the USA
Author(s) -
Fuchs Epstein Cynthia
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international social science journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.237
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1468-2451
pISSN - 0020-8701
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2451.2009.00674.x
Subject(s) - legislation , politics , interpretation (philosophy) , political science , context (archaeology) , meaning (existential) , gender studies , sociology , social movement , social change , law , economic growth , work (physics) , public administration , psychology , paleontology , computer science , economics , psychotherapist , biology , programming language , mechanical engineering , engineering
The USA has undergone extraordinary changes over the past 35 years with respect to women's access to equality in education, employment and participation in political life. This has come about because of the introduction of anti‐discrimination legislation and because of the activities of professional organisations in activating the implementation of these laws and pressing for a wide interpretation of their meaning. The work of social scientists in documenting disparities in women's access to education and employment and the use of such research in developing agendas for social change were central to this process. This article reflects on the early days of the second wave of the women's movement in the USA in the late 1960s, of which I was a part, with a focus on its use of research and the subsequent research that informed political agendas. I explore the context in which the woman's movement was developed and the establishment of rights in the USA, concentrating on women's access to employment, particularly, but not entirely, in the professions.