By allowing the reader to draw comparisons between women's movements in Canada and the United States, Challenging Times shows that certain political and theoretical issues transcend international borders, ebbing and flowing between the two countries symbiotically. Topics discussed include the origins of "second-stage feminism," the strength of the women's movement within academic structures, and the challenges posed by racial, ethnic, and class diversity; violence against women; the promise and limits of legal reform; reproductive technology; and economic discrimination. Readers who are interested in the recent history of the North American women's movement will find answers to many of their questions about the victories, defeats, and fundamental challenges facing modern feminism. Those who have been active in the current wave of feminism, either as central participants or serious critics, will find Challenging Times equally fascinating because it endeavours to provide answers to pressing questions about the nature of feminism, the inter-relationships and tensions between different sectors of the movement, and the prospects for future growth. Many of the contributors to this volume have lived through and personally shaped the unfolding of the rich history of North American feminism. In addition to Backhouse and Flaherty, the contributors are Catharine A. MacKinnon, Greta Hofmann Nemiroff, Monique Bégin, Mariana Valverde, Naomi Black, Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Micheline de Sève, Micheline Dumont, Margrit Eichler, Sara M. Evans, Marianne A. Ferber, Lorraine Greaves, Marjorie Heins, M. Patricia Fernández Kelly, Patricia A. Monture-Okanee, Arun Mukherjee, Jean F. O'Barr, Christine Overall, Glenda Simms, and Jill Vickers.

Constance Backhouse is a professor of law, distinguished university professor, and university research chair at the University of Ottawa. She obtained her B.A. from the University of Manitoba (1972), her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall (1975), and her LL.M. from Harvard Law School (1979). She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1978. She teaches feminist law, criminal law, human rights, and labour law. She is the author of many award-winning legal history books, including Petticoats & Prejudice: Women and Law in Nineteenth-Century Canada (1991), Colour-Coded: A Legal History of Racism in Canadian Law, 1900–1950 (1999) and The Heiress vs. the Establishment: Mrs. Campbell's Campaign for Legal Justice (2004). She received the Law Society Medal in 1998 and an Honorary Doctorate from the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2002. She has served as an elected bencher of the Law Society from 2002. She became a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2004.

Constance Backhouse's profile page

David H. Flaherty is a professor emeritus in the Departments of History and Law at the University of Western Ontario and an adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria.

David H. Flaherty's profile page

"I can say without hesitation that I have seldom encountered such a high general level of excellence in a collective work ... the breadth of coverage is remarkable. This book will make a major impact on feminist literature, not only in Canada but internationally." Peta Tancred, Centre for Research and Teaching on Women, McGill University.