Changing Expectations and Institutions: American Women Geographers in the 1970S

Abstract

ABSTRACT. In 1973 Wilbur Zelinsky lamented and documented the low representation of women in American academic geography. His attention reflected the climate of the times—the challenges of the women's movement, affirmative action, and feminist activism in the professions. Drawing on archives and personal narratives, this article addresses the paradoxes and politics of women's place in American academic geography in the 1970s. As increasing numbers developed new aspirations for graduate education and professional work, stereotyping, discrimination, the lack of mentoring, and the challenges of a job market whose peak had passed presented difficulties. Yet persistence, resistance, and feminist political activism worked to advance women's professional standing and visibility, especially at the national level within the Association of American Geographers and in the development of new research and teaching on the geography of women.