Editing Librarian (section)

=== United States ===
Historically, librarianship has offered differing career opportunities for men and women in the United States, where 83 percent of all librarians were women in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=Library Workers: Facts & Figures Fact Sheet 2016|url=http://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/library-workers-facts-figures/#_ednref25|website=Department for Professional Employees|access-date=25 October 2016|archive-date=25 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025155919/http://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/library-workers-facts-figures/#_ednref25|url-status=live}}</ref> That number had fallen to 79 percent in 2018, before going back up to 81 percent in 2019.<ref name=":0" />

Despite women making up most of the workforce, in 2014, women working as full-time librarians reported a median annual salary of $48,589, compared to $52,528 for men.<ref>{{cite web|title=Library Workers: Facts & Figures Fact Sheet 2016|url=http://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/library-workers-facts-figures/|website=Department for Professional Employees|access-date=2016-10-25|archive-date=2016-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025155919/http://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/library-workers-facts-figures/|url-status=live}}</ref>  In 2019 the wage gap was still 92 percent of the median annual earnings reported by men. African American women earned just 69.9 cents and Hispanic and Latina women earned 63.8 cents on every dollar earned by a man of any race. Asian women were the only female racial group to earn more than men of all races, but they still only earned 76.7 cents to the dollar reported by Asian men.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Research Department |first1=DPE |title=Library Professionals: Facts, Figures, and Union Membership |url=https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/library-professionals-facts-and-figures#_edn30 |website=Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027071106/https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/library-professionals-facts-and-figures#_edn30 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Librarianship grew into a female-dominated sphere in the late 19th century due to the lower value of women's wages in comparison to men's. Since women had greater difficulty finding work than men, they were more likely to work for lower wages, thus making them more appealing to employers.<ref>Nelson, Bonnie R. “The Chimera of Professionalism.” Library Journal, vol. 105, no. 17, Oct. 1980, p. 2029.</ref> Women, however, have made continuous progress toward equality,<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCook |first1=Kathleen de la Peña |title=The Role of Women in Librarianship, 1876-1976: The Entry, Advancement, and Struggle for Equalization in One Profession |date=1979 |publisher=Oryx Press |isbn=978-0-912700-01-4 }}{{page needed|date=April 2021}}</ref> a reform called for following advancements of the American Library Association to amplify female representation in the library field, as well as reflected by the rise of [[second-wave feminism]].

Historically, top positions in the library field have largely been held by men. In 1911, [[Theresa Elmendorf]] became the first woman elected president of the [[American Library Association]] (which had been founded in 1876), serving in that office for just over a year.<ref>Thomison, p. 280 ''The death of her husband had forced Theresa Elmendorf to end her unpaid status, and for the next 20 years she held the position of vice-librarian at the Buffalo Public Library. Her new role also meant an increased participation in the American Library Association; in 1911–12 she served as its President, the first woman to hold that position.''</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://heritage.wisconsinlibraries.org/entry/theresa-west-elmendorf-1855-1932/ |title=Theresa West Elmendorf (1855-1932) |last=Nix |first=Larry T |date=December 12, 2008 |website=Wisconsin Library Association |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116180308/https://heritage.wisconsinlibraries.org/entry/theresa-west-elmendorf-1855-1932/ |archive-date=January 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.library.illinois.edu/ala/2013/05/06/madam-president-2/#more-443 |title=Madam PResident |last=Bertram |first=Cara |date=May 6, 2013 |website=Illinois Library |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420022648/https://www.library.illinois.edu/ala/2013/05/06/madam-president-2/ |archive-date=April 20, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25685078 |title=President's Address: The Public Library: A Leaven'd and Prepared Choice |last=Elmendorf |first=H. L. |date=July 1912 |pages=67–72 |journal=Bulletin of the American Library Association |volume=6 |issue=4 |jstor=25685078 |access-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608011519/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25685078 |url-status=live }}</ref>  The highly esteemed position of [[Librarian of Congress]] was held entirely by men from its creation in 1802 (two years after the establishment of the [[Library of Congress]]) until 2016, when Dr. [[Carla Hayden]] was nominated for the position by President [[Barack Obama]]. She was confirmed by Congress in July, and assumed office as the 14th Librarian of Congress in September 2016.<ref name="News from Library of Congress">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2016/16-110.html|title=Senate Confirms Carla Hayden as 14th Librarian of Congress|website=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=2016-08-25|archive-date=2016-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826013026/http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2016/16-110.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Owing to the large number of men in greater positions of power within the library field,<ref name="feminism">{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25548798 |last=Hildenbrand |first=Suzanne |date=2000 |title=Library Feminism and Library Women's History: Activism and Scholarship, Equity and Culture |journal=Library History Research in America |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=51–65 |jstor=25548798 |access-date=May 4, 2022 |archive-date=May 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505005242/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25548798 |url-status=live }}</ref> women have also been largely left out of standard histories of U.S. librarianship, but Suzanne Hildenbrand's scholarly assessment of the work done by women has expanded the historical record.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hildenbrand |first=Suzanne |date=1996 |title=Reclaiming the American library past: writing the women in |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group }}</ref> Writers, academics, and journal publications have aimed to develop the scholarship around women in librarianship by shedding light on important female librarians of history, acknowledging and analyzing the viewpoints of specific groups of female and minority librarians, and bringing the pay gaps of the library profession into discussion.<ref name="feminism" />

[[File:Bibliotekarie - Malmö 1988.jpg|thumb|right|A librarian with sorted books to be sold. [[Malmö City Library]] 1988, [[Sweden]]]]

====American Library Association====
The American Library Association's Social Responsibilities Round Table Feminist Task Force (FTF) was founded in 1970 by women who wished to address sexism in libraries and librarianship.<ref name="libr.org">{{cite web|url=http://libr.org/ftf/|title=ALA Feminist Task Force|work=libr.org|access-date=2014-02-27|archive-date=2017-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320141910/http://www.libr.org/ftf/|url-status=dead}}</ref> FTF was the first ALA group to focus on women's issues.<ref name="libr.org" />
 
The Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) of the American Library Association,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/offices/hrdr/abouthrdr/hrdrliaisoncomm/statusofwomen/committeestatus|title=American Library Association, Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship|date=26 July 2006|publisher=ala.org|access-date=21 June 2012|archive-date=17 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617201240/http://www.ala.org/offices/hrdr/abouthrdr/hrdrliaisoncomm/statusofwomen/committeestatus|url-status=live}}</ref> founded in 1976, represents the diversity of women's interest within ALA and ensures that the Association considers the rights of the majority (women) in the library field, and promotes and initiates the collection, analysis, dissemination, and coordination of information on the status of women in librarianship. The bibliographic history of women in U.S. librarianship and women librarians developing services for women has been well-documented in the series of publications initially issued by the Social Responsibilities Round Table Task Force on Women and later continued by COSWL.<ref>Kathleen de la Peña McCook and Katharine Phenix, ''On Account of Sex: An Annotated Bibliography on the History of Women in Librarianship, 1977–1981'' (Chicago: ALA, 1984) Katharine Phenix and Kathleen de la Peña McCook (1982–1986) (Chicago: ALA, 1989); later years by Lori A Goetsch; Sarah Watstein (1987–1992) (Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1993) Betsy Kruger; Catherine A Larson; Allison A Cowgill (1993–1997) Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 2000).</ref>

The Reference and Adult Services Division of the ALA has a discussion group titled "Women's Materials and Women Library Users," formed in the mid-1980s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lb5m-OO20EsC&q=RASD+Discussion+Group+on+Women's+Materials&pg=PA325|title=Keeping the Faith: The Public Library's Commitment to Adult Education, 1950 ...|isbn=9780549783107}}</ref>

The Library Leadership and Management Association Division of the ALA has a discussion group titled "LLAMA Women Administrators Discussion Group," which exists to provide a forum for discussion of problems of particular concern to women in administrative positions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/llama/llama-women-administrators-discussion-group|title=LLAMA Women Administrators Discussion Group|work=ala.org|date=23 March 2012|access-date=27 February 2014|archive-date=7 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307023637/http://www.ala.org/llama/llama-women-administrators-discussion-group|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Librarian WikiDay in Ukraine 2014 IMG 3464 Чернігів 01.JPG|thumb|right|Librarians in [[Chernihiv]], [[Ukraine]], 2014, Library of M. M. Kotsyubynskoho]]
The ALA also has the Women & Gender Studies Section (WGSS) of its Division "Association of College & Research Libraries"; this section was formed to discuss, promote, and support women's studies collections and services in academic and research libraries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libr.org/wgss/|title=ACRL Women & Gender Studies Section|work=libr.org|access-date=2014-02-27|archive-date=2016-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228054026/http://www.libr.org/wgss/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The ALA Policy Manual states under ''B.2.1.15 Access to Library Resources and Services Regardless of Sex, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, or Sexual Orientation (Old Number 53.1.15):'' "The American Library Association stringently and unequivocally maintains that libraries and librarians have an obligation to resist efforts that systematically exclude materials dealing with any subject matter, including sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. The Association also encourages librarians to proactively support the First Amendment rights of all library users, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Adopted 1993, amended 2000, 2004, 2008, 2010."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/53intellfreedom#B.2.1.15|title=B.2 Intellectual Freedom (Old Number 53)|work=ala.org|date=4 August 2010|access-date=2 March 2014|archive-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303041429/http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/53intellfreedom#B.2.1.15|url-status=live}}</ref> 

It also states, under ''B.2.12 Threats to Library Materials Related to Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation''(Old Number 53.12), "The American Library Association supports the inclusion in library collections of materials that reflect the diversity of our society, including those related to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression. ALA encourages all American Library Association chapters to take active stands against all legislative or other government attempts to proscribe materials related to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression; and encourages all libraries to acquire and make available materials representative of all the people in our society. Adopted 2005, Amended 2009, 2010."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/53intellfreedom#B.2.12|title=B.2 Intellectual Freedom (Old Number 53)|work=ala.org|date=4 August 2010|access-date=2 March 2014|archive-date=3 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303041429/http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/53intellfreedom#B.2.12|url-status=live}}</ref>