Female Well-Being:
Toward a Global Theory of Social Change
Edited by Janet Mancini Billson and Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban
‘This comparative study of the world’s women from the 20th century will help us to build stronger
movements worldwide in the 21st century’ - Dr. Amna El. Badri, Ahfad University for Women, Omdurman,
Sudan.
This global surveys starts from the assumption that the significant transformations in women’s lives deserve to
be fully documented and interpreted. Janet Mancini Billson and Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban tackle the complexities
of social change by using data from countries in every world region to illustrate the most critical challenges that
women faced during the last century -challenges that are also likely to shape the 21st century.
Global knowledge and feminism dovetailed in the 20th century, fed by international air travel, telecommunications,
the Internet, and a growing awareness that solving female oppression would improve the lot of all humankind. The
authors therefore adopt a strong international, comparative, cross-cultural, and feminist framework that uncovers
the fundamental processes that promote, sustain, or degrade the female condition.
At the heart of Female Well-Being are case studies written by country teams of scholars, educators, and policy
analysts in Canada, the United States, Colombia, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Japan, Bangladesh,
Thailand, South Africa, and Sudan. Female well-being is measured by analysing trends in infant mortality, maternal
mortality, literacy, life expectancy, education, work, income, family structure, and political power. These trends
are contextualised in light of the century’s major events, legislative initiatives, social policies, and leadership, to
illustrate the processes that enhance, sustain, or detract from the female condition. This book will be a critical
resource for academics, development experts, and policy analysts.
Published: October 2005
Hb ISBN 1 84277 008 X
£75.00 $89.95
Pb ISBN 1 84277 009 8
£24.95 $29.95
Extent: 448 pages
Format: Royal
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Contents
Part 1: Introduction
1. The 20th Century as a Transformative Time for Women - Janet Mancini Billson and Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban
2. The Complexities of Defining Female Well-Being - Janet Mancini Billson
3. A Feminist-Humanist Critique of Social Change Theory - Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban and Janet Mancini Billson
Part 2: Case Studies from Around the World
4. Women in Bangladesh: A Journey in Stages - Nasrin Sultana and Alema Karim
5. Women in Canada: A Century of Struggle - Tess Hooks, Patrice LeClerc, and Roderic Beaujot
6. Women in Colombia: ‘You forge your path as you walk’ - Elena Garcés de Eder with Adriana Marulanda
Herrán
7. Women in Croatia: Continuity and Change - Vesna Barilar, Zeljka Jelavic, and Sandra Prlenda
8. Women in Iceland: Strong Women-Myths and Contradictions - Thorgerður Einarsdóttir
9. Women in Japan: Change and Resistance to Change - Masako Aiuchi, Makoto Ichimori, Masako Inoue,
Keiko Kondo, and Fusako Seki
10. Women in South Africa: Crossing the Great Divides of Race and Gender - A. M. (Ria) van Niekerk and
Jopie van Rooyen
11. Women in Sudan: Resistance and Survival - Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban with Amel Gorani
12. Women in Thailand: Changing the Paradigm of Female Well-Being - Farung Mee-Udon and Ranee Itarat
13. Women in the United Kingdom: The Impacts of Immigration - Erica Halvorsen and Heather Eggins
14. Women in the United States of America: The Struggle for Economic Citizenship - Laura Khoury
Part 3: The New Theory for a New Century
15. Common Challenges: Factors that Enhance or Threaten Female Well-Being - Janet Mancini Billson and
Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban
16. Toward a Gendered Theory of Social Change - Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban and Janet Mancini Billson
17. Ensuring Female Well-Being and Gender Equality in the 21st Century - Janet Mancini Billson and Carolyn
Fluehr-Lobban