Gender aspects of occupational change in Accession Countries are interesting because of the deep structural change that occurred during transition. The shift to a market economy led to massive changes in the allocation of resources and the functioning of the labour market. Female labour market outcomes follow a path which is not compatible with the targets laid out by the European Commission. I examine the evolution of relevant economic variables for men and women

In some Accession Countries, women cushioned the negative impact of economic transformation. Those countries have moved towards service-oriented economies; women are concentrated in certain activities, they end-up underrepresented in most, and the decrease in female employment is never compensated for in expanding sectors. Examining occupational segregation, women are severely constrained in terms of access to top occupations and privatisation could be the natural explanation to the increase in segregation