Originally published in 1981, this book is composed of papers that describe and analyse women's careers in government, business, and the professions. It examines women's access to and participation in elite careers in the US, and in selected countries of western and eastern Europe - Britain, France, West Germany, Austria, Norway, Finland, Poland, and Yugoslavia - as well as in international organizations. This book was an outgrowth of a conference on 'Women in decision-making elites in cross-national perspective,' held at King's College, Cambridge University, in July 1976. The countries represented were chosen because, although they were at similar stages of economic development, they exhibited differences in political structure, ideology, and tradition.

Originally published in 1981, this book is composed of papers that describe and analyse women's careers in government, business, and the professions. It examines women's access to and participation in elite careers in the US, and in selected countries of western and eastern Europe - Britain, France, West Germany, Austria, Norway, Finland, Poland, and Yugoslavia - as well as in international organizations. This book was an outgrowth of a conference on 'Women in decision-making elites in cross-national perspective,' held at King's College, Cambridge University, in July 1976. The countries represented were chosen because, although they were at similar stages of economic development, they exhibited differences in political structure, ideology, and tradition.

Choosing to work part-time may seem like an attractive option for many workers, and it is a fact of the modern workplace that the availability of part-time work is increasing. However, the authors of this timely study find that there are cultural and social meanings attached to part-time work which suggest that it is in fact not such an easy option.
Using case studies of legal professionals, this book highlights not only the negative sides, but also the coping strategies utilised to overcome the part-time paradox.

Universally considered to be pathbreaking, landmark, original, and provocative since its first edition was published three decades ago, "Women in Law" continues to provide a sociological and historical analysis of the overt and subtle ceilings placed on women in the legal profession in their various roles. It is a foundational work for departments of gender studies, law, and sociology - but also reads as accessible and interesting to a general audience.

Adding a new foreword by Stanford's Deborah Rhode, the thirtieth anniversary edition of this classic book reports countless revealing interviews, war stories, and inside glimpses of the many professional roles that women inhabit: lawyers, judges, professors, leaders, and backroom labor. It also brings vividly to life the candid - and sometimes cringeworthy - assessments by male lawyers and judges about the changes to the profession ushered in by the increasing entry of women to the lawyers' club.

Part of the "Classics of Law & Society" Series from Quid Pro, "Women in Law" is recognized as within the canon of its field, and now is available in a modern paperback format. It features embedded page numbers from the previous print editions (to facilitate referencing, classroom assignment, and continuity with the new ebook editions), as well as all the original tables and figures.

"From the new Foreword: "

"When Cynthia Fuchs Epstein published her pathbreaking account of "Women in Law," their status in the profession was separate and anything but equal.... Over the last three decades, much has changed but too much has remained the same. Now, about half of new lawyers in the United States are women and they are fairly evenly distributed across substantive areas. Yet significant gender disparities persist. Women constitute about a third of the lawyers in large firms, but only about 17 percent of equity partners. Attrition rates are almost twice as high among female associates as among comparable male associates.... When Epstein published "Women in Law," part of what attracted its widespread acclaim was its originality; it was among the first in what has now become a rich literature on gender and diversity in the profession. Indeed, the fact that the book is being reissued testifies not only to its enduring scholarly value, but also to the attention that the issue now commands.... Her book helped inspire that movement, and our profession remains deeply in her debt." - Deborah L. RhodeErnest W. McFarland Professor of Law, Stanford Law School

"Impressive ... a story which the legal world can read with no legal pride and which others will read with substantial interest." - "New York Times Book Review" (reviewing the first edition)

In this important book a leading feminist scholar surveys and critiques gender research in a range of disciplines, showing how distinctions between the sexes are maintained by ideology and social controls. "A model of sociological common sense, as well as of scholarship.... Epstein addresses basic theoretical, methodological, and epistemological concerns that cut across most sociological specialties. This book is required reading by every gender sociologist.... It should be read as well by sociologists whose specialty is not gender, and especially by theorists of all stripes.... This is truly the capstone work of a mature scholar." -Janet Saltzman Chafetz, Social Forces "Deceptive Distinctions really has two agendas. The first, based on a review of a wide range of scholarship, much of it quite recent, is to argue that men and women are overwhelmingly similar and that any differences between them are socially constructed. The second is to develop a sociology of knowledge in which the intellectual roots of scholarship on women serve as a case study. Epstein's project is not only timely but ambitious as well." -Naomi Gerstel, Women's Review of Books "In this sophisticated and incisive critique, Epstein ranges from sociobiology to linguistics and from politics to psychiatry to iterate her position that gender differences are often used to support the existing structure rather than to advance our understanding or expand our horizons." -Carol C. Nadelson, M.D., American Journal of Psychiatry "Epstein's informative critique... makes clear [that] the position of women is not an isolated 'problem' but the inevitable result of a complex system of power, opportunity, and incentive. Epstein shows [how] dichotomous thinking still rules our lives.... By bringing together what sociology knows to the contrary, she has helped move society toward a solution." -Beryl Lieff Benderley, Psychology Today Co-published with the Russell Sage Foundation.