WOMEN AND POLITICS examines the pursuit of gender equality from two viewpoints: the legal equality doctrine, which emphasizes gender neutrality, and the fairness doctrine, which recognizes differences between men and women. The text's in-depth analysis and clear presentation of theory and history helps students to think critically about gender and about the challenges faced by women today and in the past. Extensive coverage of diversity among women and consistent attention to the intersections of race, class, and gender are integral to the text's two-viewpoints theme.