Blog Posts by Subject: Women's Studies

In addressing the Equal Pay Gap, the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor recently released two guides on Equal Pay, A guide to Women's Equal Pay Rights and An Employer's Guide to Equal Pay. These guides are also published in four additional languages: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and French, to meet the diverse needs of today's workforce.

The Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor recently released two guides on Equal Pay, A Guide to Women’s Equal Pay Rights and An Employer’s Guide to Equal Pay. These guides are also published in four additional languages: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and French, to meet the diverse needs of today’s workforce.

Consider this a late contribution to this year's Womens' History Month.

When most people think of the involvement of women in music they probably think of performers or composers. To be sure, women performers have been at the forefront of music for centuries, and in recent years awareness of women composers has grown enormously, particularly with those from the twentieth century. But there is at least one other music-related field in which women have made a significant mark: publishing.

President Barack Obama officially declared Tuesday, April 9, 2013 as National Equal Pay Day. In a statement issued Monday, April 8, Obama said, "Women, who make up nearly half of our nation's workforce, face a pay gap that means they earn 23 percent less on average than men do. This disparity is even greater for African-American women and Latinas. On National Equal Pay Day, we recognize this injustice by marking how far into the new year women have to work just to make what men did in the previous one."

"Life was difficult in Shanghai, but infinitely better than anything they had left behind. From lower-middle-class comfort, the Tobias family was reduced to poverty but not to starvation. There was always food, always something to eat, always shelter even when the Jewish community was ghettoized shortly after Pearl Harbor. Thus even under terribly difficult conditions Moses Tobias was able to take care of his family but under the Nazis the conditions of the Jews were far worse than merely 'terribly difficult.'

Recognize the icon above? Perhaps you may not realize this but Playboy the publication, historically speaking, has been a leading magazine devoted to freedom of expression and human rights (to a certain extent). Founded in 1953 in Chicago by Hugh Hefner, Playboy has often been perceived as a "taboo" magazine based on its adult content. You may not realize this but many famous writers have contributed their works to the magazine over the past five decades. The magazine does not only contain photographs but also essays illustrating a segment of American social history.

Judging from the teasers, Batman: The Dark Knight Rises promises to be another must-see summer movie, not least for the anticipation of Anne Hathaway's being cast as Catwoman. Anne has some impressive spandex to fill, however, against such feline luminaries as Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, and and Michelle Pfeiffer, each with her own brand of Gotham catitude. Check out our treasury of vintage images of Catwomen from NYPL's Billy Rose Theatre Division and then take a sec and scratch your vote for the most purrfect Catwoman.

March Story Time for Grown-Ups featured stories by Dorothy Parker to celebrate Women's History Month, as discussed in my previous blog post. During March, a lot of women's history-related lists were posted on the web: 10 powerful female fictional heroines, 10 most powerful women in history, 10 most powerful women in the world today, and top 10 hottest historical women (yes, Cleopatra made the list).

One of the reasons we honor Women's History Month is to celebrate the women whose accomplishments history may have overlooked. Below you'll find recommendations for books in our collections about some of these women and their contributions to society. Additions are always welcome!

In honor of Women's History Month, the theme for the March schedule of Mixed Bag: Story Time for Grown-Ups is "Dorothy Parker: New York Writer, New York Woman." Dorothy Parker, nee Rothschild, (1893-1967) was an American poet, short story writer, critic, and a native New Yorker. She is best remembered for her sarcastic wit as a member of the Algonquin Round Table in the 1920s. Although her marriage in 1917 to stockbroker Edwin Parker ended in divorce in 1928, she continued to be known as Mrs. Parker.

It's a small volume, neatly but unostentatiously bound in mottled calf. The gilt ornamentation is discreet, except for an impressive coat of arms on both boards. That becomes even more impressive when we identify it as the blazon of one of the standout personalities of 18th-century France, Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, marquise de Pompadour — elevated from her haute-bourgeois background and a boring union with a certain M. Lenormand d'Étioles (nephew of her mother's lover) to become the official maîtresse-en-titre to King Louis XV, who ennobled her under the ancient (but extinct) title of Pompadour.

March is Women's History Month. This year, the theme of Women's History Month is Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. This blog post will explore how one can conduct research in women's and gender studies and history.

For the past four weeks, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Village Voice, Le Monde, El Pais, The Independent, El Diario-La Prensa, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Yomiuri Shimbun, World Journal East, Corriere Della Sera, Asahi Shimbun, The Nation, New York Magazine, and many other presses have been covering a small but growing political movement known as “Occupy Wall Street,” currently taking place in Lower Manhattan. All of these current local, national, and international newspapers and periodicals can be 

The 100+ events that the Financial Women's Association (FWA) runs annually are often quite special. The 2011 FWA Annual Dinner and Women of the Year Awards was remarkably so. For the first time in the dozen years that I've been at this gala, both of the honorees — Sylvia Ann Hewlett, who runs the Center for Work-Life Policy at Columbia University; and Irene Dorner, the president and CEO of HSBC Bank USA — received standing ovations. That's right — the 800 guests jumped to their feet to roar their approval. Here's why.

WOW @ The Library: Celebrating a Centennial of Women’s Poetry

April is poetry month! “What is poetry?.” Is poetry perhaps a garden of expressions blooming in the light of thoughtful thoughts? Wonderful words dancing to the rhythm of rhymes? or Sweet tweets that spring from swayable heartbeats? 

According to Edmond Holmes, “Poetry is the expression of strong and deep feeling.” 

But, anyway that poetry may be interpreted, this short selection of poetic works written by and about women, including Pulitzer Prize 

Women’s History Month brings inspiring events and March 2011 has proven no exception. Earlier this month, the New York County Lawyers Association and the Financial Women’s Association co-sponsored a Trailblazers Celebration to spotlight women who have been among the first in private or government practice to achieve senior level executive positions.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which took place 100 years ago today, was a tragic incident in New York City's history but also a turning point in the early labor movement.

One hundred and forty-six workers died, mostly young women from immigrant families. The fire was deadly because of the height of the building, the amount of fabric and flammable material inside, the lack of proper fire escapes, and exits that were locked to prevent workers from taking breaks. Many fell or jumped to their deaths. The tragedy brought greater awareness to sweatshop conditions, which led to widespread changes in labor practices and the movement towards legal protection of workers' 

Do you ever feel like people of the opposite sex just don't understand you, like you're speaking another language? You're not alone!  It is well documented that men and women have different styles of speaking and interacting, from conversations to their storytelling styles. 

In celebration of Women's History Month, I have put together a list of works that I feel are essential to feminist theory/feminist thought. From proto-feminism to third-wave post-modernist, here are some of my (mostly Western) favorites. What are some feminist works you favorite or feel are essential to the canon?