The Paradox of Change: American Women in the 20th Century

The Paradox of Change is a revised and updated version of William Chafe's classic study The American Woman (1972). Building on his original analysis of the experience of twentieth-century American women, Chafe now also considers the significance of the events of the last two decades. In a period which has seen the rise of both feminism and the New Right, American women have gradually entered more fully into economic and political life, though complete social and economic equality remains elusive. Tension between public and private roles; the increasing feminization of poverty; and the struggle to have both a family and career remain important unresolved issues, each constituting part of the `paradox of change'.