Girl Power.

While the second wave of the women's movement began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the 1990s witnessed several significant developments in women's progress Research on girls' loss of self-esteem at puberty led to efforts to boost their self-esteem and to encourage girls to consider the entire range of possibilities available to them Girls went to work with their parents, were encouraged to go into math and science, and scored goals, baskets, and runs in sports While equality was not fully achieved, important steps were taken, although a backlash had begun by the last few years of the decade as detractors claimed that girls' progress had come at boys' expense Women, as well, made important steps in the decade, particularly in the areas of politics and sports.

The Year of the Woman.

Energized by the 1991 Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings...