Women and Inequality in the 21st Century examines the continued inequities navigated by women occupying marginalized social positions within a "nexus of power relations." Contributors apply empirical research methods, hermeneutic analysis, and narrative to capture the unique gender experiences and negotiations of diverse, contemporary women

Brittany C. Slatton¿ is Associate Professor of Sociology at Texas Southern University. Dr. Slatton's recent books include ¿Mythologizing Black Women (2014) and ¿Hyper Sexual Hyper Masculine? Gender, Race, and Sexuality in the Identities of Contemporary Black Men (2014). You can find her scholarly articles in journals such as ¿Sociology Compass, Socius, and ¿Genders. In Fall 2017, she served as the prestigious Langston Hughes Visiting Professor at the University of Kansas.

Carla D. Brailey¿ currently serves as Assistant Professor of Sociology at Texas Southern University. In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Brailey participates in New Leaders Council (NLC), Houston Chapter, serves as the Chair of KeyPac and on the Advisory Council for Sankofa Institute, and was recently selected for Leadership Houston's Class XXXIV. Dr. Brailey also served in the former Mayor Adrian Fenty's Cabinet as the Executive Director of Community Affairs and Senior Advisor for Religious Affairs for the District of Columbia.

Introduction: Inequality and the Complex Positionalities of 21st Century Women Part I. An Unrealized Democracy 1. Beauty and the Beast of Inequality: A Historical Synopsis of Women's Images as Barriers in American Labor, Politics and Entertainment 2. Proper Defectum Sexus: Male Privilege over a Woman's Body 3. Democracy, Power, and Work Part 2: Negotiating Inequitable Terrain 4. Unfiltered: Male Strangers' Sexist Behavior Towards Women 5. I am American! Taiwanese Immigrant Women Battling Everyday Racism 6. Queer Faces, Unsafe Spaces: Everyday Discrimination Experiences of Lesbian and Gender Non-Conforming Women 7. But I'm the Lucky One: A Narrative 8. Actors of Discourse: Gender Performativity in Women's Leadership 9. The Cultural Negotiations of Gender through Religion among Algerian Kabyle Part 3. Psychosocial Effects of Inequality 10. Hair Stress: Physical and Mental Health Correlates of African American Women's Hair Care Practices 11. Gender, Arthritis and Feelings of Sexual Obligation in Older Women 12. I'm a Survivor': Reconsidering Identity, Stigma, and Institutions for Domestic Violence Part 4. Key Debates in Women's Inequality 13. Is there Liberation for the Single, Saved, and Sexually Repressed 14. Sex Work: Free and Equal? 15. Reclaiming Women's Rights to Freedom of Religion: An Assessment of the Political and Legal Complexities Affecting the Domestication of CEDAW and the AU Women's Protocol in Nigeria Part 5. Pushing Back: Resistance and Activism 16. I'm Going to Get What I Want: Black Women's Sexual Agency as a Form of Resistance 17. Raise Your Banner High! Mounting a Take Back the Night Event: Civic Engagement and Feminist Practice on a University Campus 18. Insisting on Intersectionality in the Vagina Monologues