ABSTRACT
In reviewing the experience of Western countries it becomes increasingly evident that there is a gap, or rather a change of character, between the short-term and long-term problems which have to be faced. The issues which arise in the short run are largely those of discrimination and of overcoming outdated beliefs. In Western countries, as in Eastern Europe, informal beliefs and practices inherited from the past often still stand in the way of women who wish to combine a career with family life. In addition, as a result of the piecemeal and ad hoc development of the movement of women into work and the absence of clear lines of policy, open and formal discriminations against women continue in the West in a way which would not be tolerated in Eastern Europe. It is still common in Britain to find women refused equal pay, the chance to compete for traditionally male jobs, or the right to access to executive clubs or dining rooms.1 Here and now, discriminations like these constitute an important problem, and are rightly a first target for reformers.
