21世紀の西欧においては、一見したところ女性が家事・育児・仕事のバランスをとっているように見えます。しかし、実際には男女間の所得格差や「ガラスの天井」が消えたわけではありません。参政権や60年代の解放運動など、これまでの主な出来事に照らしながらフェミニズムのルーツを考察し、欧米のみならず第三世界まで、女性を取り巻く状況をグローバルな視点で分析します。
    

• There are no other short, concise introductions to the subject currently available
• Combines sound historical background, with thought-provoking questions about the future of feminism
• Tackles current issues concerning feminism in Third World countries

  
How much have women's lives really changed? In the West women still come up against the 'glass ceiling' at work, most earning considerably less than their male counterparts. What are we to make of the now commonplace insistence that feminism deprives men of their rights and dignities? And how does one tackle the issue of female emancipation in different cultural and economic environments - in, for example, the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent, and Africa?
 
This book provides an historical account of feminism, exploring its earliest roots as well as key issues including voting rights, the liberation of the sixties, and its relevance today. Margaret Walters touches on the difficulties and inequities that women still face more than forty years after the 'new wave' of 1960s feminism, such as how successful women are at combining domesticity, motherhood, and work outside the house. She brings the subject completely up to date by providing an analysis of the current situation of women across the globe, from Europe and the United States to Third World countries.