Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses a set of factors and variables that influence the probability that a woman is employed, unemployed, available and unavailable. It analyses whether there are common patterns of participation throughout the life cycle (age effect), the changes in these patterns across generations (cohort effect) and the role of the economic cycle in this evolution (period effect). The book deals with segregation and wage inequality. It investigates what other factors explain the feminization of poverty on Mexico’s northern border. The book is devoted to the effects of state entrepreneurship support programs on improving the economic and social position of women in Eastern European countries.