Given the growing importance of Eastern European countries in the development of the EU, there is an urgent need to reconstruct the recent dynamic developments in women's work and care in these societies, and the socio-political determinants thereof. Considering their specific cultural, economic and historical development, it can be assumed that the trends and determinants of women's labour market trajectories in CEE countries differ significantly from those in the other European countries that have frequently made up the basis for established theories in social and labour market research. This being the case, can 'standard' theoretical approaches, mostly modelled on evidence from Western Europe, be transferred to the analysis of Eastern European countries? This edited collection scrutinises pivotal aspects of women's careers in Eastern Europe, providing a detailed overview of trends and determinants of women's employment in Eastern Europe, and reflecting critically on theoretical approaches in social and labour market research.

INTRODUCTION TO ANALYSIS OF POSTSOCIALIST LABOUR MARKETS1. Investigating Women's De-Labouring in Post-Socialist European Labour Markets: Research Agenda and Theoretical Challenges; Triin Roosalu; Dirk Hofäcker PART I: FAMILY POLICIES, NORMS AND DISCOURSES2. Family policies in post-socialist welfare states: Where are they located in the European worlds of welfare?; Sonja Blum 3. Experts' argumenting for paternity leave: social democratic and post-socialist frames compared; Triin Roosalu; Marion Pajumets; Leeni Hansson 4. Low second birth rates in Eastern and Southern Europe: interactions between economic uncertainty and norms about parenthood; Jan Van Bavel and Joanna Ró?a?ska-PutekPART II: PARTICIPATION IN THE LABOUR MARKET5. Female Employment in Europe; Ursula Bazant6. Paths and barriers to the labour market: a comparative view of working and homemaking young adult women in Hungary and Romania; Réka Geamba?u7. Parental employment patterns in the Czech Republic: economic rationality or cultural norm?; Lenka Formánková, Blanka Plasová and Ji?í Vyhlídal 8. Gender segregation in post socialist Slovenia: women's experiences in the retail sector; Tatiana Bajuk Sen?ar PART III: COMBINING PARENTHOOD AND PAID WORK9. Maternal Employment in Post-socialist Countries: Understanding the Implications of Childcare Policies; Jana Javornik10. Habits or Frames? - Explaining Patterns in the Division of Paid and Unpaid Work in Germany, Bulgaria, France and Hungary; Jan Rasmus Riebling; Rumiana Stoilova; Dirk Hofäcker11. Childbearing behaviours of employed women in Italy and Poland; Anna Matysiak and Daniele Vignoli12. Maternity Leave - once a Bargain, always a Bargain? Impact of Care Breaks on Mothers' Occupational Mobility: The Case of Estonia; Triin Roosalu; Kadri Täht PART IV: OCCUPATIONAL AND SOCIAL MOBILITY13. Gender Earnings Inequality in Central and Eastern European Countries: The Case of Dual-Earner Couples; Martina Mysíková14. Gender gaps in participation in adult learning: Estonia compared to other European countries; Eve-Liis Roosmaa; Kadri Aavik 15. Differentiated educational pathways and gender inequalities in the Estonian labour market: what is the impact of the systemic change?; Ellu Saar; Jelena Helemäe 16. Polish women for gender equality: leaders of women's movements on problems of female employees; S?awomira Kami?ska-Berezowska