In the 50 years since author Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique helped spark the feminist movement, American women have made phenomenal gains. Women now comprise more than half of the U.S. workforce, earn half of college degrees and hold half of management and professional jobs. Yet relatively few have gained top executive and political leadership positions, and women still earn less than men for comparable work. Moreover, flexible work arrangements, paid family leave and other accommodations designed to relieve domestic pressures shouldered largely by women remain elusive. Some argue that women have limited their own progress in the quest for full equality -- the controversial argument of a recent book by Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg. But others say persistent cultural and economic barriers are the main reasons the feminist movement remains a work in progress a half-century after it began.

Michelle Johnson is a writer and digital media editor based in Winston-Salem, N.C., with more than 20 years' experience covering higher education, local government and cultural issues for print, online and broadcast media. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., and a master's degree in English language and literature from the University of Minnesota. She also earned a graduate certificate in communication and technology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.