The extensive socio-economic transformation undertaken by the transition countries of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) over the last decade has substantially affected the structure of these countries’ economies and the living standards of their populations. A relatively under-explored issue is the extent to which this process has differentially affected men and women in different countries. Given the importance of this issue to human and economic development in the region, the ECA Region of the World Bank has produced this report, Gender in Transition. The objective of the report is to help put gender on the map of policy making in the region by raising awareness of the gender implications of the dramatic social and economic changes experienced by these countries during the 1990s.


The report draws on existing and new empirical evidence from administrative and survey data to evaluate the gender consequences of developments in key areas that affect people’s livelihoods and welfare—labor markets, non-labor income and poverty, education, life expectancy and health, and non-income dimensions of vulnerability. It shows that the transition process has not been gender neutral. However, the ways in which reforms have affected men, women and gender relation have varied considerably across countries. While women’s welfare appears to have declined relative to men’s in Central Asia, the burden of transformation has fallen disproportionately on men in the European FSU countries. The CEE countries present a more mixed picture, with no obvious patterns in gender inequality emerging over the last decade.