ABSTRACT
The history of feminist activism and scholarly work on women is a history of women who are relatively privileged universalizing their experiences and concerns to all women. In American society, people of color are stereotyped not only on the basis of their race-ethnicity, but by gender as well. Another way that race-ethnicity and social class influences women's lives is through their relationships with their families. Occupational and income differences between categories of women are partly due to discrimination: though it is illegal to do so, it is not uncommon for employers to make hiring decisions based on a woman's race-ethnicity. A woman's race-ethnicity and social class affect her access to reproductive rights. Women of color and poor/working-class women who experience violence may be reluctant to report it or seek help, due to a history of being ignored or mistreated by the criminal justice system and social service organizations.
