Women's Studies

How will America close the gender gap that exists in technology, to empower female students? Set at Fulmore Middle School in Austin, Texas, this program exposes counterproductive classroom behaviors and presents measures being taken to correct the misperception that computing is a males-only domain. The Director of the Center for Gender Equity, the author of SchoolGirls, the creators of girltech.com and chickclick.com, and others scrutinize issues including equal computer access in the classroom, attitude barriers both in class and out, and efforts to develop software and Web sites that enfranchise female users rather than reinforce gender stereotypes. (57 minutes)

Living in the era of The Great Gatsby, flappers succeeded in breaking through the barricades of gender prejudice and social inequality on a large scale. Using vibrant archival film clips and interviews with women who came of age during the Roaring 20s in Britain, this program chronicles the emergence of the modern woman in the aftermath of World War I. Higher education for women, the entry of women into politics and the professions, women's suffrage, new attitudes toward sexuality, and other topics are addressed within the historical context of the early 1900s. (53 minutes)

Peace, prosperity, and the implementation of Islamic law: that is the dream of Jinan al-Ubaidy, an influential member of Iraq's parliament who is calling loudly for Sharia-based government-and, as her opponents say, for a return to the subordination of women to men. Filmed on location in war-torn Baghdad, this program exposes the deteriorating state of women's rights as fundamentalist Islamic and burgeoning democratic ideals bury the secular principles that had empowered Iraqi women for decades. Jinan al-Ubaidy and Abir al-Sahlani, a political activist standing in bitter opposition to al-Ubaidy's platform, are featured as Full Cover Girl tracks this tragic conflict of ideologies in which women-targeted by extremists for not wearing hijab, for working outside the home, for driving a car, for having an education-are being killed by the thousands. Additional insights are provided by Paul Bremer, former head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, and other noteworthy figures. (Portions in other languages with English subtitles, 52 minutes)

This brilliant three-part series explores the world of contemporary teenage girls, with a focus on their struggle to separate their own identities from the expectations and outright demands of parents, boyfriends, and a society bent on molding them. This intimate glimpse into adolescent life is guaranteed to stimulate discussion and is a necessary part of any high school, college, or community education curriculum promoting an understanding of women's issues and adolescent psychology. 3-part series, 57 minutes each.

This ABC News program introduces a Gloria Steinem unknown to many: the accidental activist behind the feminist icon. In conversation with correspondent Michel Martin, Ms. Steinem talks candidly about how covering a hearing on abortion in the days before Roe v. Wade set her feet on the path to a leadership role in the women's movement. She also discusses her decision to marry very late in life and to not have children, her mother's struggles with depression, and how she lived out her mother's unlived life. (22 minutes)

African-American women have two strikes against them-their color and their gender. Hosted by Tanya Hart, this program looks at the women who succeeded, asking what drove them to challenge the prejudices against them, what enabled them to succeed and to make significant contributions in politics, entertainment, civil rights, business, public service, music, and sports. Among those featured are Coretta Scott King, Lena Horne, Shirley Chisholm, Tina Turner, and Oprah Winfrey, as well as Marva Collins, Whoopi Goldberg, Patti LaBelle, and Mother Hale." (52 minutes)"

What is the state of the women's movement? This provocative two-part series questions whether the women's movement is running out of steam or merely shifting gears as well as evaluates the contributions of African-American women to America's maturing social conscience. 2-part series, 29 minutes each.

Years after the women's movement burst open doors of opportunity that had long been barred, a new generation of women seems to be questioning the meaning and the value of the battles fought by their mothers and grandmothers. Has feminism somehow gone out of style? In this program, Patricia Ireland, of NOW; Phyllis Schlafly, of the Eagle Forum; Ellen Goodman, of The Boston Globe; Dr. bell hooks, of CUNY's English department; Dr. Tessie Liu, of Northwestern University's history and gender identity departments; and Dr. Martha Wharton, of The Ohio State University's departments of African-American studies and women's studies, appraise the women's movement as it currently exists and discuss its relevance in today's cultural climate. (29 minutes)

Drawing on case studies from first- and third-world nations, this program exposes the gender apartheid" that has led to the marginalization of women around the world through violence and poverty. Commentary by Kofi Annan, secretary general of the UN; Festus Mogae, president of Botswana; and Margaret Jay, Britain's minister for women, as well as by many grassroots leaders reveals the victimization that is occurring through educational neglect, unfair labor practices, spouse abuse, and inadequate reproductive healthcare. The positive effects of rural empowerment programs, battered women refuges, and free health and legal counseling are also presented-but will cuts in funding sweep away the good that these initiatives have done? (57 minutes)"

The title of this unique documentary is drawn from Betty Friedan's challenge of the 1970s that feminism is not about men and women but about changing the world. The program was filmed at the meeting of women leaders from around the world who gathered in Dublin in 1992 to discuss new visions of leadership. Ireland's President Mary Robinson, Friedan, and Utte Ranke-Heinemann are among the many charismatic speakers who debate the nature of power and empowerment-of religion, marriage, dreams, and achievements. (52 minutes)

With dowries reaching fifty percent of a family's income, a second daughter is often called the girl born for the burial pit." This program assesses second- and third-world abuses of women's rights by the male establishment-and examines how female collaboration sometimes contributes to their perpetuation. Feminist Taslima Nasreen; the author of Brides Are Not for Burning; and others speak out on topics such as dowry deaths, female circumcision, the Islamic zina law, the rigors of hijab, and child prostitution. But does the banding together of women against female infanticide in Tamil Nadu spell the beginning of a women's solidarity movement and a new world order? Some content may be objectionable. (41 minutes)"

The traditional role of wife and mother is changing rapidly to that of independent, self-sufficient working woman for many American Latina women. In this program, several prominent Latina women, including author Isabel Allende, discuss their changing role within the context of Hispanic family values, male machismo, and the traditional role of females as the center of family and community life. Actress Jennifer Lopez explains her choice of career over marriage. A psychiatrist and several Hispanic men examine the issue from the male perspective. Hosted by actor Jimmy Smits. (44 minutes)

The subject of women and their roles at home and at work is one of the major and continuing stories of the day. Mary Catherine Bateson, anthropologist and author, has written on topics ranging from the social consequences of the AIDS epidemic to life with her celebrated parents, anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. One of her primary areas of interest is the social consequences of the changing roles of women. In this program with Bill Moyers, she talks about how the idea of home" as a place to give and receive nurture might become a new metaphor for the workplace. Bateson also discusses how women can create order and sense out of their conflicting commitments. (30 minutes)"

Warren Farrell protested alongside Gloria Steinem in support of women's rights and was even elected to the board of NOW-three times. But Farrell is also the author of Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap-and What Women Can Do About It. In this brief ABC News segment, John Stossel considers the opposing views of Farrell and Martha Burk, chair of the NCWO and author of Cult of Power: Sex Discrimination in Corporate America and What Can Be Done About It. It's about supply and demand, states Farrell, not sexism: higher compensation generally means bigger sacrifices on the home front-a cost most women are statistically less willing to bear than men. (8 minutes)

It pays to be male." Decades after Britain's Equal Pay Act of 1970, why are women's career prospects consistently less bright than those of their male counterparts? This provocative two-part series searches for insights into that question as BBC news personalities Sophie Raworth and Justin Rowlatt explore the so-called trouble with working women. There are no easy answers. Original BBC broadcast title: The Trouble with Working Women. 2-part series, 60 minutes each."