American Women!
A Celebration of Our History
April 22 -- October 29, 2000

INTO THE 21ST CENTURY
1990 onward
Do women want it all?

Click on photo to see enlarged view

A "woman's place" has been transformed from a world controlled completely by men to a place where she can lead boardroom meetings or reach for the stars. The courts are breaking down the walls of all-male social clubs and military academies, and American women of today are joining the ranks and taking leadership positions in every field of endeavor.

Women also continue to serve as the primary caregivers for their families. Many policies that make accommodations for caregivers have been achieved, such as subsidized childcare, paid pregnancy and parental leave flextime, and more women's health care coverage.

And yet, gender issues remain a volatile topic both in the workplace and in the home, as Americans juggle rising prices with the need for pay equity, and demanding schedules with divisions of labor and authority. As we move forward into the 21st century, the very definition of "feminism" means very different things to different people. The debate continues, because women have gained much, but what have they lost? Can men and women reach an acceptable understanding--different but equal?

Attitudes are often the most difficult things to modify, and we still have a generation in power where men and women find it difficult to understand one another. That, too, is changing!


American Women!

Barbara Bush, First Lady and Family Advocate
Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Dole, Presidential Hopefuls?
Joan Ganz Cooney, Founder of Children's Television Workshop
Helen Caldicott, M.D., Physician for Social Responsibility
Mary Engelbreit, Illustrator and Optimist
Jane Fonda, Actress, Activist, Producer, Fitness Guru
Madonna, Performer
P. Buckley Moss, Artist
Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justices
Janet Reno, U.S. Attorney General
Elizabeth Taylor, Actress and Activist
Martha Stewart, Hostess With The Mostest
Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, Pulitzer and Nobel Prize Winners
Barbara Walters, Master of the Interview
Oprah Winfrey, America's Host

  Return to:
  From Colony to Country, 1600-1800 From Jazz to War 1920-1950
  From Growth to Civil War, 1800-1870 From Fifties to Feminism, 1950-1990
  From Prairie to Polls, 1870-1920
"red arrow" View an alphabetical list of all 106 women included in American Women! with links to photos and biographies for selected women
"red arrow" View a Thank You to over 100 lenders to Ameican Women!
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