This collection examines the gender and environmental factors that precede criminal behavior and the effects of gender on how the criminal justice system perceives and treats adult women offenders. Divided into four sections, section I is an overview of feminist theory in criminology, from its early influence to its recent contributions. Section II addresses gender issues important to understanding women and the crimes they commit and emphasizes the need to study how gender organizes criminal activity. The articles in section III discuss the laws and policies affecting women offenders, including the effects of stereotypes on sentencing and the rising rates of incarceration due to drug laws. The final section analyzes the treatment of women in prison and programs for female offenders from a feminist perspective.