How much have women's lives really changed? In the West, women continue to encounter the "glass ceiling" in the workplace, with most earning significantly less than their male counterparts. What should we make of the now widespread claim that feminism deprives men of their rights and dignity? And how do we address the issue of female emancipation in different cultural and economic contexts – for example, in the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa? This book provides a historical overview of feminism, examining its earliest roots as well as central themes such as suffrage, the liberation movements of the 1960s, and its relevance today. Margaret Walters discusses the challenges and inequalities that women still face more than forty years after the "new wave" of feminism in the 1960s, such as how successful women are in balancing housework, motherhood, and work outside the home.