Women in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders

Bystrom (director, Carrie Chapman Catt Ctr. for Women and Politics, Iowa State Univ.) and Burrell (emerita, political science, Northern Illinois Univ.) provide researchers with nonpartisan information on women's involvement in politics, from colonial times to the present. For context, they offer five in-depth essays that examine the history and status of women as voters, candidates, elected officials, appointed officials, and members of the judiciary. The 270 entries cover notable figures such as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as organizations, movements, laws, and court decisions that were influential in shaping the political status of women in the United States. Each entry contains a bibliography of further readings and cross-references. Primary documents include speeches, legislation, and court decisions, such as "Women's Rights Are Human Rights," delivered by Hillary Clinton at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, and Shirley Chisolm's "Equal Rights for Women" speech in 1969.