I would like to express my appreciation to the International Research and Exchanges Board, which made possible much of the research on which this article is based.

1. See Radvanová, Senta et al., Žena a právo (Prague, 1971)Google Scholar for a review of legal measures concerning women.

2. For a comparison of women's status in Eastern and Western Europe, see Sharon Wolchik, “Politics, Ideology, and Equality: The Status of Women in Eastern Europe” (Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1978).

3. Československé Ministerstvo zahraničnich věci, Informační odděleni, Statisticka přiručka republiky Československé, 1940 (London, 1940), table 72.

4. UNESCO, World Survey of Education, 5 vols. (Paris, 1955-71), 3: 392 Google ScholarPubMed; and UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1974 (Paris, 1974), p. 148.

5. Statisticheskii ezhegodnik stran-chlenov Soveta ekonomicheskoi vzaimopomoshchi, 1970 (Moscow, 1970), p. 408; and Statisticheskii ezhegodnik stran-chlenov Soveta ekonomicheskoi vzaimopomoshchi, 1975 (Moscow, 1975), p. 416.

6. The number of women students increased from 1, 618 to 20, 374 in Slovakia between 1945 and 1975. In the Czech Lands, women students increased from 8, 530 in 1945 to 28, 553 in 1975 (see Statistická ročenka republiky Československé [Prague, 1958], and Statistická ročenka ČSSR, 1958 and 1976). The near equalization of educational opportunities for women is also evident in the enrollment ratios for men and women at both levels. Whereas this ratio was 34 for women compared to 36 for the total population of secondary school age in 1960, by 1972, women's enrollment ratio (47) exceeded that of the population as a whole (39). Men's enrollment ratio continues to exceed women's in higher education, but the difference is decreasing (see UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1974, p. 148).

7. Figures have been taken from information in “Le developpement de l'instruction scolaire et son influence sur la situation des femmes en Tchecoslovaquie,” unpublished manuscript, table 2. In 1961, 15.5 percent of all men and 12.1 percent of all women 25 years of age and older had completed secondary education, while 4.1 percent of all men, compared to .9 percent of all women, had completed higher education. By 1970, slightly over one-half of all men, compared with approximately one-fourth of all women, had finished secondary schooling;

6. 3 percent of all men and 2.1 percent of all women 25 years of age and older had completed higher education (from information in UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1965 [Paris, 1965], pp. 418-19; and UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1974, p. 70).

8. Women comprised a higher proportion of the total labor force in 1974 only in the USSR (51 percent) and in East Germany (50 percent). Women's proportion of the labor force in the West ranged from approximately 38 percent in the United States and Austria to a low of 19 percent in Greece in 1970.

9. Magdolen, Ernest, Spôsob života zamestnaných zien v mimopracovnom čase (Bratislava, 1973), p. 25.Google Scholar

10. For examples of appeals made to women to join the labor force, see “Připrava mezinárodniho dne žen,” Radkyne žen, 1949, no. 2, p. 20; and Skrlantová, B., “Veliká sila,” Radkyne žen, 1949, no. 3, pp. 34–35.Google Scholar

11. Hora, Stefan, Za vyššiu účast zamestnaných žien v riadiacej činnosti (Bratislava, 1972)Google Scholar, notes that, although girls comprise nearly half of all students in specialized vocational education, they account for only one-third of students in industrial specializations.

12. Between 1929 and 1935, average daily wages of women decreased steadily but slightly from 62.3 percent to 59.3 percent (see Organisažni zpravodaj československého svazu žen, vol. 2 [1952], p. 85).

13. Fremr, Jiři, “Rozdily ve mzdiách mužů a žen,” Statistika, 11 (1965): 506.Google Scholar

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid., p. 504; and Magdolen, Spôsob života, p. 78.

16. Hora, Za vyššiu účast, pp. 8-9.

16. Hora, Za vyššiu ucast, pp. 8-9.

17. Figures have been taken from information in Fremr, “Rozdily,” pp. 507-8; and Hora, Za ‘vyššiu účast, p. 7.

18. Hora, Za vyššiu účast, pp. 8-9; Wynnczyk, Vladimir, “Venkovská žena součastnosti, 1967,” Zprdvy státni populačni komise, 1969, no. 5, p. 17.Google Scholar

19. Bauerová, Jaroslava, “Rodinna problematika vedoucích pracovnic,” Sociologický časopis, 5, no. 5 (1970): 450.Google Scholar

20. For information concerning the decreasing representation of women among heads of schools from the one-room rural level to urban high schools, see M. Mrkosová's report on research on the social positions of teachers (reported in Bartova, Eva, “Zena a rodina v zrcadle společenského výzkumu v CSSR,” Sociologický časopis, 9, no. 2 [1973]: 209).Google Scholar Stefan Hora's research indicates that 9 percent of women, compared with 25 percent of men, employed in four branches of the national economy held leading functions. Every eighth male in the sample, compared with every twenty-sixth female held one of the three top functions in an organization (see Hora, Za vyššiu účast, p. 15). For a review of studies dealing with women's leadership roles in medicine and other branches of the economy, see Alena Heitlinger, “Women's Labour Participation in Czechoslovakia Since World War II,” paper presented to the symposium on “The Working Sexes,” University of British Columbia, October 15-16, 1976, pp. 11-13.

21. Hora, Za vyššiu účast, p. 15.

22. Ibid., p. 19. Similar differences in attitudes toward desired and expected equality for women in a number of areas are reported in Bártová, Eva, “Postoje k problému ženy a rodiny,” Sociologický časopis, 8, no. 1 (1972): 44–61.Google Scholar

23. For references to studies which illustrate these tendencies, see Milbrath, Lester W., Political Participation (Chicago, 1969), pp. 54–58 Google Scholar; and Jennings, M. Kent and Thomas, Norman, “Men and Women in Party Elites: Social Roles and Political Resources,” Midwest Journal of Political Science, 12, no. 4 (November 1968): 470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

24. Magdolen, Spôsob života, pp. 65-66 and appendix, table 1.

25. Ibid., appendix, table 1.

26. Dragoslav, Slejska, “Problémy aktivity žen pri účasti na řizení v průmyslovém závodu,” Sociologický časopis, 1, no. 5 (1965): 511–21.Google Scholar

27. Burks, R. V., The Dynamics of Communism in Eastern Europe (Princeton, 1961), p. 68 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Jancar, Barbara, Czechoslovakia and the Absolute Monopoly of Power (New York, 1971), p. 36.Google Scholar

28. See Gruberg, Martin, Women in American Politics (Oshkosh, Wise, 1968), pp. 14, 210–18 Google Scholar; Duverger, Maurice, The Political Role of Women (Paris, 1955), pp. 76 and 86Google Scholar; Haavio-Mannila, Elena, “Sex Role Attitudes in Finland, 1966-1970,” Journal of Social Issues, 28, no. 2 (1972): 96 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Dahlstrom, Edmond, The Changing Roles of Men and Women (Boston, 1971), p. 300–301.Google Scholar For evidence of specialization of activity, see Duverger, Political Role of Women, pp. 95-98. Diamond, Irene, Sex Roles in the State House (New Haven, Conn., 1977)Google Scholar and Kirkpatrick, Jeane J., Political Woman (New York, 1974)Google Scholar discuss similar trends among women state legislators in the United States.

29. Národni výbory, 1971, no. 37, p. 5; Chovanec, Jaroslav, Zastupitelská soustava Česko-slovenské socialistické republiky (Prague, 1974), p. 130–31.Google Scholar

30. Figures have been taken from information in U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Directory of Czechoslovak Officials, 1965 (Washington, D.C., 1965), and Directory of Czechoslovak Officials, 1971 (Washington, D.C., 1971).

31. Women comprised 14.8 percent of the membership of the Central Committee of the Slovak Communist Party in 1962, 12.3 percent in 1966, and 12.8 percent in 1971 (taken from information in Zjazd Komunistickej strany Slovenska 13.-15. maja 1971 [Bratislava, 1971], pp. 201-4).

32. Chovanec, Zastupitelská soustava, pp. 126-37.

33. Jennings and Thomas, “Men and Women in Party Elites,” pp. 457-77; Means, Ingunn Norderval, “Political Recruitment of Women in Norway,” Western Political Quarterly, 25, no. 3 (September 1972): 506–10 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Constantini, Edmond and Craik, Kenneth H., “Women as Politicians: The Social Background, Personality, and Political Careers of Female Party Leaders,” Journal of Social Issues, 28, no. 2 (1972): 220 Google Scholar; Bullock, Charles S., III and Findley Heys, Patricia Lee, “Recruitment of Women for Congress: A Research Note,” Western Political Quarterly, 25, no. 3 (September 1972): 417–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

34. Jennings and Thomas, “Men and Women in Party Elites,” pp. 476, 480-84; Constantini and Craik, “Women as Politicians,” pp. 227-31; Means, “Political Recruitment of Women in Norway,” p. 516.

35. From information in “Poslanci Národniho Shromážděni,” Rude prdvo, December 1, 1971.

36. From information found in “The New CPSC Central Committee,” in Radio Free Europe Research, Czechoslovak Situation Report, no. 24, June 25, 1971.

37. From information in 13. Sjezd Komunistické strany Československa (Prague, 1966), and Rudé právo, May 31, 1971.

38. Magdolen, Ernest, Rodina, jeji společenský vyznam a misto v socialistickém způsobu života (Bratislava, 1973), p. 35.Google Scholar The difference between the sexes in time spent on housework is similar to that which exists in other socialist and Western countries. Time-budget studies conducted in 1969 indicate that men in the United States, for example, spent 1.1 hours and women 3.4 hours per day on housework, a difference of 2.3 hours (see Patrushev, V. D., “General Regularities and Features in the Use of the Time-Budget of the Employed Urban Population in Socialist and Capitalist Countries, Society and Leisure, 1974, no. 1, pp. 102–3Google Scholar for more detail).

39. Magdolen, Spôsob života, appendix, table 1.

40. Magdolen, Rodina, pp. 63-64; Magdolen, Spôsob života, pp. 93-94.

41. Time-budget studies indicate that women have on the average 115 minutes of free time a day, men 190 minutes (Magdolen, Spôsob života, appendix, table 1).

42. Numerous studies on the effects of the dual roles of women highlight these difficulties. See Bártová, “Žena a rodina,” for summaries of several of these. Over 45 percent of women interviewed in Hora's 1971 study said they could not fulfill both roles satisfactorily; an additional 35 percent could do so only with difficulty (Hora, Za vyssiu ucast, p. 18).

43. Funkcionářka, 1968, no. 4, p. 10.

44. Jiři Blucha, “Kvalifikace žen ve strojírenstvi,” Zprávy státńi populacni komise, 1966, no. 1, p. 32; Hora, Za vyššiu účast, pp. 15 and 27.

45. Constantini and Craik ( “Women as Politicians” ) suggest that party activism may act as a compensatory outlet for women who do not have other means of self-expression.

46. Magdolen, Sposob života, appendix, table 4.

47. Jančovičova, Jolana, “Problematiky ženy v lekarském povolani na Slovensku,” Sociólogia, 6, no. 5 (1974): 451–59Google Scholar; Hora, Za vyššiu účast, pp. 15-27.

48. Fukalová, Drahoslava, Žena a price v nasi společnosti (Prague, 1969), p. 17.Google Scholar

49. See Lapidus, Gail Warshofsky, Women in Soviet Society: Equality, Development, and Social Change (Berkeley, 1978)Google Scholar, for an analysis of elite policy toward women in the Soviet Union.

50. For a comprehensive analysis of elite policy toward women in the early post-World War II period, see Sharon Wolchik, “Socialism and Women in Czechoslovakia: Mobilization or Liberation?,” paper presented at the 1978 annual meeting of the Midwest Slavic Association, Bloomington, Indiana, April 14-16, 1978.

51. Live births per 1, 000 population averaged 22.4 from 1945 to 1949; 22.0 from 1950 to 1954; 18.5 from 1955 to 1959; and 16.3 from 1960 to 1964. In 1965, there were 16.4 per 1, 000 and by 1966, 15.6. “Přehled demografického vývoje a populačni politiky evropských socialistických států,” Zprávy státní populační komise, 1969, no. 4, p. 5.

52. The earliest studies on the position of women in socialist society were conducted by demographers. See Srb, Vladimír, Detnografická přiručka (Prague, 1967)Google Scholar, for summaries of these studies. After sociology was reestablished as an academic discipline in the early 1960s, sociologists also began to conduct research on this theme. For reports of seminars and research on women's situation, see Bártova, “Zena a rodina,” and Bártova, Eva, “Postáveni zen v socialistickém společnosti,” Zprávy stdtni populačni komise, 1965, no. 4, pp. 32–46.Google Scholar

53. See Meyer, Alfred G., “Marxism and the Women's Movement,” in Atkinson, Dorothy, Dallin, Alexander, and Lapidus, Gail Warshofsky, eds., Women in Russia (Stanford, Calif., 1977), pp. 85–113 Google Scholar, for an analysis of the writings of Marx and Engels on women. Hilda Scott also discusses the influence of this framework of analysis in Scott, Hilda, Does Socialism Liberate Women?: Experiences From Eastern Europe (Boston, 1974), chapters 9 and 10.Google Scholar

54. For a discussion of the influence of these factors in the case of blacks and women in the United States, see Chafe, William H., Women and Equality: Changing Patterns in American Culture (New York, 1977).Google Scholar

55. See Skilling, H. Gordon, Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution (Princeton, 1976)Google Scholar, for an analysis of the actions of various groups and organizations during and immediately after the reform period.

56. The analyses and objectives of women's leaders during this period were by no means those of radical feminists. Reacting to the problems created by previous emphasis on women's roles as workers, leaders of the women's organizations advocated renewed attention to women's maternal roles and called for measures to ease the conflict between women's roles. Although many of the leaders of the women's organization continued to be guided by an assimilationist view of sex roles, they did challenge the prevailing analysis of the causes of female inequality and attempted to involve large groups of women in thinking about and discussing women's issues. Given enough time, this process of discussion, interaction, and reconsideration may have led to the adoption of new perspectives on role change as well as on women's issues. For an analysis of the change in elite policy and the activities of the women's organizations in the mid to late 1960s, see Wolchik, “Politics, Ideology, and Equality,” chapters 6 and 7.

57. See Wynnyczuk, “Venkovská žena”; Bártová, “Postoje k problému”; and Magdolen, Spôsob života, for illustrations of women's dissatisfactions and perceptions concerning equality.