The Worldwide Incorporation of Women and Women’s Rights Discourse in Social Science Textbooks, 1970–2008

The invisibility of women in educational curricula and the effect this has on perpetuating women’s marginal status in society has been well documented. This article examines (1) whether and how mentions of women and women’s rights have expanded and changed in textbooks cross-nationally and over time and (2) to what extent these outcomes are driven by (a) national factors of individual countries, such as economic, political, and social development, or (b) global or transnational dynamics. We employ a quantitative analysis of the representations of women in textbooks by examining over 500 secondary school social science textbooks from 74 countries published between 1970 and 2008. Descriptive analyses reveal a steady increase in mentions of women and women’s rights in textbooks around the world. Results from multilevel models indicate the explanatory power of nation-states’ linkages to global norms of human and women’s rights in additional to national characteristics.