Searching for Scientific Womanpower

This compelling history of what Laura Micheletti Puaca terms technocratic feminism traces contemporary feminist interest in science to the World War II and early Cold War years. During a period when anxiety about Americas supply of scientific personnel ran high and when open support for womens rights generated suspicion, feminist reformers routinely invoked national security rhetoric and scientific manpower concerns in their efforts to advance womens education and employment. Despite the limitations of this strategy, it laid the groundwork for later feminist reforms in both science and society. The past and present manifestations of technocratic feminism also offer new evidence of what has become increasingly recognized as a long womens movement.Drawing on an impressive array of archival collections and primary sources, Puaca brings to light the untold story of an important but largely overlooked strand of feminist activism. This book reveals much about the history of American feminism, the politics of national security, and the complicated relationship between the two.