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Librarianship manifests a dual career structure for men and women in the United States. While the ratio of female to male librarians remains roughly 4:1,  top positions are more often held by men; for example, the position of Librarian of Congress has been held by men since the establishment of the Library of Congress. Women, however, have made continuous progress toward equality. 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.

Gender and Library Leadership
In 1911 Theresa Elmendorf became the first woman elected president of the American Library Association (founded in 1876); she was also the first woman ever to be nominated for this position. She was ALA president from May 24, 1911, until July 2, 1912.

The current ALA President (2014 - 2015) Courtney Young, is a woman, and women have held the ALA Presidency since 2009 - 2010. Despite this streak of female leadership, the first 35 years of the American Library Association Presidency positions were held by men.

Leadership is seen as a gender issue within librarianship, as the profession is majority female, yet often leadership positions are held by men. In large academic libraries, there is less of a discrepancy, however, overall throughout the profession men tend to hold higher-up, or leadership positions.

Professional Association Groups Dedicated to Librarianship and Gender
There are multiple groups within the American Library Association, dedicated to discussing, critiquing, and furthering gender-related and feminist issues within the profession.

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. FTF was the first ALA group to focus on women's issues. For the past three years, during Women’s History Month in March, the FTF has dedicated their efforts to expanding women’s library history online, using the website http://womenoflibraryhistory.tumblr.com/. The FTF also publishes the https://ameliabloomer.wordpress.com/ list each year, which is a list of some of the best feminist young adult literature of that year. The Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) of the American Library Association, 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.

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.

Finally, the ALA has the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Roundtable (GLBTRT). While the GLBTRT deals with sexuality, different than gender identity, much of the roundtable’s work is arguably feminist in nature, and concerned with issues of gender. The GLBTRT is committed to serving the information needs of the GLBT professional library community, and the GLBT information and access needs of individuals at large.

Library and Information Science Scholarship Relating to Issues of Gender
Many scholars within the profession have taken up gender and its relationship to the discipline of library and information science. Scholars like Hope A. Olson and Sanford Berman have directed efforts at the problematic nature of cataloging and classification standards and schemes that are obscuring or exclusionary to marginalized groups. Others have written about the implications of gendered stereotypes in librarianship, particularly as they relate to library instruction. Library instruction also intersects with feminist pedagogy, and scholars such as Maria Accardi have written about feminist pedagogical practices in libraries. Library scholars have also dealt with issues of gender and leadership, having equitable gender representation in library collection development, and issues of gender and young adult and children’s librarianship.

Library Policies Relating to Issues of Gender
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." 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."