GENDER ASPECTS OF DISMANTLING THE COMMAND ECONOMY IN EASTERN-EUROPE - THE POLISH CASE

The restructuring of the command economy of Eastern Europe is having both gender- and location-specific effects. Women's relative share of employment has decreased while child care facilities have become less accessible, and a reappraisal of the role of a woman's career in the context of motherhood is now taking place in Polish society. Activity rates of women aged 25-34 have declined while rates for older women have increased. In 1990 unemployment appeared for the first time for five decades and has grown fastest in old industrial zones with traditionally high rates of female employment. It appears that women are paying a higher price than men for the restructuring of the Polish economy.