A History of the Coordinating Committee of Women in the Historical Profession—Conference Group on Women's History

1991 Notices and Abstracts of Books 145 A History of the Coordinating Committee of Women in the Historical Profession—Conference Group on Women's History Hilda Smith, Nupur Chaudhuri, and Gerda Lerner. (n.p.: CCWHPCGWH , 1989). In 1969, when Berenice CarroU initiated the founding of the women's caucus in the historical profession known as CCWHP, only 10.4 percent of history Ph.D.s were women; there were no women officers in either the American Historical Assodation or the Organization of American Historians ; and, in fact, women's history was not even a recognized field of scholarship. Tremendous strides have been made in the intervening twenty years: three women have served as presidents of the AHA and OAH in the eighties; over sixty institutions now offer M.A.S and Ph.D.s in women's history; and the nation annually celebrates Women's History Month. Much of the credit for this advance goes to the CCWHP-CGWH. The three essays by Hilda Smith, Nupur Chaudhuri, and Gerda Lerner document not only the role of the CCWHP but also its influence on the development of the AHA and OAH committees on the status of women and their importance in restructuring the profession. The 1970 AHA committee's Rose Report, for example, provided the statistics on which much of the agenda for the next twenty years was based. The CCWHP was founded to advance the status of women in the historical profession and to encourage research and instruction in women's history. Its first "cochairmen" were CarroU and Lerner. A tendency for the chairs to divide these two responsibilities led to the formation of the Conference Group in Women's History (CGWH), an autonomous affiliate of the AHA, by 1975. Its president remains a co-president of the CCWHP, however, and membership is largely joint. Although individuals compose the vast majority of members, the CCWHP-CGWH ads as an umbreUa organization for approximately 15 regional associations for women's history as weU. Just as the organization began to make inroads in the profession, professional opportunity began to contract, forcing it to devote considerable attention to the hiring crisis of the mid-seventies. Lobbying efforts in 1978 to prevent the holding of conventions in states which had not ratified the ERA marked a shift in emphasis to larger social issues. In the eighties the CCWHP focused on such activities as debating the ethics of expert witnesses after the Sears case and entering an amicus brief supporting pro-choice in the Webster v. Reproductive Health Services case. 146 Journal of Women's History Winter Women historians and historians of women have benefited enormously from the gains the CCWHP-CGWH has made over the past two decades. Its constant pressure has substantiaUy increased the number of women and women's history topics at conventions. By 1989, 42.5 percent of AHA elected offices went to women who represented but 25 percent of the membership. In fact, the profession has become more democratic for everyone. AU jobs are now open-listed, and the ways in which grants are made and manuscripts are accepted have been demystified. The pressure on nominees for professional office to answer a questionnaire published in the organizations' newsletters has made them more receptive to women's issues. The supportive feminist environment which has been created for women by the caucus has been extended to include women of color and their history. Perhaps most important, the CCWHP-CGWH remains a professional watchdog, protecting the interests of women historians and women's history. Today its membership numbers over 800. The percentage of students dropped somewhat from 27 percent in 1981 to 21 percent in 1989. Untenured faculty also declined from 43 percent to 15 percent, whereas tenured faculty increased from 27 percent to 39 percent. Chaudhuri points out that the figures from the 1989 survey are nonrandom and represent but a 20 percent return; nevertheless, she concludes that "the membership is largely Uke it was ten years ago" (28). Although the drop from 43 percent to 15 percent among untenured faculty is partiaUy offset by those moving to tenured positions, this may refled, rather, the graying of the caucus. The index contains...