It is edited by Cynthia B. Costello and Anne J. Stone for the Women's Research and Education Institute, and includes chapters on women and leadership in higher education, in the corporate world, in politics, unions and in the military. About half of the volume is devoted to statistics on American women's health, employment, demographics, education, income, and military and political participation. The sources of this data include the Bureau of the Census, the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Marriage is not only a private contract but also a public institution. While the husband and wife consent to the marriage, its terms, privileges, rights and responsibilities have always been governed by law, usually by state law.
Marriage is central to community life and it involves property and inheritance rights.
From the days of the first settlers marriage was based on Christian concepts of monogamy and fidelity, with a male head of household and a dependent wife. Women lost their identity upon marriage and were represented outside the home by the husband, who as head of a family was qualified to represent the family in the political sphere.