Government Information on Women's Issues via the Internet

                           compiled by
            Jill Morrissey, University of Connecticut
                            June 1994


Searching for government information on women's issues is easier
thanks to the Internet.  Information such as factsheets, online Supreme
Court documents, Congressional Research Service reports on women's
health, and current legislation is a sampling of what is now available.
Most of the information can be accessed through the University of
Maryland's gopher, which is a clearinghouse for women's studies
information.  Other gopher sites at the Universities of Wisconsin and
Minnesota have also dedicated much time and effort to make women's
studies information accessible electronically.


Gopher sites

1.  Gopher to inform.umd.edu.  Choose Educational Resources, then
Women's Studies.  The two main sections for government information are
the GENDER ISSUES Section and the GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Section.

GENDER ISSUES:
Chilly Climate case studies and reports
Glass Ceiling
    Dept. of Labor Information
    Merit Systems Protection Board Report
Higher Education Status
Reproductive Rights
    abortion survey
    Clinton speech
    governor of Guam v. society of obstetricians
    Ireland referendum
    National Organization for Women v. Scheidler
    Ohio v. Akron
    Planned Parenthood v. Casey
    Rust v. Sullivan
Sex Discrimination
    Guaranteeing Equal Rights for Women
    Statement on the Equal Rights Amendment
    Supreme Court Developments
    Anti-Discrimination projects in Switzerland
    Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
    J.E.B. petitioner v. Alabama
    Pregnancy Discrimination
    Private Sector Information
    Statement of Senator Kennedy
Sexual Harassment
    Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Information
    Merit Systems protection Board Report
    University of Maryland Manual
    sexual harassment bibliography
    sexual harassment resources
    tailhook 91 (part 1, review of the Navy investigations)
Violence and Women
    A Week in the Life of America (Senate Judiciary Committee Report)
    Department of Justice Information
    The Response to Rape (Senate Judiciary Committee Report)
    Violence Against Women Teaching Guide
    Biden statement
    Boxer's testimony
    Caucus report
    Facts
    Korean Council Information
    Koss Letter
    Morella's testimony
    Nomas  addresses
    Statistics
    Violence Against Women Act
Women in the Workforce
    Diversity in the Workforce
        'The Changing Face of the Federal Workforce: A Symposium on
          Diversity'
    Work and Family Needs
    Earnings differences between women and men
    Facts on Working Women
    Family and Medical Leave Act Information
    Federal Reserve Employment Practices
    Milestones: 70 years of women's labor history
    Publications of the Women's Bureau
    The Women's Bureau (in the Dept. of Labor): what it is, what it
        does
    Working Woman's Guide to her Job Rights
Women's Health (full-text Congressional Research Service reports)
    AIDS references
    Alcohol and Women
    Breast Cancer
    Breast Implants
    Endometriosis Resources
    Ovarian Cancer
    Public Health Service Agenda
    References
    Women and HIV


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS:
Congressional Caucus Updates
Council of Presidents (group of 80 national women's organizations that
coordinate public policy action on shared legislative priorities)
    council members
    Getting Women Elected
    Legislative Agenda
    Women ask...
    Women's Agenda
>From the White House
    Nominations and Appointments
    Position Papers
        breast-cancer-coverage
        civil-rights
        gays + lesbians
        health-care
        women's-issues
    Press Conferences and Press Releases
    Proclamations
        equality-day
        national mammography-day
        women+girls -in-sports-day
    Speeches and Remarks
Getting It Gazette
    The Getting It Gazette exists to make sure that women do not
    become merely a media sidebar in campaign and election coverage.
    With ten million more women of voting age than men, it is no longer
    necessary to watch our interests shrink to a dot in the Big
    Picture.  Women's Issues, after all, are bipartisan, and so is the
    Getting it Gazette.
Military
    Factsheet about women in the military
    Selected data about women in the military
    Tailhook 91 (part 1, review of the Navy investigations)
Political Progress
    Factsheet on Women's Political Progress
Women in Congress
    Biographies
    firsts
    house
    senate



2.  Gopher to inform.umd.edu.  Choose Educational Resources, then
Government.  Under United States the menu is:
Current National Issues
    included: Census 90
Executive (White House and Agencies)
Federal Information News Syndicate (FINS)
Historical Documents
Legislative (Congress)
Supreme Court Documents
    good for searching by keyword
United States Commerce Business Daily
United States Federal Register
United States Government Gopher
    included: Federal Government Information (via Library of
    Congress)
    CYFERNet UDSA Children Youth Family Education Research Network
    U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Children Youth Family Educational
    Research Network


Joan Campbell of Wellesley College compiled the following gopher sites
for women's studies information:

3.  Gopher to niord.shsu.edu.  Choose Government, Political Science and
Law, then 4. Abortion and Reproductive Rights

4.  Gopher to marvel.loc.gov.  Choose U.S. Congress, then Congressional
Gophers, and 4. Legislate Gopher, then 3. Legislation, then 1. 103rd
Congress--Legislation, then 2. Hot Bills (abortion, fetal tissue, etc.)

5.  Gopher to gopher.undp.org.  Choose 2. United Nations Resolutions,
then 2. General Assembly Resolutions, then 12. 47th session.  Type a
slash /, type women to find 93. Improvement on the status of women.

Listservs that focus on women's studies information are a good source
to send 'stumper' questions:



FEMINIST is owned by the Feminist Task Force of ALA and includes many
librarians who have a strong interest in women's studies.
to subscribe: send mail to listserv@mitvma.mit.edu
to send mail: send to feminist@mitvma.mit.edu

FEMISA focuses on gender, women and international relations, world
politics, international political economy, and global politics.  To
subscribe: send mail to listserv@csf.colorado.edu

FEMJUR is for women's legal issues.  Send mail to listserv@suvm.syr.edu
or to suvm.bitnet

WMN-HLTH, which is an electronic newsline started by the Center for
Women's Health Research.  Send mail to listserv@uwavm.u.washington.edu
or to listserv@uwavm

WMST-L serves academic and professional needs of people involved in
women's studies teaching, research, librarianship, and programming.
Send mail to listserv@umdd.umd.edu


The best database for women's studies is CARL UnCover, which is
accessible through the Internet.  Telnet to uncover.carl.org.  Also, a
list I compiled of search tips and the women's studies related journals
included in CARL UnCover is available by gophering to inform.umd.edu.
Choose Educational Resources, then Women's Studies, then Reference Room,
then Using CARL UnCover.