Book excerpt: This volume explores and begins to unravel the complexities of gender issues confronting men and women in two-year institutions. The authors address a wide range of questions that frame the current challenges facing community colleges, and provide thoughtful discussions of the gender-related experiences of female and male students, staff, faculty and administrators. The chapters blend evidence from personal narratives and survey results and offer recommendations that will help community colleges across the board, from serving students struggling with identity issues to institutionalizing fairness in hiring and promotion. Topics include Community Colleges as Gender-Equitable Institutions Factors Promoting Academic Success Among African American and White Male Community College Students Masculinities Go to Community College: Understanding Male Identity Socialization and Gender Role Conflict Broadening Female Participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Experiences at Community Colleges Noninstructional Staff Perceptions of the College Climate The Actors Behind the Curtain: Representation of Women Faculty in Community College Institutional Decision Making Gendered Leadership: An Organizational Perspective Work and Family Balance: How Community College Faculty Cope Meeting the Challenge of Gender Equity in Community College Athletics Strategizing for the Future Gender-related conundrums lurk in every aspect of our society and culture, and higher education is no exception. Readers of this volume will come away with a better sense of how to assist those who teach, learn, and lead in our nation's democratic colleges. This is the 142nd volume of the Jossey Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Community Colleges. Essential to the professional libraries of presidents, vice presidents, deans, and other leaders in today's open-door institutions, New Directions for Community Colleges provides expert guidance in meeting the challenges of their distinctive and expanding educational mission.