Working Difference

"[I]nnovative. . . . [C]ompelling and thought provoking. . . . There is much for scholars of gender to consider in this book. . . . Yet the audience for this book should extend to political sociologists and analysts of eastern Europe in general. Through its nuanced account of the mechanisms of social inclusion and exclusion and its masterful combination of quantitative and qualitative data, Fodor's book remains one of the only serious studies of the effects of state socialism on relations of power, privilege, and authority." - Lynne Haney, Slavic Review

"Fodor is to be congratulated on having tackled systematically an issue so central to social historians of postwar Europe. The great strength of her book is its reliance on a thoroughly comparative method. . . . ." - Mark Pittaway, Journal of Modern History

"Fodor's book provides a rich and thorough analysis of new data and sheds light on questions of gender inequality, stratification, and feminist theory. It makes an especially important contribution to understanding how gender regimes function, how they can change over time, and the effects they have on the lives of women. This book is a must read for anyone interested not only in east central Europe but also in broader issues of gender and the state, inequality, and feminism." - Jill M. Bystydzienski , Work and Occupations

"The qualitative comparison between principles of exclusion and inclusion in the two countries is the reason I would recommend that all gender scholars read Working Difference. . . . I commend the author for creating a high quality and fascinating book. Working Difference will surely make an important contribution to sociology by strengthening feminist theory and by modeling a comparison that avoids portraying state and postsocialism as inadequate copies of the West." - Zsuzsa Gille , Contemporary Sociology

"This comparison of women's achievement in state socialist Hungary and capitalist Austria makes contributions to the areas of class analysis, gender stratification, and feminist theory. The comparative research design is one the book's strength. . . . Another outstanding feature of this study is the triangulation of multiple methods." - Mary Blair-Loy , American Journal of Sociology

“Éva Fodor's compelling analysis of gendered mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion in the workplaces of state-socialist Hungary and capitalist Austria provides a welcome set of comparative insights to the burgeoning literature on gender, states, and societies, and speaks to core questions in feminism and studies of inequality.” - Ann Shola Orloff, coauthor, States, Markets, Families: Gender, Liberalism and Social Policy in Australia, Canada, Great Britain

“Working Difference contains much fascinating new material and exciting analysis. It will make an important contribution to gender theory and to the study of postsocialist stratification. This book is one of only a small handful that directly compare Eastern and Western European political economies and one of the only ones that compares gender regimes. It will have a wide influence on discussions of gender regimes, welfare states, and the historical role of state socialism.” - Susan Gal, coauthor of The Politics of Gender after Socialism