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Throughout history, American women have had less access to education than their male counterparts. Because of discrimination based on traditional ideas of inferiority and subjection, female adult literacy rates did not even approximate male rates until well into the 19th century. The first important steps to improve the status of women were taken in the 19th century, although ethnicity and wealth had an important impact on access to education and quality of literacy. The suffrage movement was particularly instrumental in focusing attention on the need for greater literacy education for women. It was not until the 20th century that the need to educate women for careers and professions was recognized. More recently, feminist literature has reflected the need for education of women that empowers or enables them to take charge of their own lives. Kathleen Rockhill views literacy as a way to gain power from men. Phyllis Safman cites social acculturation and sex role stereotyping, personal problems promoting a failure to complete high school, and institutional barriers to women in adult basic education programs as three main factors contributing to illiteracy among women today. (A 17-item bibliography is included.) (MN)