The book takes into account the theoretical perspectives that have developed since the first publication in 1975, primarily theories of a feminist, Marxist, or Marxist-feminist orientation. Where appropriate, differences between these theories and those of the authors are noted. To determine what changes have occurred in women's offenses and in the criminal justice system's processing of women, trends in the criminal justice system over a 35-year period are portrayed, along with changes in the types of criminal activities in which women have been involved. To determine what changes have occurred, the authors examine indexes of women's status in American society -- their educational attainment, marital status, labor force participation, and income compared with men. The book notes that in the two decades from 1953 to 1973, women's criminal activities increased, with the increase in serious (Type I) offenses being due mostly to women's greater involvement in property offenses, especially larceny. For Type II offenses, the greatest increases occurred in embezzlement and fraud as well as forgery and counterfeiting. Increases were especially sharp between 1967 and 1972. The reporting of arrest statistics up through 2001 was used to examine whether the predicted increases in white-collar property offenses occurred and whether women's commission of violent offenses had remained stable or declined. Other themes pursued concern female inmates as mothers of young children and women on death row. The latter includes the numbers, racial characteristics, and the crimes for which the death penalty was given. 53 tables and 175 references