Although American women won the right to vote in 1920, broader economic and social change has been a longer time coming, and the pace of progress has often been uneven. In the United States during the 1960s, there began a period of substantial social change; in women's issues, the result was a phenomenon known as the women's movement.

Influenced by the success of the civil rights movement for racial equality and other progressive currents sweeping the nation during the 1960s and 1970s, a wide array of organizations and lobbying groups urged full equality for American women as well. The call was not only for a fundamental revision of American institutions, customs and values, but also for a revolution in consciousness -- in the minds of women as well as men -- and especially in the way women thought about themselves.

Not everyone welcomed the resulting changes, as evidenced by the formation of a number of organizations intent on countering what they viewed as unrestrained feminism. But whatever the perspective, there can be no doubt the changes have been telling. American women are living very different lives in the 1990s than they did in the 1950s and earlier.

This journal focuses on the years since 1960, and on how political and legal developments of the period have shaped women's issues. In keeping with a nation governed by the rule of law, America saw political action produce legislation which responded to and shaped the times -- increasing opportunities for women in various U.S. institutions, workplaces and marketplaces -- frequently for the first time. More recently, in the 1980s and 1990s, it has become common for many families to have two wage earners to afford a house, to pay for their children's education, or simply to maintain a comfortable life style. This journal focuses predominantly on that 75 percent of the American population generally identifiable as the middle class -- neither in poverty nor part of the very rich. We reflect on the laws and the political changes since 1960 that have brought most women closer to parity in the workplace, and on the consequences of that continuing evolution

Readers will see that some of the issues addressed in this journal generate great passion and disagreement. The editors have tried to present a wide range of views fairly and hope that the exploration will inform and enlighten.