During the past three decades, feminist scholars in almost all social and behavioral sciences, as well as the humanities, have successfully demonstrated the ubiquity and omnirelevance of gender as a socio-cultural construction in virtually all human collectives, past and present. Gender shapes and is shaped in all arenas of social life, from the most mundane practices of everyday life to those of the most powerful corporate actors.

"This wide-ranging handbook brings together experts in the sociology of gender to present indepth discussions as well as up-to-date and extensive bibliographies on the array of subspecialities that comprise the field. The chapters utilize cross-national and historical material in addition to data on the contemporary United States. Within-gender differences along racial/ethnic, social class, sexual preference, and age cohort dimensions are also explored."

Basic Issues.- The Varieties of Gender Theory in Sociology.- A Feminist Epistemology.- Similarity and Difference.- Macrostructures and Processes.- Comparative Gender Stratification.- Third World Women and Global Restructuring.- Gender and Migration.- The Feminization of Poverty.- Gender Movements.- Gender and Organizations.- The Study of Gender in Culture.- Microstructures and Processes.- Gender Socialization.- Gender and Social Roles.- Gender and Interaction.- Gender, Violence, and Harassment.- Institutions.- Gender and Paid Work in Industrial Nations.- Sex, Race, and Ethnic Inequality in United States Workplaces.- Gender and Unpaid Work.- Gender and Family Relations.- Gender and Education in Global Perspective.- Gender, Hierarchy, and Science.- Gender and Health Status.- Health Care as a Gendered System.- Gender and Politics.- Gender, Crime, and Criminal Justice.- Gender and the Military.- Gender and Sport.- Gender and Religion.- Epilogue.- Epilogue.