Five essays address such themes as the relationship between feminist history and women's history, the use of the concept of "experience", the development of the history of gender, demographic history and women's history and the importance of post-structuralism to women's history.

Part 1 Conceptual and methodological issues: challenging dichotomies - perspectives on women's history, Gisela Bock; demographic history and its perception of women from the 17th to the 19th century, Anne-Lise Head-Konig; uneven developments - women's history, feminist history, and gender history in Great Britain, Jane Rendall; finding our own ways - different paths to women's history in the United States, Phyllis Stock-Morton; experience, difference, dominance and voice in the writing of Canadian women's history, Ruth Roach Pierson; women's culture and women's power - issues in French women's history, Cecile Dauphin et al; global women's history - organizing principles and cross-cultural understandings, Ida Blom. Part 2 The state of the art in women's history: writing the history of Australian women, Patricia Grimshaw; the development of women's history in Japan, Noriyo Hayakawa; women's history in India - a historiographical survey, Aparn Basu; writing women into history - the Nigerian experience, Bolanle Awe; women's history in Norway - a short survey, Ingeborg Floystad; the state of women's history in Denmark, Nanna Damsholt; the state of women's history in Sweden - an overview, Yvonne Hirdman; women's history behind the dykes - reflections of the situation in the Netherlands, Francisca de Haan; women's history in Austria, Brigette Mazohl-Wallnig; issues in women's history in the Federal Republic of Germany, Ute Frevert and Christina Vanja; historical research on women in the German Democratic Republic, Petra Rantzsch and Erika Uitz; women's history in Switzerland, Regina Wecker; women's history in Brazil - production and perspectives, Maria Beatriz Nizza da Silva; two decades of women's history in Spain - a re-appraisal, Mary Nash; women's history in Yugoslavia, Andrea Feldman; women's history in Greece, Efi Avdela; the development of women's history in Ireland, Mary Cullen; women's history in Italy, Paola Di Cori; women, gender and family in the Soviet Union and Central/East Europe - a preliminary bibliography, Mary F.Zirin.