For the past century the issue of sex-specific protective labor legislation has divided proponents of women's emancipation and generated debates that have shaped the meaning of feminism, equality, rights, and public welfare. Historically the legislation has derived from the theory that women's unique capacity to be mothers renders them unequal to men in the work force and therefore specially entitled to legal protection. This track looks to address "the dilemma of equality and difference that has haunted the feminist movement (and labor history) since its advent." (Excerpt from; Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History).