ABSTRACT
Gloria Steinem (2008, January 8) has written, “Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life, whether the question is who must be in the kitchen or who could be in the White House.” She was specifically talking about the 2008 U.S. presidential primary race, but her words resonate for every woman, and for every person who engages in feminist research. Her words are important because of the critics of feminism who argue that there is no longer any gender oppression in the U.S. These critics point to increasing numbers of women in the professional world and increasing numbers of women in political and economic leadership positions-for example, having Hillary Rodham Clinton as a frontrunner in the presidential primary for the Democratic Party allegedly attests to the lack of problems women face today. If this is the case, then feminist researchers (such as myself) have no more reason to study gender as a constraint on communication, on organizational life, or on public relations professionals.
