A Look Backward and Forward at American Professional Women and Their Families

This edited volume contains the thoughtful and often inspiring papers that were presented at the Fourth Annual Conference of the Women's Freedom Network in 1997. Written by scholars, homemakers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and military personnel, the articles in this collection address the status of women, their careers, and their families-now and in the past. The volume is divided into four sections, each devoted to a particular area where women have played a significant role. The first section focuses on the family with papers describing the difficult choices women must make to meet the demands of home and career, the changing role of fathers, and impact of divorce on children. In section two, several women discuss their successful careers as entrepreneurs and CEOs in a variety of businesses. The papers in section three deal with the topic of women in the military, addressing issues ranging from physical fitness and injury to pregnancy and sexual scandal. The last section offers insiders' views on the history and professional experiences of women involved in medicine, journalism, law, and academia. Heart-felt and informative, the articles in this collection offer insight into the multi-faceted and ever-changing lives of women today.