''Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Throughout the Ages'' is a biographical dictionary of women. Published in 2006 by Yorkin Publications (an imprint of

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Anne Commire Anne Commire (11 August 1939 – 23 February 2012) was an American playwright and editor who frequently wrote about women's issues and struggles. Her first play, ''Shay'', about a young pregnant high school dropout, was noted by ''The New York Tim ...

and Deborah Klezmer found that typically five percent or less of the text of such works was devoted to women. The dictionary was the winner of the 2007 Best Reference Book Award from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Content

The first two volumes of the dictionary contain entries on women across millennia and the third volume is devoted to indexes. The book also contains 85 genealogical charts. The dictionary does not contain author or source information; however, 10,000 entries refer the reader to the editors' 17-volume ''

Women in World History ''Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia'' is a 16-volume reference work of biographies of notable women. It includes biographies of around 10,000 women, and also includes genealogical charts of noble families and some joint entries a ...

'' which contains more detail. The ''Dictionary of Women Worldwide'' series served as an expansion of the prior multi-volume work, though the entries were made shorter in length by comparison. Each entry generally contains biographical information including

birth date A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many rel ...

and

death date A death anniversary (or deathday) is the anniversary of the death of a person. It is the opposite of birthday. It is a custom in several Asian cultures, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Myanma ...

, occupation, any pseudonyms used and, if married, whom their spouse and children were, and then a general description of their life and accomplishments. The time span covered includes as far back as 3100 BC up through the 20th century. The indices separate the entries into different formats, including time period, type of occupation, and geographical location. Page numbers of the entries, however, are not included within these indices themselves, so must be searched for alphabetically within the relevant volume.

Critical reception

In a review for ''Feminist Collections: A Quarterly of Women's Studies Resources'', Vicki Tobias wrote, "As a reference resource, the ''Dictionary of Women Worldwide'' succeeds where other similar works fall short." She particularly praised the length and detail of the entries, which often include name variations, marriages and "female lineage, an often insurmountable task, yet critical for establishing accurate biographical information about women... the ''Dictionary of Women'' ''Worldwide'' is an admirable 'first stop' resource and offers scholars at all levels a much-needed starting point for more indepth research."

References

{{reflist Biographical dictionaries of women 2006 non-fiction books

Content

Critical reception

See also

References