Women's Studies

This guide is dedicated to resources, history, and theories surrounding women, women's studies, and the role of women in society.

The Boston University Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS) Program fosters interdisciplinary research and teaching related to the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, citizenship status, disability, and other dimensions of social life that sustain and exacerbate systems of inequality. We seek to understand the consequences of structures of gender and sexuality inequality across a diverse array of temporal, cultural, and geographic contexts. Learn more about the program here: https://www.bu.edu/wgs/. 

When Dolly Parton sang “9 to 5,” she was doing more than just shining a light on the fate of American working women. Parton was singing the true story of a movement that started with 9to5, a group of Boston secretaries in the early 1970s. Their goals were simple—better pay, more advancement opportunities and an end to sexual harassment—but their unconventional approach attracted the press and shamed their bosses into change. Featuring interviews with 9to5’s founders, as well as actor and activist Jane Fonda, 9to5: The Story of a Movement is the previously untold story of the fight that inspired a hit and changed the American workplace. 

The trailer for the documentary is available below, with a question and answer panel with those involved available here.