Full Description
Erroneous government-generated "data" is more problematic than it would appear. This book demonstrates how women's history has consistently been hidden and distorted by 200 years of official government statistics.
Much of women's history has been hidden and filtered through unrealistic expectations and assumptions. Because U.S. government data about women's lives and occupations has been significantly inaccurate, these misrepresentations in statistical information have shaped the reality of women's lives. They also affect men and society as a whole: these numbers influence our investments, our property values, our representation in Congress, and even how we see our place in society. This book documents how U.S. federal government statistics have served to reveal and conceal facts about women in the United States. It reaches back to the late 1800s, when the U.S. Census Bureau first listed women's occupations, and forward to the present, when the U.S. government relies on nonprofit groups for statistics on abortion.
Objective and accurate, When Women Didn't Count isn't focused on numbers and census results as much as on recognizing problems in data, exposing the hidden facets of government data, and using critical thinking when considering all seemingly authoritative sources. Readers will contemplate how the government decided that a "farmer's wife" could be a farmer, how the ongoing battle over abortion has been reflected in the numbers the government is allowed to keep and publish, the consequences of the Census Bureau "correcting" reports of women in unusual occupations in 1920, and why the official count of women-owned businesses dropped 20 percent in 1997.
Contents
Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chronology
Part I Why Care about Government Statistics?
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Statistical System of the United States
Part II Demographics
Chapter 3 Population and Age
Chapter 4 Marriage, Divorce, and Cohabitation
Chapter 5 Motherhood
Chapter 6 Single Mothers
Part III Women at Home
Chapter 7 Heads of Household, Heads of Family
Chapter 8 Housewives, Homemakers, and Housekeepers
Part IV Concepts of Employment
Chapter 9 "Occupations Suitable for Women"
Chapter 10 "Gainful Employment"
Chapter 11 Income
Chapter 12 Unemployment during the Great Depression
Part V Women at Work
Chapter 13 The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Women's Bureau
Chapter 14 Employment
Chapter 15 Women Factory Workers
Chapter 16 "Farm Females"
Chapter 17 Women Business Owners, Women-Owned Businesses
Part VI Women and Health
Chapter 18 Nonreproductive Health Issues
Chapter 19 Contraception
Chapter 20 Abortion
Part VII Women and the Law
Chapter 21 Women as Criminals
Chapter 22 Prostitution
Chapter 23 Women as Crime Victims
Chapter 24 Rape
Part VIII Women at War
Chapter 25 Rosie the Riveter: Civilian Women during the World Wars
Chapter 26 Women in the Military
Part IX Conclusion
Chapter 27 Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
