This publication takes a look at the current state of equal opportunities between men and women in the labour market in the 10 post-Soviet states which are candidates for membership in the EU and the Russian Federation. The articles are from high-ranking experts from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, the International Labour Office and the United States of America and give a systematic look at each country. They also include specialists’ insights into several aspects of women’s employment and as far as possible provide a view of the social and professional situation of highly qualified women in Eastern Europe. This publication will be of interest to experts from different interest groups and research areas.

The Editors: Michel E. Domsch is Professor of Business Administration and Director of the Institute for Human Resource and International Management at the University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Germany. At the European level he served as Co-ordinator of the EU-Network “Family & Work” and is currently Co-ordinator of European WorkLife Alliance “BALANCE”. Désirée H. Ladwig is Professor for Business Administration, esp. Human Resource Management and International Management at the OTA University of Applied Sciences, Berlin. She is head of the F.G.H. (Forschungsgruppe Hamburg), a management consultancy specialised in Human Resource Management. Between 1997–2000 she was the co-ordinator of the European Network “Family & Work” (Funded by EC/DGV), still active as “BALANCE network”. Eliane Tenten is research assistant at the Institute for Human Resource and International Management at the University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg. At the European level she served as co-ordination assistant of the EU-Network “Family & Work” (1997–2000) funded by the European Commission. She is currently project manager of the “BALANCE network”.