Publication: Women and Literacy: Trends and Issues Alerts

• Imel, Susan

The recent United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
concluded that if women are to advance in status socially,
economically, and politically, they must have access to
high quality education. Although women in the United States
have steadily increased their educational status, the fact
that 23 percent of women aged 25 and over have not gone
beyond high school reveals that, as a group, women are
still educationally disadvantaged. Recently, more attention
is being given to the needs of women literacy learners in
the United States. Georgia State University's Center for
the Study of Adult Literacy has begun sponsoring
conferences on women and literacy, and Laubach Literacy
Action has been providing financial support to programs
that empower women and developing a network of programs
serving women. A growing literature base supports work with
women literacy learners. Although much of the information
has been generated abroad (e.g., Canada, Australia, Great
Britain), it raises issues that have relevance for programs
in the United States, including goals and purposes,
rationale for women-only programs, and the status of
literacy workers. Contains 19 annotated resources that can
be consulted for additional information. Five resource
organizations are also listed.)