EditorialAuthor(s): Linda McDowellSource: Area, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Mar., 1987), p. 1Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20002394 .

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Editorial The cover of this issue of Area is from the Women in The World atlas recently published by Pluto Press. The Atlas marks one of the first attempts to systematically map the extent of inequalities between women and men in the world, and between women living in different parts of the globe. There are, of course, enormous inequalities between the rich and poor nations of the world that affect the everyday lives of their women citizens but, as the authors of the Atlas point out, there are few' developed 'nations in the world of women. Everywhere women are worse off than men: they have lower incomes, less power, do more work and shoulder greater responsibilities. As a UN report in 1980 pointed out, women constitute half the world's population, perform nearly two thirds of its work hours, receive one-tenth of the world's income and own less than one-hundredth of the world's property.

Documenting and explaining these differences between women's and men's lives is an expanding part of geographical analysis. But an interest in inequalities, in uneven ness, in spatial differentiation is the distinguishing characteristic of our discipline, whether these inequalities are in power, between races, between classes and genders, or inequalities and divisions in the physical world. Geography is a discipline that is rooted in the real world, in searching for explanations of the specific, the particular and the unique. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why geography has retained its relevance and its popularity, and also its confidence in the current climate of uncertainty, at least among many of the social sciences, and in a period of educational cuts and general economic recession. It seems to me during my work at the Open University, during discussions with colleagues at meetings and conferences in Britain and elsewhere that many geographers have a sense of purpose and indeed excitement about their work that has echoes of the heady sixties, despite the quite different external conditions. I am delighted to be taking over Area at this time and hope to be able to reflect some of this confidence in the pages of the forthcoming issues. I hope that Area will be responsive to changes in the different parts of geography and I want to encourage all geographers, teachers and students and practitioners in other areas to participate in the debates reflected in these pages. I would welcome ideas and suggestions for improving or altering the journal, for extending its range of coverage in particular ways or for adding new material.

Robin Flowerdew, my predecessor as Editor, and Pat Martin, his assistant, have set me high standards to follow. I hope Jennifer Maskell, the new editorial assistant, and I will be as successful a partnership as Robin and Pat have been. They have worked exceedingly hard for the last three years, producing thirteen issues in all. Changes in the printer's schedule meant that this issue, theoretically my first as new Editor, was, in fact, produced in Lancaster. This selection of articles was Robin's last as Editor. The next twelve issues will be my responsibility.

Linda McDowell Open University

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