Sadker, Myra and David (1943–1995 and 1942–)

Myra and David Sadker are researchers and educators who are well known for their focused attention on the pervasive lack of gender equality in schools in the United States. Though Myra died of breast cancer in 1995, her work on gender bias has had a tremendous influence on issues of social justice and equity for girls. David, her husband and coauthor on numerous articles and books, continues to research and write on issues surrounding gender equity.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, sexism remained unnamed, despite the passage of Title IX of the Higher Education Act in 1972, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program receiving federal funds. However, with the timely publication of Sexism in School and Society in 1973, Myra and coauthor Nancy Frasier drew attention to the detrimental nature of sexism in their textbook written for teachers. This first book to address gender bias in America's schools prompted decades of research surrounding issues of gender inequities, sexism, and discrimination in several educational arenas.

The Sadkers examined sexism in children's literature with the publication of Now upon a Time: A Contemporary View of Children's Literature in 1977. They also authored introductory teacher education textbooks that highlighted gender bias in the schools, believing that future teachers needed awareness of the subtleties of sexism in an effort to remedy the deeply rooted prejudices that worked against girls in classrooms and schools.

The Sadkers' best known work, Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls, was published in 1994. The book highlights years of research to illustrate the unequal education that girls receive in comparison to boys. Offering countless examples of subtle and obvious gender bias in the [Page 1251]classroom, the authors explore gender and the relation to self-esteem, testing, higher education, and student-teacher interactions. The Sadkers noted that the difference in teachers' treatment of boys and girls was related to the subconscious and conscious gender bias of teachers who often gave more attention, praise, and feedback to boys. Perhaps most disturbing, the Sadkers found that many teachers tended not only to perpetuate gender stereotypes, but also to indoctrinate students into adopting them as well. This book marked a milestone in gender research and sparked a flurry of responses, including the publication of How Schools Shortchange Girls, a report commissioned by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

Myra and David gained a national reputation for their work and received numerous awards for their contributions to the field of gender research and their advocacy for equal educational opportunities. Myra was also a professor and dean of the School of Education at American University until 1995. David has coauthored other teacher education textbooks and authored other publications, continuing to document sexism and the detrimental effects it has on both males and females. He is a professor at American University's School of Education.