Women's Research and Education Institute

Economic and Social Status of Women

# The American Woman

This series of publications by WREI focuses on topics of concern to American women and provides data and analysis of women's contemporary position within society on a number of issues. The ninth edition, which will be available January 2003, focuses on younger women age 25-34 and how their lives compare to their baby-boomer mothers. The American Woman 2003-2004: Daughters of a Revolution-Young Women Today, like its predecessors, contains a comprehensive "Statistical Portrait" covering all ages. This section provides statistics on a wide range of topics, providing the reader with the hard numbers that underlie the trends shaping women's experiences. The portrait is organized into eight sections (demographics, education, health, employment, earnings and benefits, economic security, elections and officials, and women in the military) and has grown over the years to include over 140 tables and figures on the status of American women today.

# Women's Health/Healthcare

Women and Health. WREI aims to gather, analyze, and distribute information on women's health care, insurance, and policy. The initiative seeks to examine effective policy strategies to advance research on women's health and health care delivery to women and their families, as well as to ensure access to insurance. They work with existing networks of women's health organizations.

# Women in the Military/Veterans

Center for Women in Uniform. Established though a grant from the Ford Foundation, the Women in the Military project provides information to U.S. and foreign governments, scholars, students, the media, and the public on issues pertaining to women in the armed forces, as well as women in policing and firefighting. WREI sponsors a biennial conference for researchers and active duty/reserve service members to discuss and better understand the roles of military women. The Women in the Military program also maintains information about women's participation in the U.S. military since 1901. Such information includes statistics, occupations and training of military women, evolution of the legal status of women in the U.S. military, policy and issue threads, key documents, and women's participation in foreign militaries.

Women Veterans. In cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, WREI works to ease the transition of women veterans, especially those seeking work in nontraditional occupations, into the private sector.                                           

# Connecting the Dots... Women, Religion and Public Policy

Women leaders in religious institutions joins feminists in public policy and academe to discuss issues issues affecting women's equality.

# Crossing Borders

WREI began Crossing Borders in 2002 to examine the effects of US immigration law and policy on women in America, especially in issues of citizenship and refugee status. The research revealed that females dominate many of the legal and illegal categories of immigration. Analyzing the past and present of US immigration, Crossing Borders seeks new ways of defining citizenship and the policy surrounding it.

# Women Writing Africa

A project of the Feminist Press of the City University of New York, Women Writing Africa is a literary venture producing a series of regional anthologies of African women's writing. A landmark project of cultural reclamation, this project brings the voices of African women to readers around the globe. WREI is the base for Washington promotion and programs in the Women Writing Africa project.

# Aging

Older Women: The Economics of Aging, Anne J. Stone and Jennifer Griffith (1998). A report on the economic status of older women in the United States, including household and personal income, the older single woman's annual expenditures, economic security, and labor force participation.

# Economic and Social Status of Women

The American Woman 2003-2004: Daughters of a Revolution - Young Women Today, edited Cynthia B. Costello, Vanessa R. Wright, and Anne J. Stone (2003). The ninth edition in The American Woman series addresses the status of young women between the ages of 25 and 35. Contributors—all experts in their fields—explore the opportunities and challenges confronting the young women who are the daughters of the baby boom generation. The focus on young women brings into sharp relief how much has changed since the 1970s. The volume also contains a comprehensive statistical portrait of women of all ages, including user-friendly tables and figures that provide readers with the hard numbers underlying the trends shaping the experiences of women of all ages. 

The American Woman 2001-2002: Getting to the Top, edited by Cynthia B. Costello and Anne J. Stone (2001). This eighth edition in WREI's acclaimed American Woman series documents women's different roads to success--the decisions they have made, the barriers they face, and the difference they make both at the top and to those women climbing behind them. The chapters in this volume tell of women's progress in reaching leadership positions in politics, higher education, business, labor unions, and the military. They look at the special difficulties faced by minority women rising to the top.

The American Woman 1999-2000: A Century of Change - What's Next?, edited by Cynthia B. Costello, Shari Miles, and Anne J. Stone (1998). Traces the changes in the condition of and opportunities for American women in the second half of the 20th century and evaluates the future status of women in the U.S. in the 21st century.

The American Woman 1996-1997: Where We Stand (Women and Work), edited by Cynthia B. Costello and Barbara Kivimae Krimgold (1996). Sixth in the series of reports prepared every other year by WREI to document the status of women in America. This edition features five chapters that address different dimensions of women's employment status.

# Health and Healthcare

A Guide to Federal Funding Opportunities in Women's Health, Cynthia B. Costello and Rachel Mears (2002). The "Guide" was prepared to assist state legislators and state health professionals to identify funding opportunities for women's health programs offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The guide is organized into several sections. The first describes federal search sites and publications that can direct users to important information about general funding opportunities. The second describes HHS agencies and offices that have information on federal funding opportunities for women's health programs. The appendix lists contact information for the agencies and offices described in the guide and provides a list of all the agencies within HHS.

Improving the Health of Midlife Women: Policy Options for the Twenty-First Century, Cynthia B. Costello and Vanessa R. Wight (2001). In January 2001, WREI convened a two-day experts' summit to identify the major gaps in women's health at midlife and to chart a federal health policy agenda for Congress. On the basis of the recommendations made at the summit, WREI selected 15 high-impact actions Congress should take to make a significant difference in promoting health and preventing disease in midlife women. The report outlines these actions. It also includes a paper prepared by WREI for the women's health summit, "The Health of Midlife Women: Gaps and Challenges" as well as the 10 gaps and 46 policy options identified at the summit.

The Health of Midlife Women in the States, Cynthia B. Costello, Jennifer E. Griffith, Angela Wilbon, and Ashley Redfearn (1998). Focuses on the health status of women between the ages of 45 and 65, when the normal aging process and lifestyle factors put women at risk for the onset of chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, as well as for osteoporosis.

Assessing and Improving Women's Health, Karen Scott Collins, Diane Rowland, Alina Salaganicoff, and Elizabeth Chait (1994). Presents an overview of women's health issues, including an explanation of conditions that concern women at different times in their lives and a discussion of measures that can be undertaken to prevent disease and disability; also examines how women interact with the health care system.

Women's Health Insurance Costs and Experiences (1994). Focuses on health insurance coverage and expenditures for reproductive and preventive services among women of childbearing age (ages 15-44) and measures the adequacy of women's health care services.

# Women in the Military/Veterans

Proceedings of the Conference: Women in the Military Today 19-20 May 2005, Lory Manning and Cynthia Enloe (2005). Includes thirteen of the papers and presentations from the WREI conference "Women in the Military Today" held in May 2005.

Women in the Military: Where They Stand (Fifth Edition), Lory Manning (2005). This new edition includes information on women in the Reserve and Guard forces and on women veterans as well as updated statistics and a chronology of important policy and legislative milestones. 

Women Veterans' Employment, Lory Manning, Brigid O'Farrell, Anne J. Stone, and Vanessa R. Wight (2001). A report on what we know (and do not know) about women veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce. This 78-page report assesses--with particular attention to differences by race--the available data and literature in five areas relevant to women veterans' employment: the effectiveness of veterans' employment programs; employment and unemployment status; nontraditional employment; earning and socioeconomic status; and veterans' preference.

Women in the Military: Where They Stand, Lory Manning and Vanessa R. Wight (2000). Third edition containing recent data on women in the U.S. military services, a chronology of legal and policy changes affecting military women from 1947 to the present, historic facts about women and their military roles, and facts and figures on the roles of military women in other countries.

Women in Uniform and the Changing World Order (2000). Papers from the December 2000 Women in Uniform conference.

Women in Uniform: Exploding the Myths, Exploring the Facts (1998). Papers from the 1998 Women in Uniform conference.

Women in the Military: International Perspectives (1992). Proceedings of the 1992 Women in the Military Conference.

# Work and Family

Managing Work and Families: Nonstandard Work Arrangements Among Managers and Professionals, Roberta M. Spalter-Roth, Arne L. Kalleberg, Edith Rasell, Naomi Cassirer, Barbara F. Reskin, Ken Hudson, David Webster, Eileen Applebaum, and Betty Dooley (1997).

Nonstandard Work, Substandard Jobs: Flexible Work Arrangements in the U.S., Arne L. Kalleberg, Edith Rasell, Naomi Cassirer, Barbara F. Reskin, Ken Hudson, David Webster, Eileen Applebaum, and Roberta M. Spalter-Roth (1997).

# Crossing Borders/Immigration

Crossing Borders: A Report of the Working Group on Immigration & Women, Marjorie Lightman, Ronald Cluett, Jeffrey A. Heller, Kimala Price, Anne J. Stone, and Bonnie H. Weinstein (2004). In a six-part examination of the changing nature of citizenship, the Crossing Borders report takes a unique look at United States immigration from a holistic perspective that makes clear the need to rethink our most fundamental assumptions about immigration, law, policies, and practices. It integrates issues of gender and citizenship with the evolution of institutional structures. In a diverse group of essays, the six authors argue that we are approaching a breakdown of administrative processes, despite the shift of the old INS to the new Department of Homeland Security.   

#WREI UPDATE is an electronic newsletter featuring information on our projects, publications, upcoming events, fellows, and general bytes of interest.

Congressional Fellowships on Women and Public Policy. WREI identifies and trains new leaders through its Congressional Fellowship program, which is open to graduate students with strong academic skills and a proven commitment to equity for women. Established in 1980, this program enhances the research capacity of Congressional offices, especially with respect to legislation's implications for women, and has given scores of promising women hands-on experience in the federal legislative process. 

The American Woman Award. Every year, WREI honors individuals who have achieved great distinction and who, by conscious effort and example, promote equity for women with the American Woman Award.