ABSTRACT
In recent years there has been an attempt to analyze histories, including histories of education, in terms of the presence and contribution of women. It is clear and becoming clearer as women historians do their research in women's studies that patriarchal history works hard to make history the story of men, or literally hisstory! Searches of the literature and observations of distance education systems reveal surprisingly few women. This survey focuses on women around the world who have either worked in distance education or have influenced its development, with the objective of naming them and identifying their accomplishments. Many researchers have called attention to the influence of patriarchy on the classification of roles in history and in social structures. For this study, criteria for assessment of contributions were generated which allowed inclusion of activities which: led to the further development of distance education systems; and took into account distance education activities.
