All the texts we reviewed were published in the last three years. We found that women are often missing, and when present, are sometimes stereotyped. In some cases, political writings of the far right are cited in these texts in an effort to deny or belittle the idea that any gender bias exists in schools. Three decades since the passage of Title IX, two decades since the creation of The National Women s History Project, the need to research and write women into the nation s textbooks continues. The NWHP teaches boys to appreciate their sisters historical role, and to see girls and women as equal partners in the democracy.
Boys can now learn that history is more than war and politics.
American history also includes women s labor, unpaid and unrecognized. Labor that kept families intact, farms operating, commercial ventures profitable, and the nation moving forward. The NHWP has taught us how women have improved the quality of life for all Americans, from safer working conditions to consumer protection, from the abolition of slavery to the right to decent health care. Women s history teaches us that courage is not limited to battlefields. Both boys and girls owe a great deal to the NWHP, and Myra Sadker Advocates is proud to recognize Molly MacGregor and the NWHP for two decades of putting the missing chapters back in the America s textbooks.